Trash Pandas Review

Table of Contents

• Game Breakdown
• Trash Pandas - Overview
• How to Play Trash Pandas
• Trash Pandas - Quick Reference
• Trash Pandas - Tips and Tricks
• Trash Pandas - Honest Review

Trash Pandas - Overview

One man’s trash is another raccoon’s treasure. This is a game of chance and strategy. You will have to decide how many times to roll the dice to paw through the trash and try to stash your treasure. The more you roll, the more actions you can take, but if you are too greedy, you could go bust… leaving you with nothing!

How to Play Trash Pandas

Setup

Shuffle the deck and deal the cards face down in the following order:

• Player 1 = 3 cards
• Player 2 = 4 cards
• Player 3 = 5 cards, etc.

Stack the rest of the cards in the deck. Arrange the 6 tokens in a row.

Gameplay

The player who took out the trash last is the first player. Player 1 rolls the die and takes the token that matches the die result. They can decide to either STOP or CONTINUE rolling.

• If you decide to stop, move to resolve the token (see the quick reference below for instructions on how to resolve the tokens).
• If you continue rolling, keep taking the tokens. However, if the die result ever matches a token you have already taken, you have gone BUST (Note: You can save yourself from going bust by discarding a Blammo! [allows you to re-roll] and/or use a Nanners card to ignore the last roll). If you cannot save yourself with any cards, you cannot resolve any of the tokens and must return them to the centre.
• Consolation Prize: If you go bust, draw one card from the trash can into your hand.
• BONUS: If you collect all of the tokens, immediately resolve them and then roll again. With this bonus turn, you are limited to collecting a maximum of three tokens (for the sake of gameplay).

Play continues with the next player’s roll.

Endgame

The game stops when there are no more cards to draw. The player who has drawn the last card can then continue to resolve any further tokens. Any cards that are in players’ hands are discarded. Now you need to sort out your stashed pile.

Put your stashed cards into groups and add up the total number of cards per type. Compare this with your opponents.

Score points based on who stashed the most according to the icons in the upper left corner of each card. For example:

• If you have the most Feesh cards, you score five points.
• If there is a tie, the players involved receive one fewer point = e.g., 4
• The next player with the most Feesh cards would score three points.
• Score one point for each Blammo! Card stashed.
• Count up and compare points; whoever has the most wins.
• In the case of a tie, whoever has the most variety of cards wins. If there is still a tie, whoever has the most cards wins.

Gameplay Notes

• You cannot resolve any tokens until you have decided to STOP rolling.
• Once you have started resolving tokens, you cannot use any cards gained in that turn, e.g., no pick up, put down.
• You can only stash with the tree or mask action.
• Stashed cards are stored face down unless the mask token is used.
• If you ever go to draw a card and there are none left, the end of the game is triggered.

Trash Pandas - Quick Reference

Token Types

Token	Action (On Resolve)
Trash Cans	Take two cards from the trash (draw pile - you may not take cards from the discard pile).
Trees	Stash two cards from your hand into your personal pile (stashed cards are set aside near you and are face down until the end of the game - you can always look at your own stashed cards).
Trash/Tree	Either draw one card from the trash pile OR stash one card from your hand into your personal pile.
Thief	Steal one random card from another player’s hand (you cannot look at the cards). This action can be blocked immediately by another player if they play a Doggo or Kitteh card…if they have one.
Mask	Draw a card from the trash pile and reveal it to the other players. Then add it to your hand. Each player now has the opportunity to stash one card from their hand that matches that card. However, these cards must be stashed FACE UP. For each card stashed by other players, draw a card from the trash and add it to your hand.
Recycle	Exchange this token for a token that was not previously taken. Recycle is like a ‘wild’ token, but it is limited to whatever tokens you have not already taken. If you manage to take all six tokens, this token has no effect since there are no remaining tokens to choose from; however, then you get to play your bonus round.

Card Reference

SHINY

Steal a stashed card from a player!
You may steal a face-up or face-down card.
The target player may use the Doggo or Kitteh from their hand to block this action…if they do throw your shiny into the discard pile.

YUM YUM

Force a player to keep rolling!
You may play this card on another player’s go by placing it on the discard pile. This player is forced to keep rolling once they have decided to stop.

FEESH

Take a card from the discard pile.
Use this card to look through the discard pile and take what you want. If possible, you may use this new card during your current turn - e.g., you may use a Blammo to prevent a bust…or you might like to pick up a SHINY and save it for later…

MMM PIE!

Everyone loves leftover pizza.
Use this card when you are resolving your tokens to resolve them for a second time. For example, you could use it to resolve the trees twice, meaning you can stash four cards instead of two. Note, you cannot use multiple MMM pie! Cards on a single token.

NANNERS

Ignore your last roll and choose to stop.
Nanners are used when you are about to bust. Discard the Nanners card to cancel your last die roll. If it is treated as if it were not rolled, and you had decided to stop. You cannot keep rolling unless someone plays a YUM YUM on you.

DOGGO

Block a steal attempt, then draw two cards.
If another player tries to steal from you, use this card to stop them! As a bonus, you may draw two cards.

BLAMMO!

Re-roll your last die. 1 point per BLAMMO stashed.
If you go bust, use the BLAMMO to re-roll. When stashed, the BLAMMO cards are valued differently and are worth one point, regardless of the majority.

KITTEH

If a player tries to steal from you, steal from them instead.
If someone tries to steal from you, use this card to turn the tables and steal from them instead (however, if this player has a Doggo or Kitteh, then they could defend against this move too).
If you use this card to defend against a shiny steal, you would then steal from their stashed cards as if you were using a shiny.

Trash Pandas - Tips and Tricks

• Blammos! They are great cards. Not only can they save you from going bust. They are also guaranteed points at the end of the game. It is important to consider stashing these instead of using them, as this game can come down to one point difference.
• Be strategic in what you stash. The more you stash, the more points you are likely to gain; however, be wary of what your friends may be stashing too, as it is the person who has the most of the card type that gets the points.
• Use your action cards to your advantage to improve your stash for the end of the game.
• Keep an eye on how many cards are left in the deck, remeber the game ends when the last card is gone.

Trash Pandas - Honest Review

We really like the different action cards that are available and the risk you take when deciding to continue to roll or not. We like that you cannot tell who is going to win until the very end of the game. The theme is very well incorporated into the game, and the cards and items are designed well. It is a cute, family-friendly game.

We have played the travel version. It is a great size and is perfect for taking away on holidays. We played this wrong the first time. When we go bust, no one gets to pick up a card, but technically, the rule is you get a consolation prize.

There are only a few downsides to Trash Pandas. The obvious one is that this game is heavily impacted by luck at times, with it feeling very hard to get in front when you keep rolling tokens you already have. Obviously, though, this game is never over till it is over, so you could argue that this is also part of the fun.

Of all the games we have reviewed on this site, Trash Pandas remains a top pick for us personally. We love the risk-reward factor in this game and the fact that it seems just as fun with two players or four.