Astro Trash from The Op Games — Review
Can you clear all of the trash off your planet by sending it to other worlds or launching it to the sun before the other players?
*Note* A Copy of this game was provided by the Publisher for the purposes of review.
Publisher — The Op Games
Designer — Kami Mandell
Art Direction — NA
Game Type — Dice Rolling, Family, and Real Time
Initial Year of Release — 2019
Age Range — 6+
Expected Playtime — 10–15 Minutes
Number of Players — 3–5
Theme and What is it?
It’s time to clean the trash off of your planet. You can launch it into the sun or send it to other planets. Can you be the first world to clean your trash away?
Astro Trash has you using dice to quickly clean all of the trash off of your world. You’ll move it to the sun or place it on one of your neighbors’ boards. Be the first person to get rid of all your trash and you get a trophy. Get three trophies and win the game.
Initial Impressions
Popping the box open I was impressed with the components. I think the trash pieces are nice, the dice are good quality, and the planet player boards are pretty. Overall, I thought this looked like a solid production.
Game Mechanics
Each player starts with a number of trash pieces in their world based on the number of players. You each get one of each of the dice.
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The round begins. You roll all three of your dice. The dice will let you know which type of trash you can move off your planet, how many pieces you can move, and where you can pass it. You can place it on the planet of the player on your left or right, into the sun, or you get to choose. Once you’ve moved your trash, you roll the dice again, and do the same thing over. You continue to do this as fast as you can until one player has emptied their world of trash. They win a trophy. The first player to get three trophies wins the game.
Game Build and Quality
The components are really nice here. I think the plastic trash pieces are good, sturdy, and look great. The planet boards are all interesting and colorful. The dice are fine. They’re decent quality, though I wish they were a bit bigger.
Artistic Direction
The only art in the game is the planet boards. I think they look suitably colorful and unique. They give the game a nice table presence.
Fun Factor
This is a real time game with fast actions and a lot of screaming. Pieces are going to be chucked around the table quickly and with much gusto.
Age Range and Weight
The box says 6+ and I think that is pretty good. Some of the components are a bit small for younger players and could be at risk of getting swallowed.Look out for that sort of thing.
Conclusions
The game is fine. I’m never going to play it with my friends but kids will have a good time pushing the pieces around and trying to clear their worlds. There can be a problem if one player doesn’t want to get rid of the pretty pink pieces. However, even if they can’t get behind that part of the game the pieces can be fun for kids to play with just as they are.
I think this is a pretty good game for families. Kids will have a lot of fun shoving pieces at one another.
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Overall Rating — 7/10
