Not the Button

On the Subject of Not the Button

You might think that pressing a button is pretty straightforward. That’s the kind of thinking that gets people exploded.

The module has a big button, and a screen to the left.
Use the first chart to determine what to do with the button.

On colourblind-friendly modules, the button may have a pattern that can be used to determine the colour.

If you need to hold the button, refer to ‘Not Releasing a Held Button’.

If you need to mash the button, refer to ‘Not Mashing a Button’.

Scroll right to see the full table on mobile devices.

Button colour	Press	Hold	Detonate	Tap	Push	Abort	Button	Click	Mash
Red	Press	Mash	Hold	Press	Hold	Hold	Press	Mash	Press
Orange	Mash	Press	Press	Hold	Mash	Mash	Mash	Mash	Mash
Yellow	Hold	Press	Mash	Mash	Press	Hold	Press	Press	Hold
Green	Press	Hold	Press	Mash	Mash	Hold	Press	Press	Press
Cyan	Hold	Mash	Mash	Press	Hold	Press	Hold	Press	Mash
Blue	Press	Hold	Press	Mash	Press	Hold	Mash	Hold	Press
Purple	Mash	Hold	Hold	Press	Mash	Mash	Hold	Mash	Hold
Pink	Mash	Press	Hold	Press	Press	Press	Mash	Hold	Mash
White	Press	Mash	Press	Hold	Mash	Press	Press	Press	Hold
Black	Hold	Hold	Mash	Mash	Press	Mash	Hold	Mash	Mash

Not Releasing a Held Button

If you start holding the button down, a coloured strip will light up on the left side of the module. It may or may not be striped. Based on its colour(s) you must release the button when the bomb’s countdown timer meets a specific condition.

W Anytime
R Right-most seconds digit is 1	WR Contains 9
Y Contains 4	WY Contains the number of batteries
G Both seconds digits add to 7	WG Both seconds digits match
B 10s of seconds digit is prime or 0	WB Right-most seconds digit is not 7
RY Contains the last digit of the serial number*	YB Contains 6
RG Right-most seconds digit is prime or 0	YG Both seconds digits differ by 4
RB Right-most seconds digit matches the left-most digit	GB 10s of seconds digit is not 2

* If the serial number contains no digits, use 0.

Not Mashing a Button

If you start mashing the button, a display will activate showing the number of times you have pressed it. Based on the colour of the button, use one of the expressions below to calculate how many times to press it. If the result is outside the range of 10-99, keep subtracting or adding 7 until it’s within the range.
After you’ve pressed the button enough times, wait for 3 seconds for the answer to be submitted.

Button Colour	Expressions
Red	(a + 2b) - d
Orange	(2b + 1) - g
Yellow	(2a + d) - c
Green	d + (2f - b)
Cyan	(e + f + g) - b
Blue	2c + (d - 1)
Purple	2(f - a) + d
Pink	3g - (a + 3)
White	(f + ac) * (e + d)
Black	(ab + cd) - g(e - f)

Where:

a = number of batteries on the bomb
b = number of distinct port types on the bomb
c = number of solvable modules on the bomb, including this module
d = number of indicators on the bomb
e = last digit of the serial number*
f = alphabetic position of the second letter of the serial number*
g = number of letters in the word on the button

* If the serial number contains no digits or fewer than two letters, use 0 for the relevant values.