Time Bomb rules: how to play and how to win
Reviewed on 10 October 2026 against the publisher’s rulebook. How we check
Time Bomb plays 4 to 8 players: a bomb is hidden in Big Ben, and Sherlock’s team faces Moriarty’s, without knowing who’s who. Here are the essential rules, setup and what makes a team win, based on the official rulebook.
- Players
- 4 to 8, in two teams
- Play time
- About 20 minutes
- Winner
- Sherlock if all Defusing Wires are found; otherwise, Moriarty
Time Bomb quick rules
- The goal
- Each player has a secret role: on Sherlock’s team, who want to defuse the bomb, or on Moriarty’s team, who want it to explode. You know your side, not the others’. You try to find your teammates without being exposed.
- The wires
- Each player gets 5 wires facedown, known only to them. The Secured Wire does nothing. The Defusing Wire brings Sherlock’s team closer to victory. The Bomb blows up Big Ben. There are as many Defusing Wires as players.
- A turn
- Everyone can talk, say how many Defusing Wires they have, say they have the Bomb, and even lie. Then the player holding the Wire Cutters chooses a wire from another player, never their own, and it’s flipped faceup in the middle of the table. The player whose wire was flipped takes the Wire Cutters and plays next.
- The rounds
- A round ends when as many wires have been flipped as there are players. Gather the wires still hidden, shuffle them unseen and deal them back out equally: everyone has one fewer wire each round. The player who held the Wire Cutters last starts the next round. There are 4 rounds at most.
- The end of the game
- The game stops at once if all the Defusing Wires are flipped: Sherlock’s team wins. It also stops if the Bomb is flipped: Moriarty’s team wins. If neither has happened by the end of the fourth round, Moriarty’s team wins too.
- Beginner traps
- Forgetting that time is on Moriarty’s side: they only need to avoid the Defusing Wires for 4 rounds. With 4 or 7 players, a Role card was set aside: nobody knows how many players are on Moriarty’s team. And everything you say is listened to: don’t claim to be Sherlock without thinking.
How to win Time Bomb
- Sherlock’s team wins
- As soon as all the Defusing Wires are flipped.
- Moriarty’s team wins
- As soon as the Bomb is flipped, or if the fourth round ends without a Sherlock victory.
- Team
- There are no points: the sheet records each player’s team, revealed at the end. The whole winning team wins.
Example ending
With 5 players, there are 5 Defusing Wires, and 5 wires are flipped per round. After 3 rounds, 3 × 5 = 15 wires are flipped, 4 of them Defusing. On the second wire of round 4, Emma flips the fifth one from Jake: Sherlock’s team wins: Emma and Alex, who were on it, win together.
Common mistakes
- Thinking a game that lasts all 4 rounds ends with no winner: Moriarty’s team wins.
- Naming a single winner: the whole winning team wins, including players who were exposed.
- Forgetting that with 4 or 7 players, a Role card is set aside: Moriarty’s team may have one player fewer than expected.
How to set up Time Bomb
Setup depends on the player count: the Role cards and the number of wires change, but everyone always gets 5 wires.
The roles
- Take the Role cards for your player count: 3 Sherlock and 2 Moriarty with 4 or 5 players, 4 Sherlock and 2 Moriarty with 6, 5 Sherlock and 3 Moriarty with 7 or 8.Put the other Role cards back in the box.
- Shuffle these Role cards and deal one, facedown, to each player.Everyone looks at their card in secret.
- With 4 or 7 players, one Role card is left over: set it aside unseen.This way, nobody knows exactly how many members of Moriarty’s team are playing.
The wires
- Take the wires for your player count: 15 Secured and 4 Defusing with 4 players, 19 and 5 with 5, 23 and 6 with 6, 27 and 7 with 7, 31 and 8 with 8. Always add the Bomb.Put all the other wires back in the box.
- Shuffle these Wire cards and deal 5, facedown, to each player.There are always exactly 5 wires per player at the start.
Each player
- Look at your 5 wires in secret, shuffle them, then lay them out in a row in front of you, facedown.You must not know their new order.
- Keep your role secret until the end of the game.You can say whatever you want during the game, including lying.
Let’s go
- Give the Wire Cutters to the first player, the last person to have been to London.The Round markers are optional: they help you track the rounds (4 at most).
Frequently asked questions
How many wires per player in Time Bomb?
5 wires at the start, whatever the player count. Each round, they’re dealt again and everyone has one fewer.
How many rounds are there in Time Bomb?
4 rounds at most. If not all Defusing Wires are flipped by the end of the fourth, Moriarty’s team wins.
How many players are on Moriarty’s team in Time Bomb?
2 with 4, 5 or 6 players, 3 with 7 or 8 players. But with 4 or 7 players, one Role card is set aside: there may be one fewer.
Ludingo’s Time Bomb sheet was last reviewed on 10 October 2026, based on: rulebook (PDF), iellogames.com, BoardGameGeek.