How to Play

Bomb Busters

2-5 players 30-30 min 8.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Players work together to defuse a ticking bomb by correctly guessing teammates' wire values. Each mission features numbered wire cards that must be identified and cut in sequence without triggering red wires. Successful guesses remove wires, while mistakes advance the detonator. Complete all 12 numbers to win the mission and save everyone from explosion.

Published 2024

Bomb Busters

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Select a mission
Choose one of the Mission cards; missions get progressively more difficult and are recommended to be played in order
2
Designate a Captain
Randomly select for the first mission, then pass responsibility to the left before each subsequent mission; the Captain takes the "Captain" character card while others choose any character card
3
Read and place mission card
The Captain reads the Mission card aloud and places it flipped over to the bottom left of the board so everyone can see the special rules
4
Distribute tile stands
Based on player count:
5
Prepare wire tiles
Collect all 48 blue wire tiles (4 copies of each number 1-12), except for training missions 1-3
6
Deal wires to stands
Distribute all wires facedown as equally as possible among tile stands; some stands may have more tiles
7
Arrange your wires
Place tiles in your stand with information facing you, sorted left-to-right in ascending order
8
Set up the board
Take Equipment cards equal to the number of players and place faceup over the checkmark area
9
Place initial Info tokens
Starting with Captain and going clockwise, each player places one Info token of their choice pointing to a blue wire in their hand with matching value

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Take one action
Starting with the Captain and going clockwise, the active player must perform exactly one of three actions
2
Attempt to match wires
Point to a specific teammate's wire and guess its value by stating it aloud (e.g., "This wire is a 9")
3
Successful cut
If correct, the teammate reveals that wire and places it faceup in front of their stand, then you reveal your matching wire and place it faceup in front of your stand
4
Failed cut on blue or yellow
If wrong and the wire is blue or yellow, the detonator dial advances 1 space, and your teammate places an Info token showing the wire's true value in front of it
5
Failed cut on red
If the wire is red, the bomb explodes and the mission fails immediately
6
Cut remaining identical wires
If the last wires of a value (2 or 4) are all in your hand, reveal and cut them without involving another player
7
Reveal all red wires
If all your remaining uncut wires are RED, reveal them and place faceup in front of your tile stand
8
Cut yellow wires
Yellow wires are cut the same as blue wires using Dual or Solo Cut
9
Solo Cut yellow
Only possible if you have all remaining yellow wires in your hand
10
Mark completed values
When all 4 wires of the same value are cut, place a Validation token on that number on the board
11
Unlock equipment
Equipment becomes useable when 2 wires of the value shown in its top-left corner are cut; slide the card up to reveal the green checkmark
12
Use equipment
Each piece can only be used once; flip facedown after use
13
Personal equipment
Each bomb disposal expert can use their character card's ability once per mission; flip facedown after use
14
Double Detector ability
During a Dual Cut, state a value and point to 2 wires instead of 1
15
Forbidden communication
Cannot talk about wires in your hand, imply values, recall previous turn information, or share guesses aloud
16
Permitted communication
Can discuss general tactics, equipment use, recall special rules, and remind teammates about their equipment
17
Skip empty players
When a bomb disposal expert has no wires left, skip their turn and continue clockwise with remaining players

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Victory condition
The mission ends in success when all bomb disposal experts have empty tile stands
2
Failure by red wire
If any player cuts a red wire, the bomb explodes and the mission fails
3
Failure by detonator
If the detonator dial advances to the skull space, the bomb explodes and the mission fails
4
After failure
Change which player is Captain and restart the mission
5
Unlock new content
After completing mission 8, open the first "Surprise" box containing missions 9-19

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Bomb Busters How to Play|炸彈剋星 教學|桌遊教學|中文字幕

Bomb Busters How to Play|炸彈剋星 教學|桌遊教學|中文字幕

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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