Here's a few tips and tricks that my partner and I have discovered while playing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. I expect many of these can and will change whenever the developer updates this game, but I'll try to keep this guide current, as well as add any other tips that the community or I discover.

For new players, I actually recommend that you do not read this guide. A fair chunk of the game experience and difficulty comes from trying to find ways to optimize your communication between Expert and Defuser. If you find yourself frustrated or blocked by a puzzle, or want to try and shave some seconds off your defusal time, then this guide is for you.

Many of the tricks I will describe will require that you make modifications to a printed Defusal Manual, so make sure you have one printed, or a spare should you wish to keep one copy clean. You may want a pencil, as well as some thick marker with which to redact certain redundant parts of the manual.

Last Updated: 20 October 2015 (Added additional symbols for keypads. Fixed minor errors. Added Darvuji-Sama's tip for complicated wires. Added ECHtoplasm's cheat sheet with permission.)

For: Manual Version 1, Revision 2

Make sure to pay special attention to rule number 4. It has nothing to do with the appearance of the button itself, so you might accidentally skip it when looking for button color and text.

Rule number 5 on this page is redundant. You may just want to redact it or otherwise cross it out, so that you don't get distracted by the listed color.

On press-and-hold buttons, there's a few times where you can release the button safely regardless of what color the strip turns, because all three numbers are present in the timer.

5:41
5:14
4:51
4:15
1:54
1:45

(Credit Liro Raeriyo for the timer tip)

Keep an eye out for the following symbols:

• Unique to column 1: Ѧ
  
• Unique to column 3: © Ѽ Ԇ
  
• Unique to column 5: Ͼ Ѯ ★
  
• Unique to column 6: ҂ æ Й Ω

Recognizing these symbols can allow the Expert to very quickly determine which column is being used.

In addition, finding consistent ways to refer to specific symbols is important for communication. It may be better for you and your partner to find descriptions that both of you recognize; however, here are some of the descriptions we have used.

Ϙ: Neuter, uncrossed-female, hand-mirror, O-with-a-♥♥♥♥
Ѧ: Three-legged A, A-with-a-♥♥♥♥, little Yus
ƛ: Lambda, crossed lambda, half-life
Ѭ: Cthulhu, big Yus
ϗ: Cursive H/N with tail
Ͽ: Backwards C, backwards C with-a-dot
Ӭ: Epsilon, epsilon umlaut, euro
Ҩ: Rollercoaster, cursive I, loop-dee-loop
☆: Open star, empty star
¿: Upside-down question mark, Spanish question mark.
©: Copyright
Ѽ: Butt, xbox, cyrillic omega
Ж: X with an I, Zhe, Live (like "Keep Living")
Ԇ: Incomplete R, trailing off 3
ƀ: Crossed b, barred b, BT smashed
б: Smashed 6, upside-down g, hooktop b
¶: Paragraph, line-break, backwards P
ټ: Derp-face, smiley, Isolated Teh
Ͼ: C, C with a dot
Ѯ: Alien 3, 3-with-antenna, ksi
★: Filled star, full star
Ψ: Trident, Psi
҂: Inequality, unequal
æ: "A E", ash
Й: N, N with antenna, N with tail, Ij, Cyrillic Y, Short I (cyrillic name, not recommended)
Ω: Omega

Credit to scriptm8 for finding the font versions of some of these symbols.

Try to give context to the words as you read them out. For example, if you say "Your", add "Possessive" or otherwise spell it out so that your partner is clear on the word.

Most of the label lists have the label itself in the middle or early in the list. For example, the first entry of "UH HUH" is "UH HUH", leaving the rest of its list useless (you will always have a button to push by that point). You may wish to cross out or redact the rest of the list to avoid confusion, or otherwise circle the label-word so that you don't go past it.

Ready: Ninth word
First: Last word
No: Second-to-last word
Blank: Fifth word
Nothing: Second-to-last word
Yes: Tenth word
What: Second word
Uhhh: Eleventh word
Left: Second word
Right: Eighth word
Middle: Tenth word
Okay: Eighth word
Wait: Tenth word
Press: Fifth word
You: Tenth word
You Are: Last word
Your: Fourth word
You're: Second word
UR: Third word
U: Ninth word
Uh huh: First word
Uh uh: Sixth word
What?: Second-to-last word
Done: Last word
Next: Seventh word
Hold: Eleventh word
Sure: Ninth word
Like: Eleventh word

For the quickest method of handling the morse code module, I highly recommend studying Draeath's excellent guide on learning morse code. That will take more effort outside of game, but the results will definitely be worth it as far as solution times go, and it will be a neat party trick.

However, if you're looking for a solution that takes a little less effort:

As the Defuser, you will be under a lot of pressure to properly recognize the series of dots and dashes and relay them to the Expert. If you have a particularly skilled Expert, then don't worry about getting the letters in the proper order - let them make the effort of unscrambling. If you are also able to identify whether the sequence has 5 or 6 letters, that will be a tremendous aid for the Expert.

In addition, there are a few letters that are only used in one or two words. As the Expert, take advantage of these for quick solutions, if you see them:

• The letter F is only used in Flick
  
• The letter H is only used in Shell and Halls - try and identify whether there is an A or an E in the sequence.
  
• The letter M is only used in Bombs.
  
• The letter N is only used in Sting.
  
• The letter V is only used in Vector.
  
• The letter X is only used in Boxes.
  
• The letter G is only used in the word Sting

In addition, the letters D, J, P, Q, U, W, Y, Z, and all numbers are not used in any of the words. Go ahead and redact them or cross them out to avoid getting caught on them as red herrings.

There are only four important pieces of information for each given: whether it contains red or blue, whether it's noted with a star or a light. The module will be solved when all required wires are cut, regardless of whether you have solved the most complicated wires. The order in which the wires fall is unimportant; therefore, as Defuser, give wire descriptions to the Expert in order of least-complicated to most-complicated. Just make sure that, as Defuser, you remember which wires you have told to the Expert, and which you have not. Alternatively, describe all wires to the Expert, and let the expert solve them in order of least-complicated and most-complicated.

In addition, as Defuser, if you and the Expert have examined all of the wires except one, but the module hasn't been solved yet, then go ahead and cut the final wire without solving it - assuming you and the Expert were accurate in identifying the other wires, then the final wire will definitely need to be cut if the puzzle remains unsolved.

When the Expert tells you to cut a wire, you should look for and cut all other wires that match the same description, especially on bombs with multiple complicated wire modules. (credit Darvuji-Sama)

ECHoplasm has released an excellent cheat-sheet for the complicated wires here. Reproduced here with their permission:

WHITE - CUT
WHITE STAR - CUT
WHITE LED - DO NOT CUT
WHITE STAR LED - CUT if there's TWO OR MORE BATTERIES

BLUE - CUT if the serial number ends with an EVEN DIGIT
BLUE STAR - DO NOT CUT
BLUE LED - CUT if the bomb has a PARALLEL PORT
BLUE STAR LED - CUT if the bomb has a PARALLEL PORT

RED - CUT if the serial number ends with an EVEN DIGIT
RED STAR - CUT
RED LED - CUT if there's TWO OR MORE BATTERIES
RED STAR LED - CUT if there's TWO OR MORE BATTERIES

RED BLUE - CUT if the serial number ends with an EVEN DIGIT
RED BLUE STAR - CUT if the bomb has a PARALLEL PORT
RED BLUE LED - CUT if the serial number ends with an EVEN DIGIT
RED BLUE STAR LED - DO NOT CUT

Alternatively, look for whether certain parts of the bomb are present, and then cut all wires based on that information (credit Liro Raeriyo for this tip):

UNIVERSAL, CUT ALL:
WHITE
WHITE STAR
RED STAR

TWO OR MORE BATTERIES, CUT ALL:
WHITE STAR LED
RED LED
RED STAR LED

PARALLEL PORT, CUT ALL:
BLUE LED
BLUE STAR LED
RED BLUE STAR

EVEN DIGIT SERIAL NUMBER, CUT ALL:
BLUE
RED
RED BLUE
RED BLUE LED

Each circle on each possible maze has a unique position from all other circles. Therefore, it is irrelevant whether you identify where the second circle is, so do not waste time communicating this information.

The easiest way I've found to solve this puzzle is to have a blank list of all the viable words. Rule out and cross out words, instead of trying every possible letter combination.

To this end, here is a table with the list of words. First column contains the words in alphabetical order, which the second column contains the words in alphabetical order of the letters in the second position, and so on. You may wish to either write this table down or print it so you can quickly create it and cross words off.


If there is no S, T, or W in the first column, that will rule out 5-6 words each.

If there is no H or O in the second column, that will rule out 7-8 words each.

If there is no A, E, I or U in the third column, that will rule out 5-6 words each. If none of these letters are present, the password is either About, After, Below, First, Large, Never, Other, Right, Three, Water, or World.

If there is no E, L or N in the 4th column, that will rule out 5-6 words each.

If there is no E in the 5th column, that will rule out 8 words. If there is no D, R, or T, that will rule out 5-6 words each. If none of those letters are present, the password is either Again, Below, Every, Learn, Small, Spell, Still, Study, Thing, Think, or Which.

If none of the above letters are present, the password is "Below"

The knob may look intimidating, but it's actually pretty easy to solve. The trick isn't to pay attention to the position of the lights so much as it is to count the number of lights. If there are only three lights, the knob needs to face left (relative to the label). If there are nine lights, the knob needs to face right (relative to the label).

If there are 5, 6, 7 or 8 lights, it gets a little bit trickier, but still comes down to only two lights you need to check: the second-from-the-right in the top row, and the light in the lower left. If both lights are on, then turn the knob up. If the top light is on and the bottom is off, turn the knob up if there are seven lights, and down if there are five. If the bottom light is on but the top light is off, then turn the knob down if there are eight lights, or right if there are seven.

One last bit of advice: make sure that the Expert is clear when communicating where the knob needs to be turned. I've found it's easiest if the Expert says where the knob is turned relative to the label, and the Defuser checks that against where the label is. However, if the Defuser has problems with compass directions or is dyslexic, you may want the Expert to say where the knob should point in absolute terms (relative to the bomb or the module).