"This loony card game is in a constant state of flux. It begins with one Basic Rule: Draw one, play one. But that rule can change without notice, and so can the goal of the game. For a while there may be no goal at all!
"The deck contains 78 cards of four types: New Rule, Action, Keeper, and Goal. Each player is dealt three cards, and the Basic Rule card is placed in the center of the table. Players draw cards and decide which cards from their hands to play. Some change the rules or the goals, which remain as changed until somebody changes them again. Typical rules require players to draw five cards (instead of one), or to play their entire hand each turn, or to limit their hand to, say, two cards. An Action card might, for instance, cancel the hand limit or force you to trade hands with another player. Goal cards establish the winning requirement for all players.
"Keeper cards, unlike the other three types, are placed in front of the player who owns them. These cards represent such familiar things as TV, chocolate, or taxes, and are usually the focus of the goal. A goal might be that certain Keeper cards are showing on the table while certain others are not. The game ends the moment the goal is met.
"Fluxx's wild fluctuations may have some traditional gamers worried about their sanity. But if mercurial mayhem is your kind of fun, go with the Fluxx!
"Andrew Looney, the inventor of Fluxx, previously gave us the board game Icehouse (The GAMES 100, December 1993) and the video game Icebreaker (The GAMES 100, December 1995). Visit his interesting Web site: www.wunderland.com, click on Wunderland Toast Society and then on Andy.
-- John Chaneski "
