It can be a lot of fun to sit down with friends, comb through an elaborate rulebook for hours and then execute a complex, 4-hour epic experience with twists and turns, deep narrative and multiple challenging gameplay concepts. But sometimes, it feels great to sit down and just play something simple, yet entertaining. For a game that can be learned in mere minutes and then rounds that might only take up to 20 at most, Bomb Busters makes a compelling case for being a fast-paced addition to any game night, with enough tactics and thrills to still satisfy players of all levels.
At its core, Bomb Busters is a cooperative game of deduction and communication. As aspiring bomb disposal professionals, you’ll have to work together as a team to prevent the bomb from exploding. You’ll do this by cutting identical wires, whether they’re right in front of you, or secretly placed in front of other players.
Each numbered cable (from 1 to 12) has exactly four in the mix, and given that players sort their cables in numerical order, it becomes a process of careful elimination, as you consider the cables in front of you, and the available ones in front of other players, to ensure you’re not making the wrong choice. Two cut cables with the same number bring you closer to successfully defusing the bomb, but cutting cables with different values causes the explosion to come closer… and cutting the red cable immediately causes it to explode, triggering the defeat.
“Weighing up the odds is a thrill, and we all gasped sighs of relief whenever one of our uncertain picks was revealed to be accurate.”
It’s a fairly simple idea, but surprisingly difficult at times to achieve success. Our group of well-seasoned board game lovers sat down with Bomb Busters thinking we’d have it nailed, but the challenge of identifying hidden numbers using the process of elimination made it feel like a high-intensity Sudoku, where none of us could see the full grid. As a starting point, you’re able to place markers on one cable each, identifying exactly what it is. But, once those guarantees have been used up, you’ll have to carefully consider the numbers that have been pulled so far, and what’s left. I found some of the close-call moments to be the most fun. Weighing up the odds, based on the chronological hidden tiles, is a thrill, and we all gasped sighs of relief whenever one of our uncertain picks was revealed to be accurate.
Bomb Busters has a clever way of training you, as well; the early missions are a tutorial setup that drip-feeds you with new mechanics and ideas, and you’ll learn as you play. You’ll be guessing cables and laughing within minutes of opening the box, which is a fantastic way to entice newcomers who normally avoid rule-heavy table-hogs.
Some of these mechanics definitely change things up in a cool way; yellow cables, for example, have decimal numbers, adding some wildcards into the mix as they can prevent you from making accurate guesses, identified by yellow markers on the shared board which indicate where they might be. There are also equipment cards, which are numbered, and unlock based on successfully identifying all four of the same numbered cables. They do things like allowing you to guess multiple cables at once or reducing your explosion timer to undo a bad decision.
The key, as it always is with games like this, is communication. Of course, it’s tempting in Bomb Busters to react when your friends make certain decisions, but you ideally shouldn’t be helping each other too much, and certainly not giving away your own hidden cables. In our games, even somebody implying something was enough for somebody to figure out what they meant, which kind of forced us to restart (or feel a bit grubby for winning). Still, it is surprisingly intense; when a clutch cable cut has to be made, there is genuine tension around the table that is palpable, and it’s a lot of fun.
Beyond the training missions, there are a further 58 missions hidden in boxes (66 in total), each including different twists on the formula to keep it interesting. In one, you can only combine wire numbers in a specific order, again limiting your options. Others have different objectives, or additional equipment that must be factored in to succeed. With missions taking 20-30 minutes, that’s a lot of replayability included in the box. While our team of 3 defusers was fun, it did mean that one of us always had to have two sets of cable tiles in front of us instead of one; four may indeed be the sweet spot for Bomb Busters, but we still had a fun time anyway.
Sometimes, a board game doesn’t need to overload you with complex systems to still be a fun experience, and Bomb Busters is a testament to that. While it may look cute and simple, the tactical process of elimination that comes with successfully defusing bombs makes for a tense and thrilling time at the table, with plenty of missions to keep you busy and further enhance the concept. Just don’t cut the red wire.
Bomb Busters is available now in all good board game stores. Thanks to VR Distribution for providing a copy for this review.