GSA- Game Review- Fluxx
Originally published on the GSA 23 January 2013
Do you like your games to have simple and uncomplicated rules? Or do you prefer a game with a lot of variables and rules to keep track of? Well, Fluxx may be for you! Yes, both of you. No, don’t look at me like that. I’ll explain.
Fluxx is a game with a simple premise. You gather a collection of Keepers. In order to win you need to have the Keepers that match the ones on the Goal. Each round you draw one card and play one card. Everything else is explained on the cards that you play. Simple and straightforward. Oh, yeah, the cards that you play have a tendency to change the rules. It’s kind of like Calvinball except you don’t get to make it up. Nothing’s perfect.
You have a variety of cards in your hand; Keepers, Creepers, Actions, Goals and Rules. Keepers are what you need to win the game. Creepers keep you from winning the game even if you have the right Keepers. Unless the Goal involves collecting Creepers or someone changes the rules so that Creepers don’t stop you from winning. Rule cards change things like that as well as placing hand limits, keeper limits, changing how many cards you play and draw among other things.
No two games are the same. There’s a lot of randomness involved in the game, its almost as if it’s in a state of Fluxx. *rimshot* You can get to a point where each turn you are required to draw 5 cards, play 5 cards and have a hand limit of 0. That can make things interesting since everyone is just playing everything they draw. This normally doesn’t last long, since inevitably one of the cards you’re forced to play will change the rules again.
One of the fun things about Fluxx is the theme games. There are several out there besides the original. My favorite is Star Fluxx. This version of the game is full of sci-fi jokes and references. For example, one of the Keepers is an Expendable Crewman who is, purely by coincidence, wearing a redshirt. My favorite Goal to win with is the Robots Have Turned Against Us, which requires the Evil Creeper and the Robot Keeper. Gotta watch out for those evil robots.
Overall, Fluxx and its variants are a fun, low pressure group game. It can go quickly (though sometimes can last awhile) and makes a nice side game before diving into one of the big games on a game night. You can apply some strategy to it in order to pull out a win but its simple enough to not require a lot of thinking. Remarking on the fun Goals and Creeper combos, especially in the theme games, can be half the fun.
