|
 For
a couple of months now I've been tinkering up a cool new version
of Fluxx, and although we're not ready to make an official new
product announcement just yet, we have decided that we're far
enough along in the process for me to start talking about it
on this webpage.
It's a Martian Invasion-themed version of Fluxx! Just as Zombie Fluxx
draws on all those classic Zombie movies for inspiration, Martian
Fluxx is about all those great alien invasion stories going back
to the original, the War of the Worlds. (And unlike Zombie Fluxx,
which required that I study a lot of material I'd previously
been too grossed out by to watch, I've always been a huge fan
of this genre and thus needed no extra research time to create
this new game!)
Shown here is a collage made up of some of the Keepers you'll
find in the Martian Fluxx: Mars, the Mothership, the Flying Saucer,
the Tripod, the City, the Cow, the Ray Gun, the Space Suit, and
the Tentacle.
The Tentacle? I hear you asking. How is that a good thing?
All those other things sound like great Keepers but what's good
about a tentacle? Well, they're great if you're a Martian...
which is what we are in this game!
In Martian Fluxx, the players are invaders from Mars, and
the Creepers are those pesky Pathetic Humans who are always getting
in our way, keeping us from winning. Cows of course are Keepers
because for Humans and Martians alike, they're good eating. There
are actually two Cow Keepers in the game; if you have them both
you can win with the Goal "Two All-Beef Earthlings."
The idea of making us the Martians came about as I realized
the Martians are the ones who get all the cool stuff! Other cool
Keepers you'll find include the Abduction Chamber (which you
can hide your Pathetic Humans in), the Space Modulator and the
Mind-Control Transmitter. And yes, you can use that Ray Gun to
vaporize Pathetic Humans. (The Germs Creeper however is harder
to get rid of...)
Of course the artwork you see here is just the sketches I
made for my prototypes. As we did with Zombie Fluxx, the final
product will feature full-color art by a professional artist.
BTW, I was inspired to design this game by our Queen of Operations,
Robin Vinopal. (In fact I gave her the first hand-drawn prototype
as a birthday gift in late November.) I've designed many games
because Kristin asked me to (including Zombie Fluxx, Aquarius,
and yes even the original Fluxx) but Martian Fluxx happened because
Robin kept saying "So Andy, what are we making after Zombie
Fluxx? How about something with flying saucers and ray guns and
alien abductors and stuff like that? That'd be cool!"
The design is feeling pretty complete at this point, but I've
still got room for a few more cards, which is good because I'm
sure I'll have a few more ideas as playtesting continues. As
far as the production schedule is concerned, we're planning to
repeat what we did for Zombie Fluxx, with an official announcement
at GTS in April and a release date in September, after showcasing
it and promoting it at the big summer trade shows, Origins and
GenCon.
So that's a sneak peek at Martian Fluxx, one of two cool new
games I currently have in the works. (The other is still a fully
classified secret, currently codenamed Secret Project EMR-35.)
|