BOMBANANA! Deaf Monkey Guide

The Deaf Monkey sees the bomb in full detail and speaks freely — but cannot hear a word anyone says. You are the eyes and the voice of the team: you read the bomb out, you watch the Mute's gestures, and you turn those gestures into spoken instructions for the Blind. You are the only player who can see both the bomb and the Mute's hands, which makes you the communication bridge of every round.

What You See

The bomb in full detail, including the countdown timer — you can read the clock directly.
The Mute's gestures — you are the only one who can see them.
Everything the Blind cannot: colors, lights, screens, module states.

What You Own

Reading the bomb aloud — module name, position, then the specific facts the current rule needs.
Translating the Mute's gestures into spoken instructions for the Blind.
Filtering — deciding which of the dozens of visible details actually matter right now.
The clock — you can see it, so you are the natural person to keep the team honest about time.

You cannot hear replies, so you cannot confirm with the Blind by listening. Instead, you watch the Blind's repeat — or better, you give instructions that force a visible confirmation ("show me which cable before you cut").

The Filtering Problem

Not everything visible on the bomb matters, and calling everything at once buries the detail that does. Good Deaf play is mostly selective reporting:

Lead every callout with the module name and position so the Mute opens the right manual page.
Report only the facts the current rule branch needs — count, colors, LED, stage, sound.
Skip adjectives and commentary. "Four wires: green, blue, red, yellow. Red LED." beats a paragraph.

If you are unsure whether a detail matters, report it anyway as a labeled extra — but keep the core packet short.

Reading the Mute

The Mute can only answer with gestures (nods, shakes, numbered fingers). Your job is to convert them:

Numbers: read the finger count aloud — "three, got it."
Yes / no / wait / repeat: say the gesture back so the whole team shares it.
Left / right: always restate in the Blind's perspective. "Left" that means the Mute's left is a blown-up bomb.

When the Mute looks confused, the problem is usually an ambiguous question, not a wrong answer. Narrow it: "Do you see a red LED — yes or no?"

You speak instructions in the Blind Monkey's world: positions, not colors. The Blind cannot see colors, so your call must be physical:

❌ "Cut the yellow one."
✅ "Third cable from the left — the yellow one."

Structure every instruction as: action → target → position → confirm. And always give the Blind something visible to repeat back — a raised hand on the target cable is a confirmation you can see, not just hear.

Common Deaf Mistakes

Calling out two modules at once — the Mute loses track and the Blind acts on stale information. One module, one packet, one answer.
Reporting instead of filtering — dumping every visible detail makes the Mute find the needle in the haystack.
Reading gestures wrong and not catching it — always say the gesture back aloud; silence lets an error travel.
Letting the Blind act before confirmation — you are the one who can see the Blind's hand, so you are the last quality gate before the input.
Forgetting you cannot hear. Never assume the Blind answered; force a visible repeat-back.

Best role for new players? Deaf is often recommended as the easiest to start on for rule learning — you see everything and can read the manual yourself in the early levels. Rotate to Mute once you want the deeper challenge.