We tried to keep up with the shifting game rules and end-game goals in Fluxx, the next game in our A to Z game-shelf play-through.
Basic Info: Fluxx
Players: 2-6
Time: 5-30 Minutes
Designer: Andrew Looney, Kristin Looney
Artist: Raúl Castellanos, Michael Hays, Naomi Kageyama, Andrew Looney, Barbara Spelger
Publisher: Looney Labs
This is the original edition of Fluxx, which now has a bajillion different themed editions. Each game starts out relatively easily – players have a hand of three cards and on their turn they draw one card and play one card. But things quickly change as new rules and goals are put into play.
The cards come in a few varieties – Keepers are played in front of a player and stay there throughout the game unless stolen or discarded due to Keeper Limit restrictions, New Rules change the rules, Goals define the win condition, and Actions change things up even more. Every rule can be changed – different goals, hand-limits introduced, drawing more cards each turn, playing more cards each turn, and limits on the number of Keepers in front of you.
The first player to have the necessary Keepers in front of them to fulfill the current Goal immediately wins the game.
We now have several of the Fluxx variants, which means that this original version doesn’t get to the table very often. The original game is somewhat generic with no unifying theme to the keepers, new rules, and goals, making it less appealing than later editions…at least for my game group. But this one has the nostalgia-factor, since it was one of the original games in our collection.
There’s not a lot to say – this is a light game that’s based a lot on the luck of the draw, but it’s fun. I especially like it as an end-of-the-evening-let’s-play-one-more-game game.
How is it as a 2-player game? Fluxx, as a rule, isn’t a great 2-player game in my opinion. It plays fine, but the game just works better with more players changing the rules, replacing the goals, and generally creating chaos.
How about the art and component quality? The art of this original version is fine, but a little generic. The card quality is good. That’s about it – not much else to the game!
Will this stay in my collection? Yes – I love pulling out Fluxx on game nights, and as one of our original games in our collection, I suspect nostalgia will win out even if this particular edition doesn’t come out often.
