How to Play BOMBANANA!: Rules, Setup and Your First Bomb

BOMBANANA! is a 3-player online co-op bomb defusal game: a blind monkey, a deaf monkey and a mute monkey each hold part of the information needed to defuse a bomb. One player touches the bomb but cannot see it, one player reads the manual but cannot speak, and one player sees and speaks but cannot hear. Defuse before the timer hits zero.

The Three Roles

The blind monkey physically handles the bomb. It can feel the panel, press buttons and read braille markings by touch, but it cannot see anything on screen.

The mute monkey holds the defusal manual. It knows every rule, but it cannot talk - it answers yes or no by nodding or shaking its head.

The deaf monkey sees and speaks but cannot hear. It describes what is on the bomb, asks the questions, and listens to nothing - so all rules must reach it visually from the mute player's nods.

A Live Bomb, Step by Step

  • The deaf player describes the panel: module type, colors, numbers, light states.
  • The deaf player asks a yes/no question aimed at the mute player, who knows the rule.
  • The mute player nods or shakes: yes means the proposed answer is correct.
  • The deaf player translates the confirmed answer into an instruction for the blind player.
  • The blind player executes by touch and reports the new panel state by feel.
  • Repeat until the module is disarmed - then the next panel starts immediately.

What Makes It Hard

Every answer crosses two people before it becomes an action, and the timer makes every wasted word expensive. The game's own accessibility options - keyboard-only, mouse-only and a no-timed-input mode - change how strict that timer is, but the relay is always the real opponent.

The module panels also change state as you work them. A correct input can immediately invalidate the previous answer, which is why the deaf player should re-describe the panel after every action instead of assuming the old answer still holds.

Settings Worth Changing First

  • Agree before round one: numbers count from the left, colors are named exactly as printed.
  • Use the no-timed-input accessibility option for your first campaign sessions while the relay is still slow.
  • Keep the mute player's answers to nods - do not invent workarounds that break the role rules.
  • Play a few Custom bombs with only Cable panels before touching the full 30-level campaign.

FAQ

How many players does BOMBANANA need?

Exactly three. The blind, deaf and mute roles only work as a triangle - there is no two-player or single-player mode.

Is BOMBANANA voice chat required?

The deaf player must speak to relay answers, so some voice channel between deaf and blind players is needed. The mute player never speaks - external voice chat for rule lookups is pointless by design.