"Fluxx"
Players: 2-6
Age: 8+
Time: 2-30 minutes
Cost: $14
www.looneylabs.com
http://merb101.livejournal.com


Change the rules with Looney Labs' "Fluxx"

By MICHAEL ERB
www.newsandsentinel.com
merb101@gmail.com

You've never played a game quite like "Fluxx."

A card game from the aptly-named Looney Labs, "Fluxx" is for 2-6 players ages 8 and up and can take anywhere from a few minutes to a half-hour to play.

The rules are simple, but the game itself is not. Each player is dealt three cards from the deck. The first player then draws a card and plays a card. Simple enough?

Each card, however, introduces a new rule or goal to the game, and the rules stack unless removed by another card. Likewise the goal of the game changes throughout, so one minute you are about to win, and the next minute you're not. Or vice versa.

There are four kinds of cards. The aforementioned Goal cards tell you what to do to win. Most goals force a discard of the previous goal, so each time a goal card is played, that becomes the goal for everyone. Most of the goals center on collecting Keeper cards, which are items like chocolate bars or moons or "war." For example, one Goal might be "Winning the Lottery," which says whoever holds both the Dreams and Money cards wins.

Action cards allow you to do things in-game, like remove a Rule or swipe a Keeper or even draw new cards.

Rule cards really are the bread and butter of the game. These cards can do anything from set a new hand limit (how many cards you can hold each round) to rewarding those with the least or greatest number of Keepers on the table.

The basic rules say each person on their turn draws one card and plays one card. The advanced rules say … well, pretty much the same thing. That is the rule of "Fluxx." All of the other rules are part of the game.

This is a quick, fun game that is really easy to pick up and play. A game of "Fluxx" can range from brutally quick to maddeningly long, however, but it is still an excellent "lite" game and with the right group can be tremendously fun.

There are different kinds of "Fluxx" out there as well, from green-friendly "Eco Fluxx" to the undead terror of "Zombie Fluxx," and each adds their own unique twist on the game, though all are still "Fluxx" at heart. Looney Labs also offers "Fluxx Blanxx," which are, yes, blank cards where you can create your own Rules and Goals and whatnot.

The various kinds of "Fluxx" range in price from $8 to $16 depending on the size and newness of the game, with "Zombie Fluxx" being the most expensive and regular "Fluxx" being about $14. You also can get a Basic Set on Looney Labs' Web site for about $80, which includes "Fluxx," "Zombie Fluxx" and some of Looney Labs' other games.

For more information, visit www.looneylabs.com. For more game discussion and reviews, visit my blog at http://merb101.livejournal.com.