Garbage Day, Game Review

Between you and your roommates there is the unwritten rule that someone has to take out the trash. However, there is a second unwritten rule that the one who has to take it out is the one who gets caught overfilling the garbage can. The competition has gotten fierce as the week goes on and garbage day approaches. There is pieces hidden in everyone's bedrooms and the pile on top of the can is getting unsteady. Can you get away with balancing the pizza box on it? Or, maybe you can try hiding the banana peel in your room. Then again, maybe you can catch your roommate off guard and make them clean their room which might make the pile on top of the can tumble.

Garbage Day is a card game pitting players against each other in a game of strategy and dexterity. You take turns drawing a card and playing one to hide it in your room, make an opponent do something, or throwing it away in the garbage can. Deciding what to do when is part of the strategy, the other part is how you place the cards you are throwing away on the garbage can.

Every card has two holes punch in it. When you place a card on the garbage can, either by choice or being forced to, you have to place it so you can see the tabletop through both holes. It must remain on the garbage can. If it falls off, you have to collect it, and if you collect too many pieces you're out.

The Start

At the start of the game placing cards on the garbage can is easy enough to do, but you have to decide if you are going to place it in a way to create a stronger base, or one that may tip out more easily. Either way you choose may come back to haunt you later in the game.

Looking like a mushroom

We had three of us play several games of Garbage Day. The rules were easy to understand and we were able to start the first game easily. In the first game we played our early cards conservatively as we were figuring out how the game played out. It worked until one card tipped off. At that point there was an avalanche of cards that cleared most of the garbage from off the top of the can and forcing that player out. In our following games we took a placed cards further out, creating a less stable base on top of the can. When garbage fell off when the cards were played this way, fewer cards fell.

In either case people stopped sitting at the table as the game moved along for fear of knocking garbage out of the can. You see, there is a rule that if you cause garbage to fall, even if you are not placing a card, they go in your overflow pile.

I don't remember if we played three or four games, but we were all having fun. The Garbage Dayis designed for two to five players. We also have the Smelly Expansion which allows you to bring in a sixth roommate. With the Garbage Day played we all think there would be more chaos with more players and want to pull it out in front for our entire gaming group.

All of our games were finished before the 30 minute mark and the last one was less than 15. Making this a good game to have on hand as a filler game, or a cabin game. When showing this game to younger players they wanted to play based on the name and the garbage can the cards come in.

Garbage Day was designed by Shane Willis and distributed by Mayday Games. It is designed to take 30 minutes for 2–5 players of ages 8+.

Thanks to Mayday Games for the review copy.

One player out

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