Skip to main content
CouchCoopDesk

Topic 3 of 5

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes: The Basics modules: Simon Says, Who's on First, Memory, Mazes

The four modules the Basics section adds, as call-outs between the two seats.

  • 4 parts · 9 steps

Compiled from 1 playthrough video and 8 guides · checked Oct 19, 2026

0 of 4 done
Video: Screen Lookers on YouTube. Loads from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press play.

What each player can do here

P1 · Defuser
  • The only seat that sees the bomb. Turns it, reads out what is on each module and does the cutting, pressing and holding.
P2 · Expert
  • Holds the Bomb Defusal Manual and never sees the bomb; works out from the manual what the Defuser has to do and tells them.

If your skill levels differ: The wiki advises the Expert to keep a pad and paper for Memory.Our suggestionGive that pencil job to the calmer player, and have the Defuser on Mazes and Simon Says wait for each call before pressing. How to split the roles

Simon Says

Part 1 of 4. Repeat a growing colour sequence, translated.

  1. DefuserCall out each colour that flashes. The sequence repeats and gets one step longer every time you enter it correctly.
  2. ExpertThe Expert translates each flash into a different colour to press, using whether the serial number contains a vowel and how many strikes the bomb has.

Good to know

  • A strike changes the translation, so tell the Expert straight away when one happens.

Who's on First

Part 2 of 4. Words that sound alike.

  1. DefuserRead the word on the display. The lists mix words that are easy to mishear, such as YOU, U and YOU'RE, or THERE, THEIR and THEY'RE.
  2. BothFrom that word, the Expert names one of the buttons, and the Defuser reads the label on it.
  3. BothThe Expert then reads down the list for that label, and the Defuser presses the first word from the list that appears on the module. It takes three rounds.

Good to know

  • Our suggestionSpell out any word that could be heard as another one.

Memory

Part 3 of 4. Five stages that refer back to earlier ones.

  1. DefuserRead the big number on the display, then the four button labels from left to right.
  2. ExpertLater stages point back to the position or the label pressed earlier, so the Expert writes both down at every stage.

Good to know

  • A wrong press is a strike and sends the module back to stage 1.

Mazes

Part 4 of 4. Steer a light through walls you cannot see.

  1. DefuserGive the positions of the green circles so the Expert can pick the maze with matching markings.
  2. ExpertThe Expert then guides the white light to the red triangle, one move at a time.

Good to know

  • The walls exist only in the manual. Bumping one is a strike, and pressing the same way again is another, so move one step per call.
Sources (9)

Steps compiled from 1 playthrough video and 8 text guides, checked Oct 19, 2026, and written in our own words. We did not play the game for this guide. A step marked “single source” rests on one guide so far.