Game Objective: Defuse the Bomb, Save the Day!

Welcome, future heroes of the Bomb Busters brigade! Prepare for an electrifying cooperative adventure where each of you is a bomb disposal expert, working as a team to save the world. The objective is simple, but the tension is guaranteed: collectively deactivate the bomb of the designated mission. But beware! Danger lurks with every wire cut. The bomb will explode if you cut a red wire or if the detonator reaches the end of the track. Stay calm, communicate (wisely!), and prove you're the best!

Setup: All Ready for Action!

Before we dive into wires and adrenaline, let's set up the table. Follow these steps to ensure the mission starts smoothly:

1. Mission Selection: Start by choosing one of the Mission cards. Missions get progressively harder, so it's highly recommended to play them in order to avoid getting lost!
2. Captain Designation: For the first mission, randomly choose a bomb disposal expert to be the Captain. In subsequent missions, the Captain will be the player to the left of the previous one. The Captain places their Captain Character card face up in front of them. The other experts place their Character cards face up.
3. Mission Briefing: The Captain reads the Mission card aloud and places it in the bottom left corner of the board, visible to everyone. The front of the card details the specific mission setup, and the back, the special rules. The standard game rules always apply!
4. Distribution of Wire Holders:
   • With 2 experts: Each receives 2 wire holders.
   • With 3 experts: The Captain receives 2 holders, the others receive 1.
   • With 4 or 5 experts: Each receives 1 holder.
5. Wire Preparation:
   1. Take the 48 blue wires (except in training missions 1, 2, and 3). There are 4 copies of each number, from 1 to 12.
   2. Take the number of red and yellow wires indicated on the Mission card, drawing them randomly.
   3. Look at the red and yellow wires drawn and record the values by placing the red and/or yellow pawns on the board spaces, with the side without "?" facing up. If the mission indicates "1 of 2", "1 of 3", or "2 of 3" wires, this means the wires are partially known. For example, for "2 of 3 yellow wires": reveal 3 yellow wires, place 3 pawns with the "?" side up on the board, shuffle the 3 wires face down, and add 2 of them (also face down) to the blue wires. Set aside the 3rd wire without revealing it.
   4. Then, shuffle all the Wire tiles (blue + red + yellow) together and face down.
6. Wire Distribution: Distribute all wire tiles face down among the wire holders, as equally as possible.
7. Wire Organization: In each wire holder, each player must arrange their wires in ascending order, from left to right, facing themselves. Remember: 2 wire holders form a single hand for game purposes. The values of red and yellow wires are only used for this initial organization; after that, only the colors "RED" or "YELLOW" will matter.
8. Detonator and Information Tokens Placement: Position the detonator according to the number of players. Place all Information tokens and the 12 Validation tokens on the board.
9. Initial Information Tokens: Starting with the Captain and proceeding clockwise, each player places an Information token of their choice in front of one of the blue wires in their own hand, corresponding to the indicated value. (Never a yellow one at this stage).
10. Equipment Cards: Take one Equipment card for each bomb disposal expert and place them face up on the checkmark on the board, as they cannot be used yet.

The Game Turn: Cutting Wires and Avoiding Explosions!

Bomb disposal experts play clockwise, starting with the Captain. On their turn, the active expert must perform one of the following 3 actions:

Double Cut Action

This is the most common and collaborative action! The active expert must cut 2 identical wires: 1 of their own wire and 1 wire from a teammate. The player chooses a wire from a teammate's hand and announces its value. For example: "This wire is a 9."

• Success: If the expert is correct:
  • The teammate places the revealed wire face up in front of their holder, without changing its position.
  • Then, the active expert places their own identical wire (or one of them, if they have more than one) face up in front of their holder.
• Failure: If the expert is wrong:
  • If the wire is red, the bomb explodes and the mission fails!
  • If the wire is blue or yellow, the detonator advances one space (the bomb explodes upon reaching the skull, and the mission fails). The teammate places an Information token in front of the wire to indicate its true value.

To cut a yellow wire, the active expert must have one in their hand and say: "This wire is yellow" when pointing to a teammate's wire. If correct, the 2 wires are cut. Otherwise, the detonator advances one space and a yellow Information token is used.

Solo Cut Action

The active expert can cut 2 OR 4 identical wires from their own hand, provided they are the last wires of that value remaining in the game. They then place the wires face up in front of their own hand. Remember that a player can only perform this action with yellow wires if they have all the remaining yellow wires in their hand.

Reveal Your Red Wires Action

This action CAN ONLY be performed when all remaining uncut wires in the active expert's hand are RED. The player can then safely reveal them.

Validation Tokens

Whenever all 4 wires of the same value are cut, place a Validation token on the corresponding number on the board. This is a super useful visual reminder!

Equipment Cards

Equipment are powerful tools to help the team. Here's how they work:

• An equipment becomes available as soon as the 2 wires of the value indicated in the top left corner of the card are cut. Move the Equipment cards up on the board to indicate they can be used.
• Each equipment can only be used once: flip the card after using it.
• Most equipment can be used at any time by any player, even outside their turn. An expert can use multiple equipment consecutively.
• Example: Double Detector (Personal Equipment)
  • Can be used once per mission, by flipping the Character card face down.
  • During a Double Cut Action, the active expert can say a value and point to TWO wires in a teammate's holder, instead of just one.
  • If at least 1 of the 2 wires is pointed correctly, the action is successful. If both are correct, the teammate does not need to say the value and can cut any wire they want.
  • If neither of the 2 wires is correct, the action is a failure. The detonator advances one space and the teammate places an Information token in front of one of the indicated wires (they choose which one).
  • If only one of the 2 indicated wires is red, the bomb does not explode. The teammate does not indicate the wire and must place an Information token in front of the wire that "was not red".
• Example: Communicators
  • Can be used at any time.
  • Swap 2 wires: one of your uncut wires for one of a teammate's uncut wires. Everyone sees where the wires were taken from and where they were put back.
• Example: Stabilizer (Equipment 9)
  • Flip it BEFORE a Double Cut Action. Regardless of what happens on your turn: the detonator does not advance (if the action fails) and the bomb does not explode (if a red wire is cut). The teammate must still place an Information token.

Communication

Communication is key, but with strict rules to maintain the challenge:

• Forbidden: Talking about the wires in your hand, suggesting or implying their values, recalling information from previous turns, sharing guesses and assumptions aloud.
• Allowed: Discussing general tactics, talking about equipment use, recalling special rules, advising a teammate to use their Double Detector or other equipment at any time.

End of Game and Scoring: Success or Failure?

The fate of the mission is in your hands!

• Victory: The mission is successful when all bomb disposal experts no longer have wires in their hand. When an expert runs out of wires, they leave the round, and the game continues with the others.
• Defeat: The mission fails if a red wire is cut or if the detonator reaches the skull.

If the mission fails, don't despair! Switch Captains and restart the mission. After completing Mission 8 (the Final Test), congratulations! You are official members of the BOMB BUSTERS brigade and have the right to open the first Surprise Box (Missions 9 to 19). You can also complete the table on the back of the box with the number of victories and defeats!

Tips for Winning: Be a Master Defuser!

1. Strategic Communication is Everything: Although limited, allowed communication is vital. Use it to discuss which Equipment to activate and the best sequence of actions. You cannot talk about your wires, but you can, for example, suggest: "Maybe it's a good idea to use the Double Detector now to check John's wires, he seems to be having trouble."
2. Make the Most of Equipment: Equipment are your best friends! Plan when to activate them. The Stabilizer, for example, can be a lifesaver in a critical turn, allowing a risky Double Cut without the fear of explosion or detonator advancement. Don't hesitate to use them when the situation calls for it.
3. Focus on Blue Wires and Validation: Prioritize cutting blue wires to unlock Equipment and use Validation tokens. Knowing which numbers have already been completely cut is valuable information that reduces uncertainty and helps identify remaining wires. Remember that yellow wires are "all the same" after initial organization, so treat them as a single category for cutting purposes.