BOMB RULES

    Bombs can be deadly in their effect, but they require careful preparation and setting up if they are not to kill innocent bystanders.

A bomb is represented by a box or container consisting of two pieces:

  1. The detonator - to tell the victims that the bomb has gone off. It must bang or bleep sufficiently loudly to be heard by any victims. Remember rule 1.2.4, "A victim is not dead unless they know about it."
  2. The explosive. The size of the bomb is determined by the volume of the explosive. 'Explosive' could, for example, be cotton wool or play-doh, or water placed in a closed container like a wine bottle.
The volume of the explosive must be marked on or in the bomb in cubic inches, and it must be labelled 'BOMB' in large letters. If your construction might worry passers-by, write on it:
"This is an imitation bomb for the mock assassination game run by RGB. Any queries may be addressed to The Game Master, RGB, Etc"
In the event of the bomb being triggered, the blast shall be assumed to act in a 'reasonably' straight line, and along this line may encounter obstacles. By 'reasonably', one means a bomb placed right up against the door (outer or inner, for those with double doors) to a room, will blast in all directions into all corners of the room through the door, not through the side of the wall.

The blast radius of a bomb can be generated from its volume by the following formula:
r = 500*V^(1/3)
Where V = bomb volume
r = blast radius

Note that if your bomb volume is in cubic inches, the blast radius comes out in inches.

If there's something between you and the bomb, it will subtract from the blast radius:
Door: 3 feet
Window: 2 feet
Plasterboard wall: 3 feet
Brick wall: 10 feet
Stone wall: 15 feet

Clearly remote bomb detonation for a bomb left outside your door, from within your room, is best done with, say, a coat-hanger underneath the door. More preferable is for you or your neighbor to diffuse the bomb without its detonation.

If you are unsure then come and check with the Game Master.
Table of Bomb Volume vs. Blast radius (in units that the bomb designer designates (e.g. inches, centimeters, feet, meters)):
volume/cubic units  Blast radius/(100 units) 
25  1.46 
50  1.84 
100  2.32 
200  2.85 
300  3.34 
500  3.96 
1000  5.00 
2000  6.29 
5000  8.54 
'Ready made' bombs include alarm clocks, tape recorders, plug timers, and such like. Party poppers also count as bombs, but remember that they are of extremely limited volume and are hence only likely to be useful as letter bombs. They can be used as detonators for larger bombs.

Bomb equipment should be returned to the maker via the Game Master, unless it is defused or dud. It may not normally be re-used, unless it was defused or dud. The Bomb Squad is on holiday, but the Game Master would like to hear how you fare in performing your own bomb defusion.

An exception to this rule is that the detonator, if encased in a sturdily constructed case of steel (or other such material), may be re-used. The Game Master will rule whether the detonator has survived a blast or not.

Devices which prevent motion sensors or other triggers from going off for a certain period of time are permitted, if you can work out how to make one!

Bombs can be triggered by the victim in various ways. There are endless possibilities: drawing pins positioned to pop balloons, red light bulbs, smoke detectors (if the victim smokes), vacuum cleaners booby-trapped with confetti in the exhaust, etc.


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