Some of the easiest iPad coop games need no app at all. Bomb Appétit runs in Safari: the iPad holds the bomb for the Defuser, a phone or a printout holds the manual for the Experts, and one setting change stops the tablet from dimming halfway through a round. Setup takes about two minutes.
Do iPad coop games need an app from the store?
Not this one. Bomb Appétit is a web page, so the iPad needs only Safari or another current browser. There is nothing to download from the App Store, no account to create and no purchase. Open the site, go to Play, and the bomb is ready.
The game's FAQ lists recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge on computers, tablets and phones. The post on which browsers and devices run the free game goes through the combinations if your household has a mix of hardware.
Running in a browser has a side benefit on a shared family iPad: nothing is left installed afterwards, and nobody needs to know the Apple ID password to start a round. The same goes for a guest's tablet. The page asks for nothing beyond a name if you join an online room, and even that is just what the other players see. The article on multiplayer games with no download covers what a browser game can and cannot do compared with an installed one.
Should the iPad hold the bomb or the manual?
Give the iPad the bomb. The bomb is the part of the game with the most to look at and touch: modules on two faces of a case, small symbols, lights and a timer. The manual is mostly text and tables, and it reads well on a phone or on paper.
A tablet's size is the reason. The Defuser has to read a module closely, then press, cut, hold or turn something on it. A bigger screen means fewer mis-taps and less squinting. On the bomb, the Defuser can choose a flat 2D view that shows both faces of the case and the edgework at once, or a 3D view where a drag turns the case. The Defuser's guide compares the two in 2D or 3D bomb view: which should the Defuser pick?. The choice is remembered on that iPad.
The exception is a household with one iPad and one tiny phone where the Experts outnumber the Defuser. If three Experts would otherwise share a phone, print the manual and keep the iPad on the bomb anyway. Paper splits between people; a phone does not.
Holding the iPad: flat on a table or propped up?
Prop the iPad up, facing the Defuser and away from the Experts. A stand or a folding case at a low angle keeps the screen readable and the modules within reach, and it turns the back of the tablet toward the rest of the table, so nobody peeks by accident.
Flat on the table works for one Defuser sitting alone, but it has two problems in a group. Anyone leaning over can see the bomb, which spoils the game, and the Defuser has to lean forward over it for ten minutes. Held in the hands is worse: arms tire, and a needy module that wants the lever held while a meter drains is awkward to manage one-handed.
Orientation matters less than angle. Landscape gives the case more width, which suits the 3D view. Portrait can suit the flat 2D view on a smaller tablet. Try both on the first mission and keep the one that lets the Defuser see the whole module without scrolling. Lock the rotation once you choose, so the screen does not flip when the Defuser shifts in the chair.
The iPad mistake: Auto-Lock dimming the screen mid-round
The common iPad mistake is leaving Auto-Lock on a short setting. If the Defuser stops touching the screen while an Expert reads a long rule, the iPad can dim and lock in the middle of the round, and waking it costs seconds the bomb does not give back. Set Auto-Lock to a longer interval before you start.
According to Apple's guide to keeping the iPad display on longer, you open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, tap Auto-Lock and choose a time interval. Apple notes that delaying or preventing Auto-Lock may use more power, so plug the tablet in for a long evening, and switch the setting back afterwards. The same page says that if Auto-Lock cannot be changed, Guided Access may be turned on.
Here is the whole tablet setup as a step list:
- Open Safari on the iPad and go to the site.
- Tap Play, then open Missions.
- Find the mission, for example First bite, but do not press its Play button yet, since that deals and arms the bomb.
- Set Auto-Lock to a longer interval in Settings.
- Choose an orientation, prop the iPad facing the Defuser, and lock the rotation.
- Check the Experts have the standard manual open on a phone or on paper, then press Play on the mission.
For a group with a Mac nearby, the guide to co op games for Mac that run in Safari pairs the laptop and tablet the other way round.