Bomb Defusal
for Experts

How a round works §0

One player, the Defuser, holds the bomb. Everyone else is an Expert with this manual. The Defuser can’t see these rules and you can’t see the bomb, so describe, ask and listen.

1. A 3-2-1 countdown runs before the timer starts. Open your manual and get ready.
2. The Defuser turns the bomb and reads out what each module looks like.
3. Find the module’s section here, ask for any casing details you need, then give clear instructions.
4. The bomb is defused when every regular module’s light is green.

Strikes and the timer

A mistake is a strike. Each strike makes the timer run faster: ×1.25 after the first, ×1.5 after the second. Reach the strike limit or run out of time and the bomb goes off. Some rules change once the bomb has strikes, so keep count.

Tip: agree on words before you start. “Up” and “down” for switches, symbol names from this manual, and “now” for the gauge.

The casing §1

Many rules depend on details printed on the outside of the bomb. Ask the Defuser to turn it over.

• Serial tag: a white sticker on one side. 6 characters. The last one is always a digit.
• Power cells: a holder on one side with 0 to 4 cylinders. Count only cells that are present.
• Status lamps: on the top. Each lamp has a 3-letter label and is either lit or unlit.
• Ports: on the back. Possible types:HexCoax (COASSIALE)Ribbon (PIATTINA)Optic (OTTICA)
• Strikes: shown on the Defuser’s screen. Keep your own count too.

Write it down

Needy modules §2

On Medium and Hard, the bomb also carries a needy module. Regular modules sit quietly until you solve them. A needy module wakes up on its own, demands an answer, then goes back to sleep. It is never “solved” and it does not count toward the defused total.

• Everyone gets an alert when a needy module wakes up. The Defuser sees its screen light up.
• You have a short time to answer before its countdown ends.
• A wrong answer or a timeout is a strike. It then sleeps and wakes again later.
• Someone should own the needy module while the Defuser works on other modules.

The only needy module is the Status Query (Standard · v0.3). Its rules are in the last section.

Rotary Lock §3

A round dial with eight symbols, a colored ring, and one symbol on a cap in the middle.

Symbol names

Steps

1. Ask for the ring color and the center symbol.
2. In the table for that ring color, find the center symbol’s row. It gives three symbols, in order.
3. If the top of the bomb has a lit lamp labeled MAG, use the three symbols in reverse order.
4. Then, if the bomb has 1 or more strikes, move the first symbol to the end (A, B, C becomes B, C, A). Check the strikes before each ATTIVA.
5. For each symbol, the Defuser turns the dial until that symbol is under the yellow pointer, then presses ATTIVA.

Switchboard §4

Nine toggle switches in a 3×3 grid, with one indicator light above each column.

1. Use this table to get each column’s switch positions from its indicator:

2. If the last digit of the serial number is odd, flip the bottom row in every column.
3. If the bomb has 3 or more power cells, flip the top row in every column.
4. If the bomb has 1 or more strikes, also flip the middle row in every column. Check the strikes before you pull CONFERMA.
5. “Up” means the lever’s yellow tip points toward the top of the module. When all nine are set, pull CONFERMA.

Pressure Gauge §5

A round gauge with a moving needle, a colored face, and a number in a white box.

1. Ask for the face color and the number in the white box.
2. Which column? Use column 1 if the number is odd, column 2 if it is even.
3. If the bomb has no power cells, always use column 1 instead.
4. The Defuser calls out the needle position. Tell them to press SFIATA while the needle is inside the range.

The scale runs from 0 (far left) to 100 (far right). The needle swings in waves, so count the rhythm together before you call “now”.

Cipher Tape §6

A green display with five scrambled letters above five letter rollers.

1. Count the ports on the back of the bomb. Add 1. This is the shift (1 to 4).
2. Move every letter on the tape back by the shift. Wrap around: A back 1 is Z.
3. The result is one of the valid words. If it isn't, recount the ports.
4. The Defuser taps the top half of a roller to go forward and the bottom half to go back, then presses INVIA.

Alphabet

Valid words

Soundalike Relay §7

A display showing one word above six buttons (two rows of three), each labeled with a word. Three stages.

Careful: the words sound alike. Read the display and the labels out loud exactly as spelled, and spell them out if there is any doubt.

1. Find the row below that contains the word on the display.
2. From that word, count 1 place to the right along the row. Wrap around: after the last word comes the first.
3. If the serial number contains a vowel, count to the left instead.
4. If the bomb has 1 or more strikes, count 2 places instead of 1.
5. Press the button that shows the word you land on. Do this for all three stages; each stage shows new words.

Soundalike rows

Valve Bank §8

A bank of five valve wheels in a row. Each wheel has a colored cap, a number plate and a symbol tag.

1. Ask the Defuser to read all five valves from left to right: cap color, number and symbol.
2. Work through the steps below in order to find the sequence in which the wheels must be opened.
3. The Defuser opens the wheels one at a time in that order. Positions count from the left, 1 to 5.

Opening order

1. Sort the valves by their number plates, from lowest to highest.
2. Next, move any Yellow valves to the end, keeping their order.
3. Then, if the serial number contains a vowel, reverse the whole order.
4. Finally, if the bomb has 1 or more strikes, swap the first and last valves. Check the strikes before you open the first valve.
5. Open the valves one at a time in that order. A wrong valve is a strike and closes them all: start again from the first.

Cap colors

• Red
• Blue
• Green
• Yellow
• White

Plunger Button §9

A big round plunger with a color and a printed word, and a beacon ring beside it: four colored sectors and a light that sweeps around.

1. Ask for the plunger color and the printed word.
2. Find that color row and that word column in the grid. The cell tells you what to do.
3. TAP: press and release quickly. HOLD: press and keep holding, then release as the cell says. Some cells and notes refer to the beacon ring, so have the Defuser describe it.

Beacon colors

The ring has four colored sectors, read clockwise from the top. A light sweeps around it continuously.

• Red
• Blue
• Green
• Yellow

Rule grid

Notes

• Find the row for the plunger's color and the column for the word on its label.
• A press shorter than 0.7 seconds counts as a TAP. To HOLD, keep it pressed while the light sweeps around the ring and let go when it is on the listed color.
• If the bomb has 3 or more power cells, use the cell one column to the right instead (after the last column comes the first).
• If the bomb has 1 or more strikes, release on the sector one step clockwise from the listed color instead. Check the strikes when you let go.

Status Query §10

A needy module: a small screen with a 2-digit countdown and SÌ / NO buttons. Usually asleep.

1. When it wakes up, the Defuser reads out the prompt on its screen.
2. Find the prompt below. The rule says when the answer is SÌ. Otherwise the answer is NO.
3. The Defuser presses the answer before the countdown ends.

• The prompt stays up for 25 seconds (20 seconds on Hard).
• A wrong answer or running out of time is a strike. Rules about strikes use the count at the moment you answer.