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💣 Death Switch
A row of switches, a bomb hidden in one of them, and always one switch more than there are players. Flip and hope.
- Up to 4 players
- Classic
- In your browser, free
- With friends or against bots
The cruel arithmetic
The round starts with one more switch than living players: four people, five switches. One of them is the bomb. Each player, in turn, flips one — and whoever flips the bomb is eliminated.
Since exactly one is left over, the round always kills someone, unless the bomb happens to be the one nobody touched. The game tightens on its own: fewer people means fewer switches, and the odds climb every round.
The decision is position, not guesswork
Every switch is identical — there is no clue at all, and no guess is better than any other. What is not equal is your place in the order.
The first to flip has the worst odds of that round (one in five, with four players); each person after them has better odds, because one bad option has already been ruled out. The order is drawn fresh each match, so it balances out over a game — but within a given round, going last is clearly better.
There is nothing to be done about that. It is a game of pure tension, and its honesty lies precisely in not pretending there is skill where there is none.
Ten seconds, and the game decides for you
You have ten seconds to choose. That is far too long for a decision with no information, and it is deliberate: the waiting is the game.
If the time runs out, whichever switch is selected on your screen is flipped automatically. So not deciding is also a decision — and it is worth watching where your cursor is resting before the clock hits zero.
The match shrinks with the table
When a round ends, the survivors start another — with one switch fewer, because the rule is always one more than living players. The order is redrawn.
In the final duel there are two players and three switches: one is the bomb, and the first to flip runs a one-in-three risk. It is the tensest round in the game and it lasts, on average, two moves.
Elimination order sets the podium — so even the first to explode has a placing, and the match stays worth watching to the end.
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