To accompany Hard Work = Money’s Reduce Gaming Costs i am highlighting some of my favorite games. Today’s game is Fluxx by Looney Labs. The game of ever changing rules. The changing nature can make this a hard game to describe. Watch a round and it is fairly easy to pick up. My first Fluxx box described the game this way. “FLUXX: A Perfectly Simple Game for 2-6 Players” The game is simple in a way. It takes about as long as a hand of Uno to play.
This game was recommended to my by someone that had never even played it. I went to a game shop and said i was looking for a new game. The guy working suggested this game because people were buying it in German if English was out of stock and were coming into the store just to ask for this game. They had had it about 2 months and he knew people loved it.
How to play the game
This is much easier to show. The rules in the box even tell you to jump right in. At first the game had 5 card types.
- Basic Rules – The starting point of every game
- New Rules – Change how you play the game
- Goals – Complete these to win the game
- Keepers – Cards that help you win
- Actions – Things you do once.
Since i found this game in 1999 there are new card types, rules, decks, etc
- Ungoals – Complete these and everyone loses
- Meta rules – Mix between a Basic Rule and New Rule
- Creepers – Undesirable cards that make it harder to win
Basic Strategy
The box used to tell you how to win. “The goal of the game? Oh, I’m terribly sorry. No one has played one yet.” The best way to win this game is figure out how to change the goal and complete the new goal. Some parts to the game have no strategy. In Monty Python Fluxx The Outrageous Accent can be used to get you extra cards or to annoy others. Paired with I Just Want To Sing and sing in that outrageous accent. So how do you strategize? With luck. Or skill. The game is a blast to play.
Expansions
Every game has expansions and this one is not any different. There are different decks, expansion packs, promo cards, wooden boxes, flowers, blank cards and who knows what else will come in the future. There is even one card that is only valid if signed by the games creator. I recommend not trying to get everything for this game. If you get all the decks, expansions, and everything else there will just be too much. Games will take too long and people will get bored. To start you need one deck is all. I recommend 4.0, Zombie or Monty Python. Not all card types are in every version and by version 4.1 the rules will likely have changed again.
Why i love this game
The rules change. There is a Monty Python version. Zombies. Martians coming soon. One version is called Stoner Fluxx. Family Fluxx or Eco Fluxx might be more your style. The game is simple enough that my nieces and nephews like to play. It has enough variations that it changes frequently. Inside all the silliness there is some actual strategy to win. It is by a company called Looney Labs. If you do buy everything keep the playing deck to 100-200 cards.
Fluxx may be the coolest card game ever created. When I tell people that the goal and the rules change, they look at me like I've suddenly grown three heads. But then, after playing for a couple of minutes, they get it. And, except for a very few people I've shown it to, they love it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a game that requires some strategy, but you don't have to think too hard through the whole game. You can have a conversation while playing. (That's particularly fun if you've starting speaking with a rather difficult outrageous accent and you want to draw those extra cards.)
At last count, I own 5 different versions of the game. I don't mix the decks. Sometimes you want to play with Zombies. Sometimes you need Monty Python. If you only have two players, Family Fluxx is the best. Sometimes you just want the classic version. Andy Looney created a simple, beautiful set of rules for the game. For the last ten years he, and the rest of us, have discovered how well those rules hold up and can be exended without ruining what makes the game great.
Haven't tried playing this game yet. I'm gonna set a time for this. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting card games! I think it's definitely a worth to try games for the whole family. Anyway, if you have time, take a visit to my Free Games website.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post. Thanks for the share . It was very interesting and informative. Keep posting. I follow you.
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