How to play Time Bomb
One phone, everyone in a circle. A task appears, whoever is holding the phone does it and passes it on. The bomb goes off at a random moment and the screen never shows how long is left. Whoever is holding it then loses the round.
Before you start (whoever has the phone)
- Pick Questions, Actions, or both. Lots of new faces? Start with Questions only.
- Want your own in-jokes in there? Add a few under “Your own tasks” and file them on one side.
- Set the fuse. The default 1–3 minutes is right for a first round; once everyone is warmed up, try 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
- Say three things to start: do the thing on screen, tap done and pass it on, whoever holds it when it blows loses the round.
When the phone reaches you
- Read the task and do it right there — say a line, make an animal noise, high-five the person opposite.
- Tap the bar at the bottom: “Done — pass it on”.
- Hand the phone to the next person.
- Cannot do it? Just tap done and pass it on. Nobody is keeping score — this is not a quiz.
Questions people ask
Does everyone need a phone?
No. The whole game runs on one phone — that phone is the bomb and it goes round the circle. This is unlike the other games in the series, where everyone joins a room by scanning a QR code.
Can I see how long is left?
No, not for a second. That is deliberate: if you could see a countdown, nobody would take the phone in the last ten seconds and the game would stall. How fast it ticks does not tell you how close it is either.
Can I skip a task I cannot do?
Yes, just tap done. There is no score and nobody is counting who skipped what.
Can we add our own tasks?
Yes. Open “Your own tasks” on the setup screen and file it under a category — it will still be there next time. They stay on this device and are never uploaded.
Passing a phone around hand to hand feels a bit much.
Put it in a zip bag, or use an old spare phone as the bomb.
What if the screen locks mid-round?
The game keeps the screen awake while it runs. If it does get pushed to the background, the moment you come back it recalculates — and if the fuse ran out while you were away, you land straight on the explosion.
What happens to the loser?
That is up to you — the app does not decide. Everyone in the room saw who was holding it; what happens next is your call.