Everything is Garbage is a free strategy video game wherein trash is the ultimate foundation of life. Developed by Free Lives, this cute indie game is all about eventually converting garbage into usable items, with a factory-like chain of strategic moves to make the most of your resources. This strange little game was made for the Ludum Dare 47 game jam, with the theme of “stuck in a loop.”

Turn trash into a business

Everything is Garbage can look a bit strange, as you immediately start with no tutorial and you need to check the game’s online description for it. You begin with an empty island, save for one compost pit. On your left side is a ribbon menu that shows your money and various actions you can take—and you need to pay for these. With your left mouse button, you can place down a “building” to start earning money.

Click and hold to drag some lines and connect the buildings to start your supply chain. From the compost pit, the trash can become turnips and then be sold to a market. If you don’t like your placements, simply delete them by right-clicking. You can also pan around the map and zoom in using your middle mouse button or arrow keys. However, while deleting buildings will refund you in full, any resources on them will be lost.

As the resources go from location to location, they make cute instrumental sounds and will eventually establish a nice beat. However, the longer you go about earning money, the harder the game will get because every time you refill the garbage, the more expensive it becomes. You will soon be scrambling to place buildings right and send resources to the right place in order to keep earning enough. The goal is to power up the Obelisk.

Not that silly

Overall, Everything is Garbage actually a sneaky moral lesson beneath those adorable graphics. You’ll only be able to figure it out the more you unlock the game and start going for the home stretch. While the lack of tutorials can be frustrating, there’s a great sense of accomplishment in sometimes figuring out what to do when you’re stuck with your garbage.