What the Fluxx?

I like Fluxx. I don't know why. It really is 93% to 99% luck. It is rare to be able to build a strategy. It goes against everything I believe in when it comes to enjoyable gaming.

But I do like it. Quite a bit. The picture here was stolen from boardgamegeek.com -- my box and deck is in MUCH worse shape.

I think it's the easiest game I own. There's nothing to learn -- EVERYTHING is written on the cards themselves. You just have to read a little, and you got it. AND, once you've played the game 4 or 5 times, you don't even have to read -- the game starts moving very quickly.

The Welcome Back Bash had broken up. Basically, the lobby of the student center was empty except for myself and Rachel. I was explaining Fluxx to her when Bob and Mario drifted by. We didn't know them, but we managed to somehow get them to sit down and play! Ah, the power of the games.

So, Bob, Mario, Rachel, and Chris played a 4-player version of Fluxx.

I'll spare you the painful details of the game and jump right to the end -- Mario had The Brain as one of his keepers, and no one had the TV. When he played "The Brain (No TV)", Mario claimed victory!

As we were near the end of the game, Jake came by. He watched the last few plays, and was ready to jump into the next one.

Now we had Jake, Bob, Mario, Rachel, and Chris playing a 5-player game of Fluxx. That's a good amount of players -- Fluxx is fun with more.

Early in the game, Jake played the dreaded "Hand Limit 0" rule card. This card makes everyone discard all the cards in their hand, effectively removing the tiny sliver of strategy you can have in the game. The "Hand Limit 0" rule card, when played effectively, can be a brutal one -- if you have that with the "Trash a New Rule" card, you can be cruel. That combination can cause everyone else at the table to discard all their cards, but then rescue yourself from its effects immediately. SO now, you might have a hand of 7 cards, while everyone else is left holding air.

Learning these combos is how you can succeed in the game on very rare occasions.

Thankfully, Bob got us out of this mess by playing his "Money (No Taxes)" goal while he had Money out, and Taxes was no where to be found. Bob wins!

Everyone stayed for another round... it ended fairly quickly. Jake had just the "Love" keeper down, and had the "All You Need is Love" goal. Jake wins!!

I don't know why, but I do like Fluxx.