Here at Gaming With Sidekicks, we enjoy the finer things in life. We consider ourselves intellectual board gamers who can marvel at elegant mechanics, beautiful aesthetics, and captivating game play experiences. We talk about the weight and co
mplexity of interactions and point out when a game has simplistic beauty. However… there’s not much that’s better than a good butt joke. And when you live in a house with boys that are 6, 4, and 3 years old, bathroom humor goes a long way. Let’s play Butts In Space!
Butts In Space
Publisher: The Dusty Tophat
Gameplay:
You start the game by taking on the role of one of the four members of the Butt family. My favorite is Classy Butt. Over the course of the game, you will play sets of Toilet Paper (TP) of varying rarities and point values. To play a set of TP (3 commons, 2 rares, or 1 mythical) all TP cards must have a symbol that matches the symbol on the top of your Butt character card. The player that has the most points in terms of TP sets when the 7th toilet-shaped spaceship is revealed will win the game.
There are action cards that can be played to force your opponent to discard cards, let you steal cards from their hand, or even steal already completed sets of TP. There are also action cards that will rotate all Butt character cards in front of different players. In this way, there is some strategy in trying to play sets that correspond to one Butt, before rotating the cards so that you can play another set of TP corresponding to a different Butt. I think my favorite action card is the protective Underwear that can protect your Butt from other actions your opponents might play.
At the start of each player’s turn, they will draw some number of cards. If a player draws one of the seven cards with parts for the toilet rocket ship, that card is set aside. Once all seven cards are drawn, the game ends. This is a fun way to make the end of the game a little more climactic. One player may be trying to draw cards to reveal the final part of the space ship and trigger the game’s end while other players are trying to get as many points as possible before the end of the game.
All of this comes together in a pretty smooth gameplay experience. All of the card text is very straight forward. The symbols and iconography are perfectly clear. Turns go pretty quick, so there isn’t much waiting even in a 4-player game.
Theme:
Here’s the deal: you don’t buy Butts In Space unless you’re going to enjoy the theme. The action card showing a butt wearing a dress, titled Boob Butt, and the intentional misspelling of the Assteroids are just a few examples of the kind of humor found here. My children are unable to even talk about this game without giggling. Which, honestly, is the main reason we got it.
The various themes of TP cards are a lot of fun. There’s so much originality in the design of these rolls of toilet paper. Just seeing the different TP cards and their effects is half the fun of playing. It really makes you wonder why stores don’t sell Unicorn or Demon toilet paper.
Parents:
This game is super easy to set up and play. The hardest part will be letting the kids decide which Butt they start with. Mine fought over the Kickstarter exclusive, metallic, Ro-Butt card. Seriously… there were almost tears because everyone wanted to be Ro-Butt.
One thing I love about set up is that the game length can be adjusted. If I know we don’t have much time for a game in between dinner and bedtime, I can just put all 7 ship parts in with half of the cards, shuffle them up, and play. I really like that kind of freedom in a game with kids.
There’s some basic reading, simple math, and making sure symbols on the card match. I help my 4 year old, but my 6 year old is perfectly capable of playing this on his own.
I guess it’s worth mentioning here. Parents, just be aware of the kind of humor in this game. While I understand these jokes aren’t for every family, this is all done in good fun. There’s nothing truly crude or vulgar here. Just Butts.
Final Thoughts:
I like it. It’s a perfect blend of casual strategy and humor. Because the game ends on its own time and players can’t just play a series of cards to instantly win, it allows you to play without bullying younger players, unlike games in a similar casual vein like Munchkin. My kids really enjoy Butts In Space. And since it’s just cards without any other kind of components, it makes it perfect to take on vacation or camping.
I’m sure my children will outgrow this one eventually, and we’ll be playing the latest super deluxe version of something that requires multiple play sessions and expansion packs. Then again, there’s nothing quite as timeless as a good butt joke.
If you want to know more about Butts In Space, head over to their Facebook page, and let them know. Or you can purchase the game straight from Amazon here!