A satisfying and rewarding logic deduction experience packed into a short play time
Double-layered give-and-take gameplay elevates this above other one-dimensional deduction games
58 different missions to go through, unlocking new content and twists along the way
Highly replayable. Can pick one mission and replay it indefinitely if desired
Plays well at all player counts, although the experience does differ from one end to the other
Downsides
Setup is slightly involved. Can't just pull off the shelf and play on a whim
In a nutshell...
Bomb Busters is now my all-time favorite logic deduction game. It's thinky yet cozy, challenging but not frustrating, highly replayable and engaging every time. If you like The Crew or Hanabi, you can't miss this one because Bomb Busters is everything good about the genre. It's fun and it's never leaving my collection.
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The deduction genre is among my favorites, and I'm always on the lookout for a high-quality game that's challenging, satisfying, replayable, without being overly fiddly, luck-based, or too difficult. I want to work for it, but I don't want it to feel like work. And up until now, The Search for Planet X has been the gold standard of deduction games for me.
Spoiler alert: While I still love The Search for Planet X as my go-to game for competitive logical deduction, Bomb Busters has supplanted it as my favorite logical deduction game of all time. I played it a dozen times in the first weekend I opened it, and I'm still playing it at least once a night with my partner. There's so much to love about it. It's impressive.
Let's dive into what Bomb Busters is, how it plays, why I find it so addictively fun, and everything you need to know to decide whether this will also be a game that's right up your alley. Or not.
This review is based on my own personal copy of Bomb Busters, which I bought new from Gamers Guild AZ. Not a free review copy.
Bomb Busters is a cooperative deduction game where you're trying to eliminate number tiles by matching the ones in your hand with the ones in your teammates' hands, while avoiding the dangerous tiles mixed in. You only see your own tiles, so you need to use logic to deduce what's in each teammate's hand. That's the basic gist of it.
In Bomb Busters, there are 48 Blue number tiles, ranging from 1 to 12 with four copies of each number. These tiles are randomly dealt out to players, and you place them in your stand in sorted, ascending order. This is the key to deduction in this game. It's how you know where tiles can or can't be.
On your turn, you must "cut a wire" by matching one of the tiles in your hand with a tile from someone else's hand. To do this, you point at a tile—without seeing what it is—and say a number. (You have to have that number in your own hand, too.) If that tile is that number, the tile is cut and you also get to cut the matching tile from your hand. If it isn't correct, then it stays uncut but the tile's actual number is revealed. Also, the bomb countdown ticks down. If the countdown reaches zero, you all lose.
Alternatively, if a pair of number tiles has been cut and you have the remaining two tiles of that number, you can perform a "solo cut" and simply cut both from your hand. (And in the rare case that all four copies of a number tile are in your hand, you can "solo cut" those as well.)
So, how do you start making deductions? Well, at the start of the game, each player gets to provide one hint about their hand: the exact number of one tile in their hand. You can learn a lot just from knowing the number of a tile, as it also tells you that all tiles on one side are higher and all tiles on the other side are lower. (Remember, tiles in a hand are sorted from 1 to 12!) And when you combine the hints from all players, you can glean where certain tiles are and where they aren't. It gives everyone a starting point.
Now for the wrench in the works: You aren't just dealing with Blue number tiles, but there are also Yellow and Red tiles mixed in. Yellow tiles are numbered 1.1 through 11.1 and Red tiles are numbered 1.5 through 11.5. There's only one copy of each Yellow and Red tile (as opposed to four copies of each Blue tile), and only a few Yellow and Red tiles are used during a game (randomly drawn at the start). You know which Yellow and Red tiles are in play, but they're dealt out and sorted alongside the Blue tiles.
In order to cut a Yellow wire, you have to point at a tile and say, "Yellow." If it's correct, then that tile gets cut and you also cut your own Yellow tile; if it's wrong, then it stays uncut but gets revealed as a Yellow, and the bomb countdown ticks down. As for the Red tiles, they can never be cut. If you ever incorrectly cut a tile and it turns out to be Red, you instantly lose!
Lastly, Bomb Busters provides a few extra tools to help you make your logical deductions. First, each player has a one-time "Double Detector" ability, where you can point to two different tiles. If either tile matches your spoken number, then it's a successful cut. Second, there are shared Equipment abilities that anyone can use. Each Equipment has a corresponding number on it, and the ability only becomes available once a pair of tiles in that number has been successfully cut.
If everyone can successfully cut all tiles belonging to all players (other than the Red tiles), then it's a shared victory! Otherwise, it's a shared failure.
Bomb Busters walks you through all of this with a series of eight training missions, with the final training mission ("Final Exam") being the full, standard game. You could enjoy Bomb Busters by simply playing the Final Exam mission over and over forever, but there are an additional 58 missions you can play through as well. Scroll down to "Achievements and Progression" section later in this review for more on that.
Setup and Table Footprint
My one major complaint—seriously, my only one—about Bomb Busters is that there's more setup time than I'd like for a game like this. From box to table, it can take about 6 to 10 minutes.
Components used in the base game. Later missions also unlock extra components that also get mixed into the setup process.
That's because you have to distribute stands and Character cards to each player, then take out the main board, then take out all the cardboard pieces from all their baggies (Blue, Yellow, and Red tiles, plus hint tokens, completion tokens, Yellow and Red marker tokens), then shuffle up and draw Equipment cards. All of this is pre-mission stuff.
Then you have to actually pick a mission, which has its own unique setup rules. You shuffle up and draw random Yellow and Red tiles for the game, mix them in with the Blue tiles, flip all the tiles over so they're face-down, shuffle them together, then deal tiles out to all players, who then load their tiles onto their stands. If the mission involves any special components, this is when you'd set them up as well.
Okay, I'm making it sound worse than it is. Each step is quite simple and doesn't take very long, but it's a minor hassle when all you want to do is sit down for a quick game.
Fortunately, the table footprint of Bomb Busters is pretty darn reasonable. Each player gets a stand of tiles—some players might get two stands at certain player counts—and you just need a little more space for the main board, which could be smaller but isn't terribly big. Apart from that, all you need is enough table space to do a "wash shuffle" on the tiles.
Learning Curve
One of the best things about Bomb Busters is that it comes with eight training missions that walk you through the basics, slowing introducing the different mechanisms so you aren't overwhelmed. The full game isn't difficult or overly complex, but I appreciate the walk-up anyway.
The first mission starts with a reduced set of Blue tiles to teach you how to cut wires. Later missions expand to the full set of Blue tiles, then incorporate Yellow tiles, then Red tiles, then Equipment cards, then a few other quirks and twists to gameplay that could crop up in future missions. The progression eases you in and makes it all easy to grasp.
More importantly, it's not just teaching you how to play, but also teaching you different techniques you can use to deduce tiles. By going through the training missions, you're equipping yourself with the tools you need to succeed—and that just makes the game that much more enjoyable.
And you know what? If you're playing with someone who can't handle games with even a pound of complexity, you can just stick to one of the simplified training missions and play it over and over. You don't have to move on, and that makes Bomb Busters pretty adaptable.
Game Experience
Decision Space
To me, the greatest thing about Bomb Busters is that there are two layers to the deductive gameplay. If you want to succeed as a team, everyone needs to balance these two layers and not just go for the obvious moves.
The first layer of Bomb Busters: What can you deduce? The deduction in this game is super engaging, and that's because while the game offers you a few different tools for making deductions, it's up to you to figure out which tools to use, when to use them, and how to piece together info fragments.
For starters, you know that all tiles in a player's stand are sorted, lowest to highest. If someone reveals a 12 but they have another tile in their stand after that 12, it has to be another 12. Similarly, if someone reveals that their third tile is a 1, then the first and second tiles also have to be 1s. Due to sorting, those tiles can't be anything else.
If my teammate's third tile is a 1, then the first two also have to be 1s. I know this because I know the tiles on their stand are sorted, plus there aren't any tiles lower than 1.
Now let's say you're in a four-player game. Adam has a 1 tile and 2 tile, Brian has a 1 tile and 3 tile, Chad has a 2 tile but an unrevealed tile below that one, and you have an unrevealed 1 tile. It's impossible for either Adam or Brian to have another 1 tile, so Chad must have it. You can only know this because Adam's 2 tile and Brian's 3 tile are revealed along with their 1s, proving that neither has another 1.
A lot of the deduction in Bomb Busters comes down to process of elimination, realizing that certain hidden tiles in a stand simply can't be X or must be Y, then combining info from multiple stands to eliminate possibilities across all players. But what's fascinating is that every player has access to extra info that no one else knows: their own hand of tiles. This means there are certain deductions that only you can make, and it's up to you to make those deductions when no one else can.
An Equipment card needs to be released (by cutting a pair of tiles of that number) before it can be used. These Equipment cards help when you're stuck.
Of course, sometimes you get painted into a corner. You always have to cut a wire on your turn. But maybe all the obvious deductions have already been revealed and you don't have enough info to eliminate another tile. In that case, you can take a stab in the dark—or you can use one of the special one-time Equipment abilities. These let you do things like: cut a tile without ticking down the bomb countdown if you're wrong, swap a tile from your stand with a tile from someone else's stand, guess two numbers when cutting a tile, put out a free hint for one of your tiles, etc.
Using the right ability at the right time in the right way to get the most value out of it? That's a skill in itself. Even when you're stuck, you have ways to dig yourself out... if you haven't previously squandered them.
The second layer of Bomb Busters: What can you reveal to help others deduce? While Bomb Busters is technically a deduction game, I'd argue that this second layer is actually more important, and it's the reason why this game stands out above other deduction games.
If this were your starting hand, which tile would you give as a hint to your teammates?
For example, the very first decision you make in Bomb Busters is to give a hint about your own hand—the exact numerical value of one Blue tile. Which tile are you going to reveal?
If your last tile is a 10, you could point that out, letting everyone know that you don't have any 11s or 12s.
If you have two 1s, your hint might be that your second tile is a 1, which also lets everyone know that your first tile is a 1 (because it can't be anything else).
If there's an Equipment you want to unlock early, you might point to that tile in your stand. Then, anyone could match that tile whenever they want, opening up more options and tools for deduction.
If the highest Red tile in the game is a 4.5, you might point your hint to your 5 tile. This lets everyone know that none of the tiles above your 5 tile can be Red and that they should take extra care with lower tiles.
You'd be surprised how much info can be gleaned from a single hint, and how much more info can be pieced together from multiple hints.
But here's another way to give info. When you cut a tile, you point to a player's tile and claim a number. If it's correct, it gets revealed—and then you get to reveal a matching tile from your own hand. Now, here's the fun bit: if you have multiples of that tile, you get to decide which one to reveal.
When I successfully cut someone else's 1 tile, I get to choose which of my own 1s to reveal. Revealing the third of my 1s gives the most info, allowing my teammates to deduce that my lowest two tiles are also 1s. They can't be anything else.
So, if you have three 1s and you successfully cut Adam's 1 tile, which of your 1s are you going to reveal? The lowest one? No! That would imply you don't have any more 1s. You should instead reveal your highest 1 tile, which tells others that you have two more 1s below it. (Again, due to sorting, deductive logic says those two tiles can't be anything other than 1s.)
In a single stroke, you've eliminated Adam's 1, one of your own 1s, and made it clear that you hold the remaining two 1s. These kinds of high-value moves are crucial to success in Bomb Busters.
But that's not all. In Bomb Busters, there are times when you know multiple tiles in someone's hand or across multiple players' hands. You can safely and confidently cut any of them as you wish. So, which one should you cut next? Well, the one that gives the most info to everyone else, of course!
Suppose two 10s and two 11s have already been cut, all the 12s have been cut, and you have a 10 and an 11 in your hand. Maybe you deduce that Chad has the remaining 10 and 11 in his stand. Meanwhile, Adam and Brian don't know where the final 10s and 11s are. You're the only one who knows that they're held between you and Chad.
Then, do you cut Chad's 11 and reveal your 11? Doing so would only tell Adam and Brian about the 11s. But if you cut Chad's 10 and reveal your own 10, the remaining gaps in your stands also show Adam and Brian info about your hands—maybe even enough for them to figure out that you and Chad each possess an 11 waiting to be cut.
I can't solo cut these two Yellows until they're the last remaining Yellow tiles, but I should cut them as soon as I can because they give a lot of info.
And don't forget about "solo cutting" in Bomb Busters, where you can cut a pair of tiles from your own hand if they're the last remaining tiles of that number. Solo cuts are great because you can save them for when you get painted into a corner and don't know enough to do anything else. Instead of taking stabs in the dark, you just cut your own tiles.
But solo cuts can be tactical, too. If your hand has mostly uncut tiles, other players will have trouble deducing what you have—and at times like that, a smart solo cut (especially with middle numbers like 5 through 8) can provide a ton of info to everyone.
My point is, there's a lot to think about in Bomb Busters and many ways to maneuver your way around missing info. This double-layered gameplay is what makes it so compelling and engaging.
Luck Factor
Yep, there's some luck in Bomb Busters, but don't let that scare you away. Normally I'd ding a deduction game for luck that can non-trivially affect how it plays, but I find it pretty interesting here.
In Bomb Busters, all the tiles get shuffled at the start and dealt out to players—and the game can actually be easier or harder depending on how those tiles are distributed. If you get four 10s in your hand, you can solo cut them with zero effort. If all the Yellows and Reds come to you, your hand becomes that much more dangerous for others to work through.
Sometimes you just get dealt a lucky hand, which makes the mission easier. It can go the other way, too. But that variance keeps it interesting, if you ask me.
In other words, even if you replay the same mission again and again, the difficulty fluctuates. Sometimes it's easier, sometimes it's harder. But it doesn't bother me because I never feel like it's impossible. The rules of deduction are always the same, and you can always figure things out if you use all the tools at your disposal to best effect.
Yes, there will be times when it's your turn and you can't deduce anything because you don't have enough info, so you're forced to make an educated guess and hope for the best. The thing is, I've found that if you ever end up in a situation like that, it's because someone—or multiple people—made some bad decisions leading up to that moment. Part of the charm of Bomb Busters is trying not to corner yourself like that.
There's also a bit of luck with which Equipments are available for a game because they're randomly selected at the start and some Equipments are just better than others. While it isn't game-breaking, it is another thing that can make the same mission easier or harder on replay.
Fun Factor
I'm totally smitten by Bomb Busters. It gets my brain firing on all cylinders in such a satisfying way, and it's exactly what I've always wanted in a cooperative deduction game. It's thinky without being overwhelming, and it's pleasant so I don't feel like my brain is fried after a game.
This bomb countdown ticks whenever anyone makes a mistake. It can get real tense when you're down to your last lifeline! And don't forget there are Red tiles, which can instantly end the game if they're ever cut. You're never totally safe.
And there's an exhilarating rush when you get down to the last few tiles and successfully manage to clear them. You all share a sigh of relief, knowing that you've all played an important role in that victory, and that the victory was earned. On the flip side, when you blow up, it's disappointing but not frustrating. When I lose, I just want to shuffle up and try again.
But you should know that Bomb Busters is generally quiet while playing. Everyone's in their own heads, processing what's going on while trying to deduce what they can. There's limited communication and most of the tension is internal, so don't go into this thinking it's some boisterous affair with loud discussions and table talk. It's not that kind of game.
Pacing
Bomb Busters is wonderfully paced, ebbing and flowing over the course of a game as various factors shift in and out.
At the start, you have very little to go off—just the individual hints that each player is allowed to give. Your options are limited until more tiles are revealed, and each revealed tile gives you just a little more to work with. When you make a misstep, your options close off again; when you make a great play, it opens back up for everyone. And when you accidentally cut an incorrect tile? Your lifeline ticks down, and each tick makes you feel just a bit more suffocated as the pressure bears down on you.
Once you've used your one-time character ability, it gets flipped over to show you can't use it anymore. It's funny how much more constricted you feel once you've used your character ability, or when the Equipment cards are all spent.
Same goes for the Equipment abilities. You start with none, but they unlock one by one as you're able to cut their respective tiles. When they're available, you feel safer because you know you can rely on them if you're ever in a pickle. But once players use them, they're gone... and the tension wraps around you again as you're left with fewer safety options.
As far as downtime between turns? Yeah, expect some. Players are going to be in thought, calculating tile possibilities and running through options, and it might take a while at times. But it's not bad! I go into every deduction game expecting some degree of downtime—it comes with the territory. Plus, it's not like I'm sitting there with thumbs twiddling. I can use that downtime to think through my own deductions for my next turn.
Player Interaction
Interactivity in Bomb Busters is hard to describe. On the one hand, you're working through the puzzle of the current mission in your head, alone, unable to communicate with anyone else. You use what they've done to inform your actions, but you have your own unique perspective that means there are certain deductions that only you can make. Everyone is independently playing their own angle on the same puzzle.
But there's ample amount of cooperation, even if it is silent. You're giving information with every action, and it's your responsibility to give good info—good enough to help others make further deductions. You can only make a certain number of mistakes before the bomb explodes, so every mistake feels big... and it impacts everyone else. Not to mention the instant-loss Red tiles. One bad move can derail the mission for everyone.
Player Counts
No doubt, Bomb Busters is harder with more players. That's just the nature of the beast when limited information gets divvied up across more and more people. Don't get me wrong: I love the game at all counts! But it's certainly a different experience with less versus more.
At two players, you each have two stands, which means you have more information at your disposal. In fact, you have perfect information because you know that any tile that isn't in your hand is in your partner's hand—you just don't know which stand. Perfect information makes deduction easier, but Bomb Busters does makes some tweaks to balance things out somewhat: you only start with two hints, you only have two Equipment, and each mission has more Yellows and Reds.
At two players, both players have two stands. At three players, the Captain player has two stands. The game is certainly different when you have this much more info in front of you, but it's still fun and challenging in its own way.
At four and five players, things are balanced in the other direction: you have more hints at the start (since each player gets to give one), you have more Equipment options (one per player), and fewer Yellows and Reds. Even so, it's noticeably harder due to the lack of perfect info, plus having to wait multiple turns between your own guesses (unlike with two players, where you get to alternate guesses back and forth), plus the fact that one weak player can drag down the entire team with mistakes.
Most of my own plays have been at two players and I've been having an absolute blast with Bomb Busters. Just because it's easier doesn't make it less interesting—it's just a different type of game. The sweet spot is probably four players? But it's fantastic at all other player counts.
Replayability
Like all the best deduction games, Bomb Busters is extremely replayable due to its clever, robust design. If you've ever played The Search for Planet X, The Crew, Hanabi, or even Codenames, then you know what I'm talking about—the gameplay is "the same" every time, with the only difference being initial setup, but it's the gameplay itself that hooks you. The variable setup is just there to mix things up with a new puzzle for you to figure out.
There's a lot of depth to Bomb Busters (see more on this in the "Decision Space" section above) and it has a satisfying game arc (see the "Fun Factor" and "Pacing" sections above) without being a full-blown brain burner. It's pleasant, it's engaging, and it's fair. When I lose, I want to try again because I know I lost on my own mistakes; when I win, I know it's because my teammates and I put our heads together and earned it.
All in all, Bomb Busters is a rewarding experience that I repeatedly come back to. Lately I've resorted to leaving it unpacked on my game table because we love sitting down to a game or two every night after dinner. And forgive the weird comparison, but Bomb Busters actually scratches a very similar mental itch as Welcome To (another favorite of mine), except this one also has that cooperative appeal. This is an all-time great for me.
Achievements and Progression
Bomb Busters could've just been the eight training missions, with the Final Exam mission as the full game, and it would've still been one of my favorite deduction games with just that. But it comes with an additional 58 missions—split across five content boxes that you unlock along the way—that introduce new elements that tweak the gameplay in fun ways.
To be clear, a "mission" in Bomb Busters isn't a one-and-done thing. You can replay any given mission an infinite number times, so it's kind of a misnomer. Each mission is the same game but with a custom ruleset. Think of a game like Super Smash Bros., where you can toggle custom options like low gravity, special items, one-hit kills, time limit, stage hazards, etc. It's the same idea here. (I don't want to spoil it with examples.) You can go through them or ignore them. It's totally up to you.
This award sticker is unlocked when you beat the training missions. It goes right on the game box as a permanent reminder of your achievement.
One thing I will say, though, is that Bomb Busters has more than just extra missions to play around with. As you unlock the content boxes, you aren't just finding things like more Equipment cards or unique gameplay twists. You also get stickers for the rulebook, permanently adding new rules; stickers for player stands, so you can customize your own; stickers for the game box itself, as trophies to show off your progress and achievements.
I typically don't like progression-style content in non-campaign games, but for some reason it works here. It's reminiscent of Dorfromantik and it evokes in me a strong emotional attachment to my copy of this game. I'm quite fond of it and it makes me happy every time I see the box.
Production Quality
Bomb Busters may not have "deluxified" components, but the overall production is fantastic. It's pleasing to look at, it feels great to play, it's packed with content, and it all comes together to make for an enjoyable experience. The more you play it, the more you appreciate it.
One glance and you can see that the tiles in this game are unique. I've never seen anything like it. They're neither plastic nor cardboard, at least not the kind of cardboard you normally see in board games. They're closer in feel to cardstock than cardboard, but much thicker than cardstock. The size and shape are perfect for sorting on a stand, they're easy enough to wash shuffle, and they're legible even from a distance.
If I have one (very minor) complaint, it'd be with the tile stands. They're made of thin plastic and one of my stands is warped a bit. They could also be a little snugger at holding the tiles, as I've accidentally knocked tiles over with the slightest bump. But if you're careful, it's not a big deal.
I love the art, theme, and vibe. It doesn't take itself too seriously, nor is it overly comical to the point of cringe. It's inviting, it's colorful, and it sets the right mood for a game that's both tense and forgiving. Who doesn't like the idea of working together to defuse a cartoony bomb?
The layout and production of the main board is quite clever, helping to grease the gears of the game. It cleanly tells you everything you need to know about the mission and it tracks all the progress you make. Have you cut all the 8 tiles? Mark the 8 on the board so you don't have to keep track of that yourself. Bomb Busters takes care of everything so you can focus all your mental energy on what's important: deducing stuff.
And everything goes cleanly back into the box. Bomb Busters comes with several baggies to hold all the components—including the new content you unlock along the way—and I think baggies work well for this game, allowing you to isolate the core bits from the special mission bits. Lastly, the box size is perfect, neither too big nor small for what it is. I love that.
The Bottom Line
I'm seriously impressed by Bomb Busters. It's now my all-time favorite logic deduction game, barely edging out The Search for Planet X because it's faster and cooperative. (I still love Planet X, too!)
Bomb Busters is challenging, rewarding, pleasant, dare I say cozy. It's thinky and engaging without being brain burny or frustrating. I've played dozens of times and I still keep coming back to it. In fact, I'm trying to wrap up this review so I can go play it some more.
If you like The Crew or Hanabi and you want something that has a smidge more meat to it, a little less luck, and an even greater satisfying rush when you play your last turn to victory, then don't miss this one. Bomb Busters is the next step up, a near-perfect iteration that builds on the best aspects of this genre with its own fun and interesting twists.
