Today I’ll be doing something a little different and taking a look at a physical card game, Fluxx. The first version of Fluxx was published in 1997 by Looney Lab Games. The version that I personally own is the fourth edition, which was published in December 2008.
About a decade ago, one of my coworkers was heavily into board and card games, having people over to play them at his house. He introduced me to this game, and I later picked up my own copy to be able to play it with other friends and family. It was one of the first non-video games that I purchased while working at the job.
Fluxx is a fairly simple multi-player game that typically is fairly quick to play. The suggested age range is 8 and up, for 2 to 6 players, and games typically last from 5 to 30 minutes. Like the tag line on the box notes, the actual rules for the game change as you play.
At the start of the game there is a basic rule, where each player draws an initial 3 cards. Then, on each turn, they draw 1 card and play 1 card. Cards can be new game rules, a game goal, a card to complete the game goals – known as a Keepers, a card that directs one or more players to take an action, or cards that make it harder to win – called Creepers.
Essentially, you keep drawing and playing cards until a Goal is played and one of the players has the required Keeper cards in play to be declared the winner. Only one Goal can be in play at a time and actions can steal or remove Keepers, so it’s a bit easier said than done. Playing a card is also not optional, which can lead to situations where you are forced to help an opponent win.
Flux is a fun social game, that’s simple enough to appeal to more casual gamers. Hopefully at some point a COVID vaccine will become available and we can get back to enjoying some of these in-person social games. I am still upset that it derailed my Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
There are also a large number of themed versions of the game, such as Zombie Fluxx, Star Trek Fluxx, Cthulu Fluxx, etc. They also released an educational series of Flux games, with Math or Chemistry themes. If you want to find where you can get a copy, you can search on the publisher’s site here.