Keep Talking and
Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015) is a brain-communication game where you’re confronted with a bomb on the screen that has to be defused, requiring a series of modules to be disarmed. The bomb defuser player can see and operate the bomb but the other players, who have the defuse instructions, can’t. The bomb defuser must describe the bomb and the other players look up how to defuse it from the bomb manual. If the time runs out, the bomb explodes and you all lose. This simple premise works across different ages and levels of experience because it can quickly be understood by anyone.

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Played with a parent at the bomb controls and children consulting the manual on how to defuse it, this creates a reversal of power. Suddenly the ones with the knowledge, children must develop ways of communicating the right information clearly. This can start with some frustration, as they want parents to somehow automatically know what to do. But over time they learn to listen carefully to the bomb defuser’s description of the bomb and then find the right answers in the manual to help the parent or carer progress.

With an optional VR mode, the game gets even more immersive for the defuser player which makes it exciting to take turns wearing the headset.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 5 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 3 months ago.