Oh no, there’s a bomb set to “almost explode”! Don’t call me, because as a self-proclaimed common thread I have a short fuse and the patience of a ticking time bomb. But who are you going to call then? Bomb Busters! This cooperative game has already won several awards, but is it really “the bomb” or more of a “dud”?
Background
They wanted the best team, they got YOU! This tagline on the Bomb Busters game box already says a lot—perhaps painfully—about my abilities when it comes to defusing bombs, or about teamwork in games where you’re only allowed limited communication. What I find logical doesn’t necessarily make sense to other players. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy these games. On the contrary, I love cooperative games where you have to extract information and help each other along with clever hints.
What I also love are games that offer new challenges throughout their lifespan in the form of unlockable game materials, such as new missions, rules, modules, and so on. Bomb Busters has plenty of that too, but more on that later.
Gameplay
Bomb Busters is the new cooperative hit from 999 Games and an evolved version of the Japanese game Bomb Squad. In this game, players take on the roles of colorful, cute animals who work together to defuse a bomb. Players must cleverly cut wires without causing the bomb to explode prematurely. If they manage to cut all the correct wires without hitting the red wire, they win the mission!
At the start of the game, players set up the board and choose a mission card. The mission card explains the specific rules for that mission. The first three missions serve as a tutorial to learn the game mechanics; from mission four onward, it’s time for the real challenge. As you play through missions, you get to open surprise boxes that introduce new missions and gameplay elements, which add extra variety.
Essentially, the setup for each game—depending on the mission—is largely the same. The box contains a set of 48 normal (blue) wire tiles, numbered 1 to 12 (four of each value), along with some yellow and red wire tiles. These are distributed and players place the tiles in ascending order on their stands.
Although each mission is a little different, the goal is always the same: go through all 12 numbers without exploding!
Players take turns pointing at each other’s wires and guessing their values if they also have a tile with that value themselves. If the guess is correct, the wires are cut and the two tiles are revealed. This provides more information about where certain values might be. If you’re the only player with a certain value, you get to reveal all of those tiles. If wires are not cut correctly, the ticking time bomb’s counter moves closer to explosion! If the red wire is cut, it’s game over. BOOM!
Verdict
Bomb Busters is a highly entertaining, family-friendly cooperative challenge. The gameplay is straightforward and the concept is easy to grasp. The missions start off fairly simple, but as you progress, the challenge increases. Players gradually learn the rules and different elements as they play. This makes for a solid game for an explosive cooperative night.
