In a disarm a bomb game like Bomb Appétit, the case counts as safe the moment every regular module is solved and its light turns green. Needy modules never count and never need finishing. Until that last green light, the bomb can still go off two ways: the timer reaches zero, or the strike limit is reached.
When does a disarm a bomb game count the bomb as safe?
The bomb is disarmed when the last regular module on the case is solved. That is the whole test. The time left on the clock and the number of strikes taken along the way do not change whether it counts, only how good the run looks afterwards.
A regular module is one of the eleven puzzle types the game deals onto a case: Wires, Big Button, Glyph Keypad, Color Echo, Word Grid, Recall, Blinker, Tangled Wires, Wire Panels, Labyrinth and Passcode. Each has its own page in the manual. A mission decides how many are on the bomb, from one on the first mission to fourteen on the biggest case.
Solving the last one ends the round at once. The countdown stops, the results appear and the run is saved. If a player is signed in, the server replays the run before it can appear on a leaderboard, which ranks by most time left, then fewest strikes. A guest's defusal counts just as much for the group; it simply is not ranked.
Green module lights: disarm progress the Experts can follow
Each module has a small status light. When the Defuser solves a module, its light turns green, and that is the only progress marker on the case. Counting green lights against the total tells the whole group how close the bomb is to disarmed.
On the Defuser's screen, the bar at the top shows the timer, the strikes taken against the limit, and a "Solved" count such as 2/4. In an online room, the Experts get a status line with the same three numbers, plus a sign when a needy module is awake. They never see the case itself, so the solved count is their only window into progress.
In one room with a printed manual, the Experts rely on the Defuser for that number. A good habit is for the Defuser to say it aloud after every green light: "Wires done, two of four." It costs one second and stops an Expert from reading out a page for a module that is already finished.
Where the bomb sits also affects how easily the Defuser can read those lights. A tablet propped up behind the Defuser is a common choice, and the guide to iPad coop games with the bomb on the tablet covers the angle and the screen settings.
Do needy modules have to be disarmed too?
No. Needy modules cannot be solved, so they never count toward the finish. They sleep, wake up, demand an answer within their own short timer, then sleep again. Answering one only keeps it from causing a strike. When the last regular module goes green, the needy ones stop mattering.
The three needy modules are Pressure Vent, which asks a yes or no question, Discharge Lever, which needs holding while a meter drains, and Dial Alignment, which wants the dial turned to match its lights. A needy module first wakes somewhere between 20 and 45 seconds after the bomb is armed, and after each answer it sleeps for 15 to 30 seconds. For how each one behaves while the rest of the case is being worked on, see what needy modules do while the others are being solved.
Needy modules first appear in the third section of the missions. Pressure cooker adds one, Back of house adds two, and Double shift carries three.
Two ways a bomb goes off before it is disarmed
A bomb explodes before it is disarmed in exactly two ways: the timer reaches zero, or the team takes as many strikes as the mission allows. Either one ends the round on the spot, no matter how many modules are already green.
A strike is a mistake: a wrong cut, a wrong press, or a needy module left too long. Each strike before the limit speeds the clock up, to 1.25 times normal after the first and 1.5 times after the second. The strike lights on the case show how many have landed; the Defuser's guide explains what three strike lights mean.
The table shows three missions as examples of how the limits differ. The values come from the mission list.
| Mission (example) | Modules | Time limit | Strike limit | What ends the round early |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strange symbols | 3 | 5:00 | 3 | The timer at zero or the third strike |
| No substitutions | 10 plus 1 needy | 10:00 | 2 | The timer at zero or the second strike |
| Bomb Appétit | 11 | 10:00 | 1 | The timer at zero or any single strike |
The last mission is also played with manual 2026 instead of the standard manual 1, so even players who know seed 1 well start that one cold.
The disarm mistake: relaxing while a needy module is still awake
The classic disarm mistake is easing off when one regular module remains. The group can feel the finish, attention narrows to the last puzzle, and a needy module wakes and runs out its timer unnoticed. On a mission with a low strike limit, that single strike can end everything.
Picture an invented example on No substitutions. Nine modules are green, one strike has already landed, and the Defuser is deep in the last Passcode. Pressure Vent wakes. Nobody says so. Its timer runs out, the second strike lands, and the bomb goes off with one module to go.
The fix is a standing job. Before the round, give one Expert the needy modules and nothing else to watch. Online, that Expert can follow the status line's needy sign. In one room, the Defuser should name a waking needy module the moment it lights up, even mid-sentence. The last minute of a round deserves more care, not less, and that holds whether the bomb runs in a browser or the group is comparing it with a bomb defusal board game.