What a theme for a euro

💩 Night Soil by Grail Games is an extraordinary game for multiple reasons. I think the first to commend is the theme of the game. You see, Tudor-era London didn't have a modern plumbing system, and with so many inhabitants, the constant build-up of human waste was an issue. This is where the players come in: you all lead your own guilds specialized in cleaning waste (or rather dumping it into the river Thames 😄). I think for this theme alone the game is worth a closer look.

Of course, it also has unique mechanics. 🧐 There are two main parts to the game: A worker placement phase, and a super tactical cube-pushing phase with action cards. 

Worker placement is mostly what you'd expect, except that workers also bring poo-cubes to the city districts. When a space is full of poo (😅), no worker can go there anymore. Actions are mostly about getting cards, placing your tokens on influence tracks for ongoing bonuses and getting yourself in position on the map. There is one essential thing to remember: ☝️ workers are all neutral, and you’ll have to work hard in the next phase to get them back!

The “real” game happens when night comes. 👉Now players in turn-order get to activate cards to move the poo-cubes around the map, with the primary goal of flushing them down the river for money. It is also important to rid districts of cubes, so you can claim them with your player markers - if they are still clean by your next turn (this is not easy at all!) you get to claim the money and workers from that district. 😮 And this is the essence of the game. Cunningly manipulating cubes to get yourself into an advantageous position, while sabotaging other players. This is a hugely interactive game, where meanness is basically a must. And if you don't do well, you can really get left behind in the dust. 😵

I have to add that even though the box says 2-5 players, the game buckles at 2p for this reason. It “works”, but one player will get some small advantage one way or another, which quickly snowballs into a huge difference between players, without any options for a comeback. So I’d recommend playing it with 3 or more players if you have the chance.