# Printable Classroom Game: Manual Sets for Each Group

- Author: Bomb Appétit (https://bombappetit.com)
- Published: 2026-10-20
- Category: Printing the manual
- Canonical: https://bombappetit.com/blog/printable-classroom-game-manual-sets-each-group

> A printable classroom game needs one manual set per group, not per student. How many sheets to print, how to label sets and how to collect them for next year.
A printable classroom game like Bomb Appétit needs one printed manual set per group, not one per student. Split the class into groups of four or five, give each group one device for the bomb and one manual set for its Experts, then number every set so it comes back complete and ready for next year.

## How many copies does a printable classroom game need?

A printable classroom game of Bomb Appétit needs one manual set for every bomb in the room. Each bomb takes two to five players: one Defuser on a device and one to four Experts with the manual. So the number of sets equals the number of groups. Add one spare set for a lost or damaged page.

The manual has seventeen sections: an opening page, eleven modules, three needy modules, an edgework appendix and a glossary. Each section starts on a new sheet when printed. A section with a long table can spill onto a second sheet, so count the sheets from your own first print and use that figure for planning.

Here is a print-quantity table for three common class sizes. The sheets per set figure of 20 is an example only, chosen to allow for a few overflow pages. Replace it with the count from your test print.

| Class size | Group size | Groups (bombs)      | Manual sets | Sheets per set (example) | Total sheets (example) |
| ---------- | ---------- | ------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------- |
| 20         | 4          | 5                   | 5           | 20                       | 100                    |
| 20         | 5          | 4                   | 4           | 20                       | 80                     |
| 25         | 4          | 6 (one group of 5)  | 6           | 20                       | 120                    |
| 25         | 5          | 5                   | 5           | 20                       | 100                    |
| 30         | 4          | 7 (two groups of 5) | 7           | 20                       | 140                    |
| 30         | 5          | 6                   | 6           | 20                       | 120                    |

Add one spare set to whichever row fits your class. Printing double-sided cuts the sheet count, but a section can then begin on the back of the one before it, which makes splitting pages by module harder. Single-sided keeps every section on its own sheet.

Groups of four give one Defuser and three Experts. Groups of five give one Defuser and four Experts, which is the most a single bomb allows. With four Experts sharing one set, each can hold three or four module pages, and nobody sits idle.

## Printing classroom manual sets on a school printer

The cleanest way to print classroom sets is to save the manual once as a PDF, then send that file to the school printer with the number of copies you need. The manual's "Print or save as PDF" button opens the browser's print dialog, where saving to PDF is one of the choices.

Saving a PDF first has three advantages in a school:

- **One file, many copies.** You set the copy count once instead of printing from the browser six or seven times.
- **Same seed every time.** Every copy comes from the same file, so every group holds identical rules.
- **Easy to reuse.** Keep the PDF in your teaching files. Next term, print from it without opening the site.

The print layout is built for a black and white printer. The page colors switch to white backgrounds with black text and lines. Wherever a rule mentions a color, the color is written out as a word beside a small swatch. A grey copier therefore produces a fully usable manual, which matters on shared school machines where color printing is often limited.

Turn on collating in the print settings if your printer offers it. Collated copies come out as complete sets, one after another, rather than six copies of page one followed by six copies of page two. Sorting uncollated sets for a whole class takes far longer than the printing itself.

Check the seed before you print a single copy. The top of the first sheet reads "manual 1 (standard)" for the standard rules. Unless you have a reason to use another seed, standard is right for a class, because every mission but the last uses it and freeplay starts on it.

## Labelling and collecting each group's printed set

Label every set with a group number and the seed before handing it out, and collect it the same way. Write the number on the front sheet and in a corner of every page. Keep each set in its own numbered envelope, so pages that drift between groups go back where they belong.

A simple labelling scheme that survives a busy lesson:

1. Number the envelopes 1 to 7, or however many groups you have.
2. On each set's front sheet, write the group number and "Seed 1" in large print.
3. In the top corner of every other sheet, write the group number.
4. Put the set back in its envelope and place one envelope at each group's table.
5. At the end of the lesson, a named student per group counts the sheets back into the envelope.

Counting at the end catches losses while the class is still in the room. If a group's envelope is short, the missing page is usually under a desk nearby.

For storage between terms, keep the envelopes together in one box with the seed and the sheet count written on the lid. Before you reuse them next year, compare one module page against the same page on screen at [the standard manual](/manual/1). If they match, the stack is still good.

Students should write edgework notes on scrap paper, not on the manual. Edgework, the serial number, batteries, indicators and ports on the bomb's casing, changes with every bomb. Notes left in the margin confuse the next group that uses the set.

The wider approach to running a room full of groups is in the post on [classroom team building activities with a loud timer](/blog/classroom-team-building-activities-loud-timer). For how to rotate a full class through the roles, see [keeping thirty students busy with six bombs](/blog/classroom-team-building-activities-loud-timer#keeping-thirty-students-busy-with-six-bombs).

## Can a printable classroom game run with one device per group?

Yes. A printable classroom game of Bomb Appétit runs with a single device per group, because only the Defuser needs a screen. The device opens the bomb in a browser, and the group's Experts read their printed set. No accounts are needed, and nothing has to be installed on school machines.

The game runs in recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, on a computer, tablet or phone. The FAQ says the bomb is easiest to handle on a bigger screen, so a laptop or tablet suits the Defuser better than a phone in class. A classroom set of laptops or tablets covers the devices; the printed sets cover everything else.

Same-room play needs no online room. The Defuser opens [the Play page](/play), picks a mission, reads the manual number from the briefing screen to the Experts, and arms the bomb. The Experts sit facing away from the screen, so they can only learn about the bomb by asking. For the details on hardware, read [what devices a classroom bomb round needs](/blog/classroom-team-building-activities-loud-timer#what-devices-does-a-classroom-bomb-round-need).

The game has no classroom tools of its own. There is no teacher dashboard, no class list and no scoring across rounds. Each group plays its own bomb, and the teacher watches and listens. That keeps setup light, but it means the teacher runs the timing and the rotations by hand.

For a first lesson, keep every group on section 1 of the missions. First bite has one module and five minutes, so a group can finish it, swap the Defuser and play again inside a single activity block. Button up and Strange symbols add a second and third module at the same five minutes. All three use the standard manual, so the printed sets never need changing mid-lesson. If one group finishes early, let them try Table for three, which keeps three modules but trims the clock to four minutes.

A practical device plan for a class of 30 in groups of five is six devices and six printed sets, plus a spare set. Charge the devices before the lesson and test one bomb with one set beforehand.

## The printable classroom game mistake: one manual per student

The most common printable classroom game mistake is printing a manual for every student. It feels generous, but it wastes paper and makes the game worse. Bomb Appétit works because Experts share one manual and split its pages. Five full copies at one table means five people searching the same pages at once.

The manual itself says to split pages between Experts so two people never search for the same thing. A shared set enforces that naturally. Each Expert takes a few modules and becomes the person the group turns to for them. The Defuser learns to say which module they are describing, and the right Expert answers.

With one copy per student, those habits never form. Everyone flips to Wires at the same moment. Three voices read the same rule at slightly different speeds. The Defuser gets three instructions and has to pick one. The group learns less about listening and more about talking over each other.

The paper cost scales the wrong way too. In the example figures above, a class of 30 with one set per group needs about 120 sheets. One copy per student would be 600 at the same example count of 20 sheets.

The same logic holds outside school. An office planning a lunch round, covered in [printable games for adults at work](/blog/printable-games-for-adults-at-work-lunch-bomb), prints one set per team. A party host following the [printable holiday party games office bomb round](/blog/printable-holiday-party-games-office-bomb-round) plan prints one per station. One bomb, one set, every time.