Fuse Review

This game will self-destruct in 10 minutes!

Are you a thrill-seeker? Do you enjoy timed challenges? Then Fuse is the game for you! It is a Mensa award-winning game in which invaders have infiltrated your ship and planted bombs on board. You will only have a limited amount of time to find them and defuse them before the timer runs out. Are you up for the challenge? Read the full Fuse review below.

Fuse

Work together quickly as the app counts down to total...
Roll the dice to defuse the bombs!
Number of Players: 1-5

Brief Overview of Fuse

Fuse is a dice and card game for 1–5 players that is based on the idea that bombs have been planted all over the ship you are on. And if you don’t defuse them in time, the ship will blow up and everyone aboard will EXPLODE.

The game operates on a timer where you have to solve challenges presented on each bomb card. The challenges differ for each card and have different conditions that relate to the dice.

If you enjoy games where you have a limited amount of time to work together with friends to accomplish changing challenges, this could be the game for you.

Unboxing Fuse

The theme of the game is directly in the name. It leaves no doubt as to what you have to do. Which is really great, as it is to the point. The cover art is of individuals in bomb disposal outfits that are about to defuse a bomb. The back cover gives some insight into what the game pieces look like and how they relate to the theme and name.

The box has a decent feel to it, not overly light and cheap at all. Once you open it, you will see that you get the following items:

Rulebook
5 sets of 5 colored dice
Travel bag (almost like a Scrabble tile bag)
A deck of small cards
Downloadable app (for the timer)

The cards have a decent enough feel to them. You may want to sleeve them if you feel that they aren’t robust enough. Up to you entirely.

How to Play Fuse

Game Setup

The setup for Fuse is dependent on the number of people playing – as Fuse can also be played as a solo game.

The first thing to do is to separate the fuse cards from the bomb cards. Then, depending on the difficulty you would like in the game, you can either keep or remove the 5 difficult bomb cards. You will notice they have a larger number of points compared to other cards.

If it’s a solo game, deal yourself 4 cards. If 2 or more people are playing, deal out 2 cards to each player. Each player places their cards face up in front of them. Players must then check that they have different point-level cards. If they don’t, they can replace a card until they do.

The players must then adjust the card deck to reflect the number of people playing and the difficulty of the game they would like to play on. The remaining fuse cards can then be shuffled into the bomb card deck. All the dice must then be placed into the bag and handed to one player for a specified time. Once all this is done, the game is ready to begin!

Gameplay

The game timer can be found in the Fuse companion app. Once the timer starts, the players will have exactly 10 minutes to diffuse the bomb.

The player with the dice bag will then draw the same number of dice as the number of players. Each player will take a die – the players must decide how to best distribute them. The number of dice does differ for single and 2-player games – check the rulebook here.

If a player is not able to pick up a die, that specific die must then be re-rolled. The players must then check the color and the number of the die as each player will be required to put back one die of either the same color or number. This process must be repeated for each dice not picked up.

Each card has a number in the top right. This is the number of points that you’ll win for successfully diffusing a bomb. The conditions for diffusing a bomb are self-explanatory and on each card. Fuse cards add an extra requirement that needs to be fulfilled on some bomb cards – so beware!

For the pyramid and stack bomb cards, please refer to the rulebook for full details. There are also specific conditions that need to be adhered to with regards to who hands out the dice and when the turn changes.

When the team has successfully defused the bombs based on the chosen level of difficulty, they will then need to tally up their points to see who got the most. Also, dice cannot be put back into the game once a bomb card has been defused.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

Full and in-depth game experience
Only 10 minutes long
Difficulty can be adjusted

As this game has been awarded by Mensa, you can expect full and engaging gameplay throughout. This can tell you that it can potentially be a difficult game – but players can set this. So, no need to worry about that.

Another great feature is that you know exactly how long each game will last. This means you plan accordingly.

Cons:

A lot of rules
Requires a good amount of concentration

A game of this caliber will present some challenges to players. There are a lot of very specific rules that require players to familiarize themselves with before the game starts. This is because once the game starts, there isn’t much time to look at the rules.

If some players have had a long challenging day, this might not be the best idea as there is a certain amount of concentration needed.

Conclusion: Verdict?

For such a simple premise, this game certainly over-delivers in its experience. You can see why Mensa has had its say on it.

This game has the potential to be a great casual game, but this does depend on the players’ skill and alertness level. I think these would be the biggest factors in playing the game.

But with regard to the game itself – what a fantastic game! It has so much depth for such a simple idea. And the factor that relying on other players only enhances the game’s theme. It is brilliant – although it is not for everyone. The game can surprisingly be played from a very young age, but that is dependent on the person. This is a must-have for anyone who enjoys timed board games and edge-of-your-seat challenges.

Fuse

Work together quickly as the app counts down to total...
Roll the dice to defuse the bombs!
Number of Players: 1-5

We hope you enjoyed our Fuse review! Let us know in the comments if you’ve tried Fuse and what you thought about this cooperative, dice combo game. We’d love to hear from you!