Fluxx Is Family Crowd Pleaser
Remember being a kid and changing the rules of a game as you went along, just to hopefully make the game go your way? Looney Labs has created a card game (out of 100% recycled material no less) that does just that!
Fluxx is a game that comes in what looks like an oversized playing card box. It uses 100 playing cards that include Basic Rules, New Rules, Goals, Keepers and Action cards. These cards are what determine the direction the game will take.
I will admit, I was a bit confused at first glance. Even though the “How To Play” sheet had wonderfully detailed front and back instructions and a clearly labeled drawing of a game in progress, I thought there had to be more to the game. So with a table full of little people jumping out of their seats with excitement at the idea of playing a new game, I did what any responsible parent would have done: I googled it. Luckily, I found a YouTube video of the owner and creator of Looney Labs, Andy Looney (great name!), demonstrating how the game is played.
With our newfound knowledge from our online visit with the man behind the game, we found that it IS that simple and there was nothing we were missing. You start by shuffling the deck, dealing three cards to each player and drawing a card from the deck, then playing one of your cards. Each card has instructions on what to do with them when they are being played. Easy enough.
Well, the real fun begins when you start drawing cards. Each New Rule card changes the number of cards drawn and played. The Goal cards changes the game’s goal, so right when you think you are about to win, someone joyfully drops a new Goal card and you fall far behind. It throws everyone for a loop because you really don’t know what to expect next.
Every time you play, the game changes, with the simple act of shuffling the cards. For this simple fact, it has become an after dinner game in our house. Adults and children alike enjoy the silliness that comes with the game. Each game can last from 5 to 20 minutes due to the frequent game changers.
Though the instructions on the box clearly state that it is recommended for people 8 and older, we allow our 6 year old to play because with the pictures on the cards she is able to follow it well. Looney Labs offers many different themed Fluxx games, or “flavors” as the geniuses at Looney Labs like to call them, including Zombie, Martian and Pirate Fluxx, to name a few.
Speaking of geniuses, their Fluxx card game received the Mensa Select Award!
The $10.00 price tag just does not come close to the value of the product. You really cannot put a price on family time and fun!
Manufacturer: Looney Labs
Price: $10.00
www.looneylabs.com/games/fluxx
YouTube Instructional Site Mentioned Above: http://youtu.be/PcR0nSmoUsw
Appealed to the advertised age range | 5 |
Instructions were easy to follow | 5 |
My children played with this multiple times | |
Would travel well | 5 |
Durability | 5 |
I would purchase this for my family | yes |
I would purchase this as a gift | yes |
Overall rating | 5 |
All ratings on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest.
Meet The Reviewer!
Lucia Alami is a mother of five
daughters, the youngest of which
are a pair of one year-old twins.
She enjoys photography, reading,
writing, drawing, playing board
games and doing craft activities
with her girls.