BoomJack

The Game

The bomb is about to detonate, and only you can stop it by playing BoomJack! But beware, your wager is the amount of time left on the fuse, so play fast and take risks!

You’ll need to take on 7 different dealers, each with a goal for you to accomplish while playing. If you accomplish the goal before the timer runs out, you’ll be rewarded with a brief respite and a choice of perks to aid you in completing future goals. But watch out, each dealer has a special perk of their own that they’ll use to try and stop you.

Beat all 7 dealers before time runs out, and you’ll defuse the bomb!

How To Play

In BoomJack, your goal is to beat the dealer. You do this one of three ways:

1. By drawing a hand value that is higher than the dealer’s hand value.
2. By the dealer drawing a hand value that goes over 21.
3. By drawing a hand value of 21 on your first two cards.

At the start of each round, you’re dealt two cards and the dealer is dealt two cards, though the dealer’s second card is dealt facedown. Card values are equivalent to their rank, with the exceptions being face cards and aces. Face cards are always worth 10, and aces can be 1 or 11, depending on what helps the hand more.

After the cards are dealt, it’s time to check for blackjack. If your hand equals 21, you automatically win your wager, plus a bonus! However, if your hand does not equal 21 and the dealer’s does, you automatically lose. In BoomJack, the player gets priority, which means that if both the player and dealer have blackjack, the player still wins!

If no one has blackjack, the player acts first and has the option to draw cards (”Hit”), declare their turn over (”Stay”), or risk extra by taking exactly one card (”Double”).

If you decide to hit, you’ll draw one card at a time. If your new score equals or exceeds 21, your turn automatically ends. If your score exceeds 21 (aka you “bust”), you lose.

At any point, you may choose to stay if you’re happy with your score and end your turn. The dealer will then take their turn.

Alternatively, you may double when you have exactly 2 cards. You’ll draw one card, dealt sideways to indicate a double, and your turn automatically ends. If you win the round, you’ll get twice the reward! But if you lose the round or bust, you’ll lose extra time off the clock, so think carefully before you decide to double.

Once you’ve passed your turn, the dealer will reveal their second card. They will draw cards until their score equals 17 or higher, which means they might not draw any cards if their score is already 17+. If the dealer’s score exceeds 21, or their score is less than yours, you win! If their score does not exceed 21 and is greater than yours, you lose. If your scores tie, it’s a “Push”.

Once the round is complete, all cards are discarded and a new round begins. If the draw pile (aka the “shoe”) is running low on cards, the timer will pause while the shoe is reshuffled. Each shoe consists of 2 decks of cards.

Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack is a nuanced game with many decisions that are very marginal, and the changes made for Blackjack Boom mean that perfect blackjack strategy may not always apply. That said, if you’d like to follow basic strategy, here’s a simplified guide.

Blackjack is a nuanced game with many decisions that are very marginal, and the changes made for Blackjack Boom mean that perfect blackjack strategy may not always apply. That said, if you’d like to follow basic strategy, here’s a simplified guide:

If your hand is 4 - 8, always hit. If your hand is 9 - 10, double if the dealer's card is lower than hand. If your hand is 11, always double.

If your hand is 12 - 16, always stay if the dealer has 2 - 6, otherwise hit. If your hand is 17+, always stay.

If your hand contains a soft value (i.e. an Ace worth 1 or 11), double if the dealer's card is 4 - 6, stay if your hand is 17+, and otherwise hit.

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