Game summary
👥 A game for 2 – 5 spelers
⏳ Play time is around 45 – 60 minutes
🏢 Publisher is Pegasus Spiele
Introduction
In Bomb Busters, you work together to defuse bombs. Uncover who has the red thread and cut at the right moment. Choose wisely, work together, one wrong cut and it’s game over!
Let’s get it on the table
In Bomb Busters, you set up the game board according to the instructions on the mission card. This is an important part of the setup and deserves careful attention before you begin.
Place the game board in the center of the table. Put the mission card at the bottom left of the board so everyone can read it. The front of the mission card shows exactly which components you need and how to prepare the board for that mission. Once everything is set up, flip the card over to reveal the special rules.
At the bottom right of the board you will find a counter. Using the arrow, you indicate how many players are taking part in the game. Between the mission card and the detonator are spaces or zones for information tokens and validation tokens, which you will need later during the game.
At the top of the board there is space for equipment cards that can be used during the mission. Shuffle these equipment cards and place a number of them face up above the board, depending on the number of players, with the correct side facing up. Place them in such a way that it is clear they are still available to be used.
Depending on the mission, markers for red or yellow wires may also be placed on specific spots on the board, following the instructions on the mission card.
Next, each player receives a character card and their own tile holder. Then take all the wire tiles for the mission. The blue base wires are always used, while yellow or red wires are added for extra challenge.
Shuffle all the wire tiles thoroughly and place them face down so no one knows which values they will receive. Deal out all the wire tiles evenly among the players. Each player then places their wire tiles in ascending order in their tile holder, making sure they are not visible to the other players.
Once everyone is ready, the mission is clear, and the start player token has been given to the starting player, the puzzling can begin.
Let’s Play
In Bomb Busters, you and your fellow players form a team of bomb experts with one mission: to defuse the bomb before it explodes. The game revolves around a series of missions, each with its own pattern of wires, challenges, and surprises. In total, there are 66 missions, ranging from beginner to expert, making them ideal for testing your teamwork.
After setting up the game board and the mission card, the team chooses a mission and reads the setup together. From that moment on, the real puzzling begins.
The board also features a detonator track that shows how close you are to an explosion. It starts safely at zero, but trust us, it will not stay that way for long. Each mission also introduces its own rules or tools, ensuring that no two games ever feel the same. Bomb Busters is played turn by turn, but it truly feels like you are constantly working together on one big puzzle. You discuss, you share information but only in limited ways. You are not allowed to openly say which wires you have, so you will need to give hints, make suggestions, and try to create clever combinations.
During your turn, you choose a wire from your tile holder and try to cut a wire from another player, but this only works if the tile you point to has the same number. If you are correct, both wires are cut and placed behind your own tile holder so everyone can see which number has just been cut. This moves the bomb one step closer to being defused. But if you are wrong, the detonator cheerfully moves one step forward and that is something you do not want to happen too often.
Yellow wires may only be cut by players who also have a yellow wire. If you make a mistake, the same penalty applies as with a blue wire and the detonator moves one step closer to explosion.
If you accidentally cut a red wire, the game is over and the bomb explodes. Mission failed!
Once all four wires of a specific number have been successfully cut, you may place a green token on that number. This clearly shows which numbers have been removed from the game.
olo Cut
You may cut 2 or 4 identical wires from your own hand if these are the only remaining wires of that number. If two wires of a number have already been cut and you are holding the remaining two, you may cut both of them.
If you are holding all four wires of the same number, you may cut all four at once.
Equipment Cards
These cards are placed at the top of the game board. An equipment card may be used once two wires of the number shown in the top left corner of the card have been cut. After cutting those wires, slide the card slightly upward to indicate that it is now available to use.
Each equipment card may only be used once. After use, the card is flipped over.
Each bomb expert may use their personal equipment once per mission. You may use this dual cut to name a number and point to two wires belonging to a teammate instead of pointing to a single wire.
The game ends
The game can end in two ways:
Mission accomplished!
You successfully cut all the safe wires until only the red wire or wires remain. Once all of them have been identified and the bomb has not exploded, you have completed the mission. Time for a new challenge!
Mission failed!
If the detonator reaches the final space due to too many mistakes, or if someone ends up cutting that one red wire, the bomb explodes and the game ends immediately. Ready for another attempt? 💥
Final Conclusion & rating
Weight: 2.41/ 5
Replayability: 8
Our rating: 8,5 out of 10 dices
Bomb Busters is so much fun! Every game gives you the feeling that you are solving a mini-mystery within a larger mission. What we really like is that you can jump in right from the start, whether you are an experienced player or a beginner. If you play these kinds of games more often, you can easily start at a slightly higher level, but if you are playing with new players, you simply choose the very first mission.
The rules are clear. Especially at the beginning there are not many rules, and occasionally new ones are introduced along the way. As long as you work well together and think logically, everything should be fine. Sometimes you can take a risk, but you do not want or need to do that too often, because that is how the bomb explodes. Luckily, the game is quick to reset, so you can immediately try again. Bomb Busters can feel wonderfully relaxed, but beware when the detonator meter starts creeping closer to an explosion, because that is when the tension really rises.
We think Bomb Busters is a fantastic game to play together. With a total of around 66 missions that gradually increase in difficulty, there is plenty to discover. We will not spoil anything, but there is a lot of game material packed into the box.
Dank aan Pegasus Spiele voor dit review exemplaar en de mogelijkheid er een stukje over te schrijven.
