Spelunky is © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC, and is used under the [Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt). spelunky.ai is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Mossmouth. The game and its assets may not be sold. Music by George Buzinkai and Jonathan Perry; sound effects made in SFXR. From Spelunky Classic 1.1, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC. # Unarmed lit bombs From the spelunky.ai wiki: . Verified against the spelunky.ai port [v0.1.10](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/releases/tag/v0.1.10) on 28 October 2026. Unarmed lit bombs are a quirk of Spelunky Classic in which a lit bomb the player didn't throw, as a Chest's trap, can be carried out of a level as a free bomb. | Quirk | | | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Status | GML + Oracle (the exit); GML (the Shopkeeper) | | Where | `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:821-831` | | Pinned by | `fidelity/replays/item-chest-trap-bomb-unarmed.txt` | | Row | [docs/quirks.md §1, Bugs and leftovers in the 1.1 source](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/blob/main/docs/quirks.md#1-bugs-and-leftovers-in-the-11-source): “A bomb lit by anything but the player, a Monkey or the Sun Room isn't armed.” | A lit [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb) the player throws is armed, which the game checks in two places: a Bomb going through an exit in his hands is let go and left behind, and one near a shop angers its [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper). Bombs lit by other things look and burn the same but aren't armed, so neither check acts on them. ## What happens The player opens a [Chest](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/chest), and out pops a lit bomb. He picks it up and takes the exit with it: instead of being left behind, it goes back into his bag, and his bombs go from 4 to 5[^1]. **Clip: A chest's trap bomb, carried out, is a free bomb.** The player opens a chest, and out pops a lit bomb. He picks it up and takes the exit with it: instead of being left behind, it goes back into his bag, and his bombs go from 4 to 5. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/39b784c6a7dfc9d3/clips/quirks/chest-trap-bomb-taken-out/clip.mp4)) ## Why One time in 12, opening a Chest lets out a trap: a Bomb with the lit sprite and a 40-step fuse, but `armed`, which every item starts without, is never set[^2]. At a level's exit, the player's step lets go of an armed Bomb and puts any other back in his bombs[^3]: ```gml objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:821-831 else if (holdItem.type == "Bomb") { if (holdItem.armed) { holdItem.held = false; } else { global.bombs += 1; with holdItem { instance_destroy(); } } ``` `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:821-831`, from `spelunky.gmk`, Spelunky Classic 1.1's source, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC ([Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt)). That's what puts an unlit Bomb carried out back in the bag, and the trap bomb, lit but unarmed, goes back in too. Olmec's exit does the same[^4]. A Bomb near a shop angers its Shopkeeper only if it's armed[^5]. Only the player's throw, a [Monkey](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/monkey) and the Sun Room arm a bomb; an explosion setting one off, a [Magma Man](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/magma-man)'s touch and the mothership's barrier light it unarmed. The player being stunned or killed arms whatever he drops[^6]. Of the unarmed ones, only the Chest's burns long enough to carry out: the others go off in 4 to 12 steps[^7]. ## Reproducing it Open Chests until one lets out a bomb, pick it up at once and walk through the exit within its 40 steps. The replay of the clip's staged scene pins it: the trap bomb, unarmed, picked up lit and taken through the exit, puts the bombs from 4 to 5, with no explosion[^8]. ## In the port The spelunky.ai port reproduces it exactly: it's in docs/quirks.md's list of the 1.1 source's bugs[^7], and the oracle's fingerprint of the replay pins the bomb count. The Shopkeeper's side is read in the code and not yet in a replay. No option turns it off. ## FAQ ### Can you keep a Chest's trap bomb in Spelunky Classic? Yes. Picked up while it's lit and carried out of the level's exit, a [Chest](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/chest)'s trap bomb goes back into the player's bombs instead of being left behind, so it's a free bomb. ### Does a Chest's lit bomb anger a Shopkeeper? No. A bomb only angers a [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper) when it's armed, and a Chest's trap bomb never is unless the player is stunned or dies holding it. ### Why is a lit bomb not armed? The code that lights a bomb for a Chest, an explosion, a Magma Man or the mothership's barrier changes its sprite and starts its fuse, but doesn't set it armed, as the player's throw does. ## See also - **Related:** [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb), [Chest](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/chest), [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper), [Magma Man](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/magma-man), [Monkey](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/monkey) ## References [^1]: Clip quirks/chest-trap-bomb-taken-out [^2]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:568-577` [^3]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:821-831` [^4]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:691-702` [^5]: `objects/oBomb/step.gml:6` [^6]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1714-1720` [^7]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^8]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-chest-trap-bomb-unarmed.txt` ### Source code - `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml` - `objects/oBomb/step.gml`