A logic puzzle template is a set of fixed sentence frames with blanks, and a seed decides what goes in the blanks. Every module page in the Bomb Appétit manual is built this way. The wording, the order of lists and the reading instructions stay put, while the rule seed fills in colors, counts and which wire to cut.
What a logic puzzle template fixes before any seed is chosen
Before any seed is chosen, the template fixes everything a reader relies on: the page's opening instructions, how its lists are grouped, the sentence shapes each rule can take, and the order in which an Expert reads. The seed never touches that structure. It only supplies the values, which is why a generated page still reads like a hand-written one.
Take the Wires page. Its opening paragraph is the same on every seed: a panel holds three to six wires, exactly one must be cut, wires are counted from the top starting at one, and the Expert finds the list for the number of wires, reads it from the top and stops at the first line that is true. That paragraph is the template's instructions to the reader.
The page then has four lists, one each for three, four, five and six wires. Every list contains a few "If" lines and ends with one "Otherwise" line. That grouping is fixed too. No seed will produce a Wires page with a list for seven wires or a list without an "Otherwise."
Below that level, the template also fixes which kinds of sentences a rule can be. A Wires condition always takes one of a small number of shapes: how many wires of some color there are, what color the last wire is, or whether the serial number's last digit is odd or even. A Wires action always takes one of four shapes: cut the wire at some position, cut the last wire, cut the first wire of some color, or cut the last wire of some color.
So an Expert opening a Wires page on any seed already knows what kinds of sentences to expect. That predictability is what makes a generated manual readable. Other module pages work the same way. The Big Button page always has a tap-or-hold list followed by a strip-color table. The Passcode page always lists words to narrow down. The Glyph Keypad page always shows columns of glyphs. For the layout every page shares, see how a module page in the manual is laid out.
Which blanks in a module's template does the seed fill?
The seed fills the values in each sentence frame: which color a condition names, which count it compares against, whether the serial digit should be odd or even, and which wire the action points at. It also chooses how many "If" lines each list holds and whether a line has one condition or two joined by "and."
An annotated Wires template
The block below shows the frames and the blanks. Every filled-in value is an invented example and is not taken from any real seed.
| Part of the page | Fixed by the template | Filled by the seed (invented example values) |
|---|---|---|
| Opening paragraph | The whole text: three to six wires, cut one, read from top | Nothing |
| List heading | "4 wires" | Nothing |
| Condition frame: count | "If there are no ___ wires" | yellow |
| Condition frame: exact | "If there is exactly ___ ___ wire" | one, white |
| Condition frame: last | "If the last wire is ___" | red |
| Condition frame: serial | "If the last digit of the serial number is ___" | even |
| Joining word | "and" | Whether a line has one condition or two |
| Action frame: position | "cut the ___ wire" | second |
| Action frame: by color | "cut the first ___ wire" or "cut the last ___ wire" | blue |
| Final line | "Otherwise, cut ..." | last, or a position |
Assembled, an invented four-wire list might read:
- If there are no yellow wires and the last digit of the serial number is even, cut the second wire.
- If the last wire is red, cut the last red wire.
- If there is exactly one white wire, cut the first wire.
- Otherwise, cut the last wire.
Again, that list is made up to show the shape. Your manual's four-wire list will differ, and the seed you play decides how.
The generator also follows a few rules about which combinations it allows. Wire colors come from red, blue, yellow, white and black. A line that tells you to cut the first or last wire of a color only does so when its own condition guarantees that color is present. A line never names the same color twice in its conditions. And the whole rule set is accepted only after the game plays 1,000 random bombs against it and every one of them can be solved by following the page. The longer account of that process sits in how a seed writes the manual.
Reading a seeded rule list top to bottom: the first match wins
On a seeded rule list, the first line whose conditions are all true is the one that counts, even if a later line also fits. The Wires and Big Button pages both say this in their opening paragraph. Stopping at the first true line is not a tip; it is how the rules are defined.
That matters because a list's lines can overlap. In the invented four-wire list above, a bomb with no yellow wires, an even serial digit and a red last wire satisfies both line one and line two. Line one wins, because it comes first. An Expert who reads line two first, or who scans for the most specific-looking line, will give the wrong cut.
A sound reading routine for any list built from this template:
- Confirm which list applies. On Wires, that means the wire count. Ask, do not assume.
- Start at the top line.
- Check every condition on that line. If any one is false, the line does not apply. Move down.
- When every condition on a line is true, stop. That line's action is the answer.
- If no line applies, read the "Otherwise" line.
Step three trips people up when a line has two conditions joined by "and." Both must be true. Hearing the first condition and seeing it match is not enough.
The same routine works for the Big Button's tap-or-hold list. Its conditions use different frames, such as the button's color, its word, the battery count or a lit indicator, but the reading rule is identical: top to bottom, stop at the first true line.
How should Experts read a freshly filled template aloud under the timer?
Read the condition before the action, and say only the line that applied. "Line two: the last wire is red. So cut the last red wire." Saying the condition lets the Defuser and other Experts catch a misread. Saying only that one line keeps the Defuser from hearing actions from lines that did not apply.
Under the timer, Experts are tempted to read the whole list aloud and let the Defuser sort it out. That is the worst option. The Defuser cannot see the page, will hear four actions, and will remember the last one. Work through the list silently, or in a low voice to yourself, and speak once you have the answer.
A few phrasing habits that suit a template-built page:
- Name the list first. "Four-wire list." That confirms the count with the Defuser before any rule is read.
- Ask for missing facts by name. If a line asks about the serial number's last digit and nobody has recorded it, ask for "the last digit of the serial number," not "the serial."
- Give one action, with a position and a color where possible. "Cut the last red wire, which should be the third from the top." The second half lets the Defuser check.
- Wait for the repeat. The Defuser says it back before cutting.
The Defuser's half of this exchange depends on good descriptions. The habit of giving shape, then color, then position gives an Expert exactly the facts a Wires condition asks about.
The template mistake: skipping to the rule that looks right
The template mistake is jumping to the line that looks most relevant instead of reading from the top. A line mentioning the exact color the Defuser just said feels like the answer. But an earlier line might also be true, and the earlier line wins. Skipping to the eye-catching rule is the fastest route to a strike.
The mistake happens because a template makes every page look familiar. An Expert who has seen many Wires pages knows that a line about red wires usually matters when there are red wires. On a fresh seed, that line might sit fourth, behind a serial-number line that applies first.
It is also more tempting on a long list. When a list has four lines plus "Otherwise," and one line contains every word the Defuser just used, the eye goes there first. Train the habit of putting a finger, or a cursor, on the first line every time.
Two checks catch it:
- Say the line number. "Line one fails, line two fails, line three applies." If you cannot name the lines you skipped, you skipped them without checking.
- Let a second Expert follow along. On a printed manual, a second reader can track the same list with a pen and say "line one holds" before the wrong cut is made.
For groups reading on paper, printing a manual for any seed explains how to put a fresh page in every Expert's hands. To see the template for yourself, open the standard manual, go to Wires, and read a list from the top.