Bomb Draw

How to play

1. Know the goal: don't be the one who draws the bomb: There is one bomb fewer than players, shuffled into the draw pile. Players take turns drawing; draw a bomb with a wire cutter in hand and you defuse it, without one you're out. The last player standing wins. Everyone starts with 4 action cards and 1 wire cutter, and a danger meter under the pile always shows bombs left and cards left.
2. Play action cards: look first, then decide: On your turn you may play any number of action cards first — tap a card to read it, then tap Play. Peek shows the top 3 cards and stores them in your intel slots; Dodge and Bottom Draw replace your draw; Pass the Buck makes the next player draw twice; Swipe takes a random card from an opponent; Shield blocks the next Pass the Buck or Swipe aimed at you; Scramble reshuffles the pile. Duds can't be played.
3. Draw a card to end your turn: When you're done, tap the pile or Draw a card. A safe card goes to your hand and the danger meter updates on the spot. If someone passed the buck to you, you must draw twice — the button shows how many draws you still owe.
4. Defuse: put the bomb back wherever you want: Draw a bomb while holding a wire cutter and one cutter is used up automatically; then you choose where the bomb goes back — top, bottom, any spot, or random. On top it threatens the next player; near the bottom you're safer. When someone else tucks a bomb back, the spot stays secret and your intel is wiped.
5. Survive, or play again: Against the AI the game ends as soon as you're out; you can skip ahead to see which computer survives. In pass & play the screen is covered every time the phone changes hands until the next player confirms. From the results you can play again, replay the same deal code, or copy a link to the deal for a friend.

Rules & variants

Bomb Draw is a push-your-luck card game about dodging bombs: no numbers or suits, just bombs, wire cutters, seven kinds of action cards and plain Dud cards. A 2-player table has 1 bomb and a 5-player table has 4 — always one fewer than the players still in, so the pile never runs dry and exactly one survivor remains.

A turn has two parts: play, then end. Play zero or more action cards, each taking effect at once with no interrupts. End the turn by drawing the top card, playing Dodge, playing Bottom Draw (draw the bottom card), or playing Pass the Buck, which ends every turn you owe. The next player after a Pass the Buck owes two draws; it doesn't stack.

Drawing a bomb has only two outcomes. With a wire cutter, one is discarded automatically and you choose where to tuck the bomb back into the pile, which ends that draw. Without one you're out, and your hand goes to the discard pile with the bomb. Everyone starts with one cutter and one or two more are shuffled into the pile.

Intel is the key reading: cards you see with Peek are kept by position in three slots. A top draw shifts them up, and tucking your own bomb back records where it is — but as soon as another player tucks a bomb back or someone scrambles, your intel is wiped. The danger meter (bombs in the pile ÷ cards left) is public and climbs as the pile shrinks.

The three computer levels read only public information, their own hand and their own intel — never the pile. Reckless plays cards at random and tucks bombs anywhere; Sharp dodges a known bomb, peeks when danger is high and swipes cards when it has no cutter; Ruthless loves putting bombs right on top and passing the buck to you.

Strategy tips: once danger passes 25%, a Peek is worth it. Right after another player tucks a bomb back and nobody has drawn since, the top card is very likely a bomb — dodge or pass if you can. Putting a defused bomb on top attacks the next player, but it can come back around if they hold a Dodge. Save your Shield for when you expect a Pass the Buck.

Pass & play supports 2–5 players on one phone: a cover screen appears at every handover and your hand and intel only show after you tap reveal; they hide again when your turn ends, and only the player who tucked a bomb back knows where it went. Every game has a deal code (e.g. A3N-1K = 3 seats, Sharp computers) — the same code and the same moves replay every computer decision exactly. Just for fun, no money involved.

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