A Sign Vocabulary That Works
A small, fixed set of gestures for the mute player, agreed before the timer runs, that covers every module on the bomb.
Checked with game version 1.1.0
The mute player has the emote wheel, finger counts, nodding, pointing and thrown objects, and nothing else. Every module needs at most a handful of answer types, so agree a small vocabulary once and never improvise under the timer. This is a proposal that fits every module on this wiki; adapt it to your team.
The core set
| Meaning | Sign | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Yes / correct | Nod, or thumbs up from the wheel | Every module, confirming a candidate the deaf player names |
| No / wrong | Head shake, or thumbs down | Every module |
| Wait, I am looking it up | Flat hand raised | Every lookup |
| Say it again | Circling finger, or the "?" emote | Any packet you did not catch |
| Numbers 1 to 9 | Fingers, held still for a second | Cable position, Soundboard positions, Piano keys, Switch digits, Maze steps |
| Zero | Closed fist | Calculator final key, Morse digit |
| Up / Down | Point up or down with the whole arm, not the thumb (thumbs are yes/no) | Color Slider, Switch, Direction, Maze |
| Left / Right | Point sideways, from the blind player's point of view | Direction, Maze |
| Colour | Nod when the deaf player names it; do not try to mime colours | Cable, Symbol, Monkey-Says |
Two rules keep this reliable. First, one sign at a time: hold it until the deaf player repeats it out loud, then drop it. Second, the deaf player always narrates what they see ("three, up, yes"), because that is the only way the mute player learns whether the sign arrived.
When the wheel is not enough
Players have filled the gaps in the emote set with the van's props: hold up a banana for yellow, the dynamite for red, a bottle for green, point at the fridge for blue. The basketball has become the usual sign for zero, since the gesture set has none; other teams show "10" for zero. Piano notes can be signed as finger counts by alphabet position (A = 1 … G = 7) if your team prefers that to key positions. Pen and paper next to the keyboard is fair game for Morse and Maze.
Per module
- Cable: the deaf player names the candidate colours one by one; nod at the right one. Or show the position as a finger count.
- Direction: point the arrow. Agree before the round that left and right mean the blind player's left and right.
- Calculator: finger count for the final key, fist for zero.
- Switch: four signs in order, one per switch: up or down. Pause between them so they do not merge.
- Symbol: nod at the colour the deaf player names, one stage at a time.
- Piano and Soundboard: finger counts for key positions or grid positions in order, with a pause between each.
- Morse: finger count per socket, fist for zero. Let the deaf player say the socket number first.
- Color Slider: up or down per slot, in slot order.
- Maze: direction plus a finger count for the steps, one leg of the route at a time.
- Monkey-Says: nod at the colour, then let the history keeper read the full sequence back.