Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Prepare one screen and separate manuals

This guide uses Steel Crate Games' unmodified Steam Windows base game in English, played together in one room without VR. Use a PC on a Windows version supported by the current Steam client, install and test the game before friends arrive, and provide its screen, mouse and power supply. A laptop with its own display is convenient. Do not use a shared TV that lets the Experts watch. Other computer, console, mobile and VR editions exist, but their controls and equipment are outside this setup.

Print the complete English Bomb Defusal Manual from bombmanual.com: the currently supplied Version 1 has 23 pages and verification code 241 on its cover. Bring one full copy for each Expert: one copy for two people, two for three, three for four. When the game asks for a manual verification code, use the code on the matching cover. If a later game update requests another version, obtain that manual before playing. This guide is the hosting explanation; the printed manual's diagrams and decision tables are essential equipment, not optional further reading.

Seat one Defuser facing the screen and one to three Experts behind its opaque back. Keep the printed pages facing the Experts. Test the sightlines from every seat and remove reflections or mirrored screens. Everyone needs to hear ordinary spoken instructions. Use chairs and a stable table; set game audio so the group can hear each other. A phone, headset, VR device, gamepad, internet voice call and physical props are not part of this main format. Downloading/installing and printing happen before the session; test that your installed copy launches.

Optional: paper and pens for Expert notes or page tabs for navigation. With several Experts, agree who will read the current instruction and who will check it; do not have three people issuing conflicting commands. Tell a newcomer what each role involves and let them choose their first role. Complete the in-game controls tutorial, then choose The First Bomb mission. Read its displayed time, module count and strike allowance together before the Defuser starts the attempt.

Describe, look up, confirm, act

Use the manual as new modules appear

Begin with the introductory mission instead of jumping into a friend's advanced save. Find an unfamiliar module by its picture and controls before issuing commands; similar-looking wire puzzles can have different pages. Keep the full manual available even if one familiar puzzle is easy.

Later bombs can include needy modules. These reactivate and need repeated attention rather than one permanent solution; use their separate manual section while continuing the other puzzles. Start with missions that your group understands, and read each new briefing. Free Play becomes available after completing The First Bomb and allows configurable bombs. Steam Workshop missions and modules need their own instructions and are outside this base-game guide.

Share the result and swap roles

This is one cooperating team, not a tournament between the Defuser and Experts. There are no individual points or tie-breaks in this hosting format: each attempt is either a successful defusal or a failed bomb, as the software reports. Success is shared by everyone involved.

After the result, stop to identify one description that worked and one misunderstanding to fix. Start another attempt if the group wants to continue; its puzzle details can change, so inspect and read again. Rotate the Defuser and redistribute Expert responsibilities only between attempts. This guide suggests finishing after every willing person has had one Defuser round; agree on another stopping point before starting if someone prefers to remain an Expert. No fixed whole-session duration is promised.

Keep the information gap fair

For symbols, describe visible features until both players agree on the same symbol; a nickname helps only when everyone understands it. For words that sound alike, spell exactly what is displayed. For spatial instructions, agree that left, right, top and bottom refer to the Defuser's current view of the selected module. Announce a change of module rather than letting an Expert continue solving the one you left.

When Experts disagree, stop issuing commands long enough to locate the relevant printed condition. The Defuser supplies observations; the manual supplies the puzzle instruction; the game registers the result. A strike is part of that attempt, not permission to rewind it. Community shortcuts and reorganized cheat sheets change the puzzle experience; this main format uses the full official manual.

Do not let Experts peek at the screen or show manual pages to the Defuser during a live attempt. If someone accidentally reveals the hidden information, this guide suggests abandoning that attempt and starting another, without recording it as a fair success. That is a house remedy, not an official software penalty. If a technical interruption makes the attempt unusable, stop and restart after fixing it; do not invent a successful result.

Clear speech is more useful than shouting. The game involves timed pressure, reading, visual distinctions and audible cues; seated play does not establish accessibility for every person. Offer breaks or a different activity if the timer is unpleasant. Free Play's module exclusions may help a particular group, but check what that person needs rather than promising universal access.

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