Puppies or Poop

I can’t remember a time when we didn’t have a dog in the house. Italian Greyhounds are my favorite, and like any pup, they love their walks. In Puppies or Poop, a peaceful walk quickly turns into a messy challenge when the dogs scatter into the leaves and leave surprises behind. Can you dodge the trouble and finish with spotless shoes?

Fight in a Box publishes Puppies or Poop, designed by Seppy Yoon with adorable art by Mark Eberhardt. It plays 2–4 players in under 20 minutes for ages 14+, though younger kids can easily jump in.

Setup

In a four-player game, remove two Puppy cards and two Doghouse cards. For other player counts, follow the rulebook. Shuffle the remaining cards and deal three to each player. Place the rest face-down as a draw pile.

Then create the Yard by laying out a 2×2 grid using cards from the draw pile, with one card face-down and the other three face-up. The player who most recently walked a dog goes first.

Gameplay

Puppies or Poop plays out in two phases: Morning, when players add cards to the grid, and Evening, when you reveal cards until only one player remains.

Morning

On your turn do the following two steps: Plop and Swap.

To Plop, draw a card and place it face-up in the Yard orthogonally adjacent to another card. You may build in any direction, but the Yard cannot exceed a 5×5 grid.

Then Swap: trade one card from your hand with a face-up card in the Yard. Take the face-up card into your hand and place your exchanged card face-down in the Yard.

When the draw pile runs out, stop Plopping and only Swap with face-up cards in the Yard. Once no face-up cards remain, place one card from your hand face-down instead.

The Morning phase ends after everyone plays all the cards from their hand. There’ll be a full grid of face-down cards.

Evening

Evening starts with the first player. On your turn, choose a card from the Yard and reveal it:

• If it’s a Puppy, you’re safe.
• If it’s a Special Card, resolve its effect.
• If it’s Poop, you step in it. Once you collect three Poops, you’re out.

Resolve Special Cards as soon as you reveal them:

• Puppy Love: You now need four Poops to be eliminated.
• Confused Cat: Give it to another player. It counts as a Poop.
• Go Again: Take another turn.
• Sleepy Pups: Skip your next turn.
• Double Dookie: Counts as two Poops.

After resolving the card, place it face-up in front of you.

Players continue taking turns until only one player remains. That player wins!

Impressions

Puppies or Poop is silly fun. It plays fast, keeps turns snappy, and holds everyone’s attention. It reminds me of the memory games I played with my kids when they were little. You want to hide Puppies in the Yard so you can find them later, while placing Poop cards where you’ll remember to avoid them.

Strategy stays light and centers on memory. If you can keep track of what you plopped, you’ll gain the edge.

Because Puppies or Poop leans on recall, it works well across generations. I played with my 12-year-old and his grandparents, and everyone had a real shot to win. Every Evening reveal ramps up the tension, and the Special Cards spark plenty of laughs and groans. I even knocked out my dad with a Confused Cat!

Despite the 14+ label on the box, Puppies or Poop is accessible to much younger players. There’s no reading, and no math involved in scoring (just counting to three!). I think kids as young as 6 or 7 can easily play. The small box also makes it easy to pack for trips to the grandparents’ house. Puppies or Poop delivers great family fun, especially with kids. Once they learn the rules, they can easily play on their own.

If you’re ready to test your memory and risk stepping in it, grab a copy of Puppies or Poop directly from Fight in a Box or your friendly local game store and try to keep those shoes clean.

(Editor’s note: Does Puppies or Poop sound familiar? It re-implements Squirrel or Die, which we reviewed in 2023. We prefer this theme of cute puppies and avoiding their little presents much more than squirrels trying to kill each other off.)

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Puppies or Poop from Fight in a Box for this review.