I first heard about Nightshift by Exotic Cancer online and immediately wanted to play it. A board game about exotic dancers? How fun! I came across it in person at my local game store and immediate dropped everything else I was planning to purchase so that I could pick up a copy for myself. Everything about the art, the game pieces, and the concept was so fresh and exciting, I couldn’t wait to break it out and play a round. The game also comes with a wholesome message, with Exotic Cancer, a former dancer herself, writing on the back of the box that the game “aims to challenge stigma and empower this often misunderstood profession by promoting empathy and understanding.”
PLAYING
Nightshift by Exotic Cancer is a board game about extracting as much money as possible from the storied patrons of your local exotic dancing club, both in the shadowy corners of the stage floor and the shadowy corners of digital subscriptions. You play as one of five colorful professional dancers, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald, Sapphire, and Amethyst, each equipped with their own specialties that will gain you unique advantages on the club floor. There are several game modes to choose from, each following the same core mechanics.
At the start of each round, dancers will move between the tables of patrons surrounding the stage, expending energy points to go from table to table and get a closer look at the people who are in the club. Your goal is to earn money, usually by getting a table of patrons to agree to go with you to either the Private Room, or the VIP Room. You are armed with shots, champaign glasses, and power cards (that can either help you or sabotage another dancer). Once committed, you start your next turn with your patrons in one of the two entertainment rooms. Each room has its own “push your luck” mini-game. In the Private Room, you pull cards that correspond to dance moves (heel clacks, ass shaking, titty grabbing) that you will use to impress your guest. If you pull three or more of the same move though, you’ll bust and leave with the minimum amount of money. Thankfully the game is somewhat forgiving, and allows you to spend champagne tokens to have a “do over.” If you complete your dance without busting, you leave with a hefty tip, and earn the loyalty of that customer as a digital subscriber.
The VIP room offers the possibility of even more tips, and uses dice rolls, rather than card pulling, to determine how much the customers love you (and how much money they are willing to throw your way). As the player, you roll a 10 sided die, each stickered with the different dancer character traits, and hope to roll all 5, to show your customer what a well-rounded entertainer you are. If you can get all 5 without repeating (or busting) and using up all your champagne token “do overs” you can walk away with up to $10,000.
The rounds progress this way throughout the phases of the night, punctuated by being called up to the main stage (earning more money from the big tippers in the audience), the refreshing of customers, and the bright lights of last call. Once all rounds have been completed, players count their total number of in-person tips, and tally their new subscriber income. Some customers have favorites, and will count doubly toward final subscriber income.
There are 10 different play experiences in this game. There is a traditional, competitive version, where it is every dancer for themselves. There is a cooperative mode, where dancers are playing to save the club from financial difficulties and pool all of their income. A 2v2 mode, which allows players to team up with another dancer to double their tips. There are also two solo-player modes, one where a dancer competes against the unseen competitor “Diamond” to earn more money, or a solo verson of the cooperative save-the-club mode, where players can control multiple dancers. Each of these five modes can be played as a “short shift” which has nine rounds, or a “long shift” which has fourteen.
THOUGHTS
Playing this game is fun. I think it is worth picking up for the patron art alone. Exotic Cancer created a delightfully horrifying crop of customers, bringing a mix of leering, sad men, bicurious women, sugar babies “sharing the wealth,” and my least/most favorite card “The Robinson family” a family celebrating their son’s 30th birthday *shudder*. I really can’t stress enough how wonderfully terrible every customer reveal feels. Part of my core enjoyment of the game is flipping the patron cards over and sharing in some lighthearted distress with the other players about how repulsive some of the customers are. The pieces and components of the game feel high quality. The dancer pieces are cute, unique, and detailed enough to see the different outfit components on each mini. The other tokens in the game are made of wood, painted in nice colors, and feel satisfying to handle. The cards are good quality and hold up with multiple gameplays. I was also impressed by the round tracker, which uses a magnet to allow you to move the pointer from the “short shift” to “long shift” sides easily.
The rounds move quickly and the mechanics don’t take long to learn. I’ve played this three times, once co-op, and twice as a “short shift” competitive game. I wish I had started with the co-op mode, as it would be a great way to learn the mechanics and rhythm of the game and practice the strategic decision making of the mini-games. In my second time playing the game, I introduced it to two of my non-board-gaming friends, and “do you want to play a board game about stippers with me?” was an extremely easy sell. I found the game easy to teach, even after only playing it once myself, and the mechanics were simple, but engaging enough to hold the attention of friends who are not board game people. The game has enough luck and strategy to make it re-playable, and certainly enough game modes to have new experiences every time you play. That being said, it is simple enough that I don’t see myself wanting to play more than one or two rounds at a time.
Ultimately, I would recommend buying this game. For $99, I am pleased with the quality of all the components and the variety of gameplay options. I get a lot of joy even from just telling people about the game and getting them hyped up to play it. From my experience, this is a wholly unique concept, and I love that it was designed by a former exotic dancer and allows her to tell her own story though the gameplay. This game offers replayability, delight, and can convert some of your non-gaming friends to gamers (for at least a few rounds). I love having this game in my collection, and I hope you will too.
