# Local Co Op Campaign Games: The Missions at One Table

- Author: Bomb Appétit (https://bombappetit.com)
- Published: 2026-10-20
- Category: Missions and leaderboards
- Canonical: https://bombappetit.com/blog/local-co-op-campaign-games-missions-at-one-table

> Local co op campaign games at one table: where the bomb screen goes, who holds the manual, and which Bomb Appétit missions suit a shared room best.
Local co op campaign games bring everyone into one room for a run of missions. Bomb Appétit's 20 missions play well at one table if the bomb screen faces only the Defuser and the Experts read the manual on phones, a tablet or paper. Most missions fit a laptop; Double shift's bigger case wants a bigger screen.

## Why a local co op campaign needs the bomb screen turned away

A local campaign only works if the Experts cannot see the bomb. The whole game rests on that split: the Defuser sees the bomb, the Experts see the manual, and nobody sees both. At one table, a glance at the wrong screen gives away a wire color or a symbol and skips the talking.

The game's own same-room setup says it plainly: turn the bomb screen away from the Experts. Online, the game enforces the split for you, since an Expert's screen in a room shows only the timer, the strike count and how many modules are solved. At one table, there is nothing but the furniture to keep eyes off the bomb, so where people sit is part of the setup.

The simplest arrangement puts the Defuser at one end of the table with the laptop's screen facing the wall behind them, and the Experts along the sides or across from them. The Experts should be close enough to hear every word without being close enough to see past the lid. A sofa works the same way: the Defuser in an armchair turned slightly away, the Experts on the couch.

Over a campaign, the turned-away screen matters more each night. The early bombs have one to four modules and are quick to describe. The later ones have up to fourteen modules plus needy ones, and a peek at a crowded case gives away far more. Setting the room up properly on night one builds the habit before it counts. Our general advice on [screens and seating for a browser bomb](/blog/how-to-host-a-game-night-browser-bomb#screens-and-seating-for-a-browser-bomb) covers the same idea for any game night.

## Which local campaign missions fit a laptop, and which want a bigger screen?

Nineteen of the 20 missions use the small 3x2 case and play comfortably on a laptop. Double shift is the only mission on the bigger 4x3 case, with fourteen modules and three needy ones, and it is far easier to read on a larger screen. A tablet or phone works for small bombs but gets cramped later.

The case sizes describe the grid of slots on each face of the bomb. The 3x2 case has three columns and two rows on each of its two faces, twelve slots in all, with one slot on the front always holding the timer. That leaves room for eleven panels. The 4x3 case has twelve slots per face, twenty-four in all, enough for Double shift's seventeen panels.

Bombs with five or fewer panels fit entirely on the front face of the small case, so the Defuser never needs to turn them. Rush hour is the first mission with a module on the back, and Back of house, with ten panels, puts five of them there; its description even tells the Defuser to check the back. Every late mission means turning the bomb, which is slower on a small touch screen.

The game also offers both a 3D and a 2D view of the bomb, and the changelog's advice is to pick whichever one your device handles better. Try both on the bomb device before the campaign starts. The FAQ notes that the bomb is easiest to handle on a bigger screen while the manual reads well on anything, which is the right rule for planning devices at a table.

### One-room layout checklist

Use this list before the first mission of a local campaign night:

- **The bomb device:** a laptop for Sections 1 to 3; a laptop on a large monitor, or a large tablet, for Double shift if you have one.
- **The bomb's position:** at the Defuser's end of the table, screen facing away from every Expert.
- **The manual devices:** one phone or tablet per Expert, each opened to the manual with the same rule seed as the bomb, or a printout.
- **Seating:** Experts within easy hearing of the Defuser, none of them behind the Defuser's shoulder.
- **Rule seed check:** seed 1 for nineteen missions; the final mission uses seed 2026, so anyone on paper needs a second printout for it.
- **Power:** chargers within reach of the bomb device, since a section can run over an hour.
- **Bigger screen needed for:** Double shift. Nice to have for Back of house, The works and No substitutions, which put modules on both faces.

## Manual on phones or paper for a local campaign night?

Phones are the easiest choice for most tables, because each Expert already has one and the manual reads well on a small screen. Paper suits a group that wants no screens beside the bomb, or Experts who like to mark pages. A tablet sits between the two, with room to show a whole page at once.

The [standard manual](/manual/1) opens in any recent browser. On phones, each Expert can scroll to their own pages without fighting over one copy, which matters once a team splits the manual between people. The manual has a page for every module, an appendix on edgework and a glossary, so finding a page is a matter of scrolling or using the browser's find command.

Paper has its own advantages at a table. The game's FAQ says the manual prints cleanly in black and white from the browser's print command. A printed manual can be split physically, with each Expert holding the pages for their own modules, and nobody's phone lights up with a message mid-round. The cost is one more thing to check: the rule seed printed on the paper must match the bomb, and the final mission uses a different seed from the other nineteen.

A tablet is a good fit for a lone Expert in a small group, since a larger screen shows more of a page at once and the Expert can keep the edgework appendix in a second tab. For a group of three or four Experts, phones each are usually better than one shared tablet.

Whichever you pick, the same caution applies: check the seed on every manual before the bomb is armed. A manual on the wrong seed gives confident, wrong answers.

## Should a local campaign table still open a room?

Opening an online room is worth it even when everyone sits together. In a room, each Expert joins from their phone, sees the timer, strikes and solved count above the manual, and is recorded by name beside the Defuser when a signed-in Defuser's run reaches the board. Without a room, the board lists the run as solo.

The room is quick to set up at a table. The Defuser or host creates it from the [Play page](/play), reads out the five-letter code, and each Expert joins on their phone with a name. One person takes the Defuser seat, the host picks the mission, and the bomb arms on the Defuser's screen while every Expert's phone switches to the manual on the room's rule seed. That last part removes the seed check entirely.

The leaderboard has a filter for runs by a Defuser alone and runs with Experts. A run played on one laptop with the Experts reading phones but not in a room counts as solo, because the game only knows about Experts who joined. What those two labels mean on the board is explained in [what the Solo label means](/blog/gamers-leaderboard-who-gets-named#what-do-solo-and-with-experts-mean-on-the-leaderboard-filter).

A room also keeps the campaign moving between missions. After each bomb, the room returns to its lobby with the last result and a link to the details, and the host simply chooses the next mission. A group that later plays from different homes can use the same flow, which our post on [online co op campaign games over a call](/blog/online-co-op-campaign-games-missions-over-a-call) sets out night by night.

There is one reason not to bother: a single quick round with a guest who just wants to try it. For that, open a bomb on the laptop, hand over a phone with the manual, and play. If the table only has a few minutes, the five short Section 1 missions are the ones to reach for, as [quick online games to play with friends](/blog/quick-online-games-to-play-with-friends-five-minutes) explains.

## The local campaign mistake: the bomb in everyone's eyeline

The commonest local mistake is a bomb screen the Experts can see without trying. A laptop on a coffee table with everyone on the sofa, a TV mirror that seemed like a good idea, or a Defuser who turns the screen to point at something all give the bomb away.

A bomb on a shared TV is the worst version. It looks like a good way to let everyone watch, and it ends the game's central idea at once, since every Expert now sees every wire. If you want an audience, sit spectators behind the Defuser and keep the Experts in front.

Smaller leaks matter too. A window or a glass cabinet behind the Defuser can reflect the screen. A Defuser who tilts the laptop to show a symbol hands the Expert the answer instead of the description. A phone propped up as the bomb on a small table is often visible to the person beside it.

A good check before the first mission is to ask each Expert to describe what they can see of the bomb from their seat. If the answer is anything more than the back of a lid, move the chair. The talking is the game, and a clear sightline is what keeps it necessary.