How to Play BOMBANANA! — Beginner Guide

BOMBANANA! is a 3-player online co-op bomb defusal party game from Lefto Studio, published by TARK and released on Steam on September 2, 2026. Exactly three players share one bomb: one monkey is blind, one is deaf, and one is mute. No player has enough information to defuse a module alone — the game is really about building a communication system between the three of you before the countdown hits zero.

The Core Gameplay Loop

Every round follows the same loop:

1. The bomb spawns with several modules and a display showing the remaining time and the number of allowed mistakes.
2. The Deaf monkey observes a module on the bomb and describes it.
3. The Mute monkey hears the description, opens the matching section in the defusal manual, and works out the correct action.
4. The Mute gestures the answer to the Deaf monkey.
5. The Deaf monkey converts the gesture into a spoken instruction for the Blind monkey.
6. The Blind monkey — the only one who can physically touch the bomb — executes: cutting a wire, pressing a button, flipping a switch, or entering a number.

Solve every module on the bomb before the timer runs out and the bomb is defused. Break the chain with a wrong action, and you burn one of your limited strikes. In the launch version you get three strikes — the fourth mistake detonates the bomb. Timers typically run around two minutes per bomb and get shorter as levels get harder.

Setting Up Your First Lobby

• Launch the game and join through the server browser or a room code — you do not need to be Steam friends with your teammates in the full version.
• A lobby holds exactly three players. Pick roles manually or use the Random Role button.
• You need voice chat. The Deaf must speak to the Blind, and the Blind must be able to talk back. Headphones are strongly recommended — speaker echo makes callouts impossible.
• Roles rotate between rounds, so expect to play every monkey.

The Three Roles at a Glance

The Blind monkey can also read the braille touch pads on modules — the dot patterns only make sense to the Blind player.

Your First Bomb, Step by Step

1. Before the round starts, agree on the basics: number words, direction words, and a simple gesture dictionary (see below).
2. When the bomb appears, open the bomb's outer shell first. New players often miss this step.
3. Right-click a module to enter the interaction view — plain clicking is not enough. This is one of the most common beginner stumbling blocks.
4. The Deaf starts: announce the module name and where it sits on the bomb, then describe the details (colors, counts, lights).
5. The Mute opens the manual, finds the module's chapter, and checks the column that matches the current round.
6. Before the Blind acts, the Blind must read the instruction back ("Cut the third wire, the blue one") and the Deaf confirms — only then execute.
7. One module at a time. Never split attention across two modules.

Build a Callout System Before the Timer Starts

Teams that survive use the same callout structure, in this order:

Module name → position → the details this module needs → the manual's answer → readback → confirm → input.

Skipping the module name and position is the number one rookie mistake — "the green light" means nothing if nobody knows which module has the green light.

A few rules that experienced teams swear by:

• Left and right are always from the Blind monkey's perspective. Never say "my left."
• Describe grid positions as Top-Left, Top-Right, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right.
• When counting wires, count wires, not empty slots.
• Count positions strictly left to right, and say the numbers out loud.
• Repeat critical information. Saying it twice is cheaper than cutting the wrong cable.
• For directions, some teams prefer a numpad layout: 8 is up, 6 is right, 2 is down, 4 is left — it is more intuitive than clockwise numbers.

A Starter Gesture Dictionary

The Mute cannot speak, so agree on gestures before the first round:

• One quick nod — confirm / go ahead
• Horizontal head shake — no / stop
• Raised hand — wait, checking the manual
• Arm circling — undo the last callout, re-read the state
• Fingers held up — numbers one to five (and agree on how to show higher numbers)
• Pointing — spatial positions

One community-known pain point: the Mute's gesture set has no dedicated gesture for zero (there is one for ten). Agree on a workaround in advance, for example "ten plus a head shake means zero."

Common Mistakes That Kill New Teams

• The Mute trying to talk — the game silences this role by design.
• The Deaf guessing a solution instead of waiting for the manual.
• The Blind acting without a confirmed order.
• Panicking after a mistake. Stop, do not rush a corrective action — frantic extra inputs stack mistakes faster than a calm retry.
• Two people talking at the same time. One speaker at a time, or nobody receives anything.

What to Expect From Progression

The Campaign has 30 handcrafted levels that introduce modules one at a time and then combine them, with shorter timers and fewer allowed mistakes as you climb. Beyond the campaign, Endless mode throws procedurally generated bomb waves at you, and Custom mode lets you tune bomb difficulty, module types, environmental hazards, and the number of allowed mistakes yourself.

If you are brand new, start with the campaign, rotate roles every few rounds so everyone learns all three sides of the information chain, and read our roles guide and modules overview next.