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In Constant Fluxx
In 1997 Andrew and Kristin Looney brought a game of ever changing rules to the world that quickly became the marmite of card games. Presented as a deck of cards of very simple design, Fluxx threw out the rules, or to be more specific, took all the rules, shuffled them up, and threw them all together in a mad game of random chance. To start, each player receives three random cards and each turn consists of a draw one, play one mechanism.
From then on there are a number of different types of cards to play. First there are Keepers. These green cards are placed in your own personal play area, some coming with unique powers. Then there are pink Goals. Goals are how you win. Each goal card will show a collection of keepers and if that goal is in play when you have the matching keepers in your play area, you win. This forms the basis of the game. Get keepers, find the matching goal and win.
However, there are other types of cards that will mess with this system. There are action cards that perform instantly, enabling you to steal keepers or draw extra cards. And the cards that give the game its name, the rule cards. New rules can be added at any point and change gameplay considerably. Some of the classic rules might be that you draw or play more cards each turn, or that you have a hand size of one. It is these cards that build up into a crazy haze of chaos that will either make you love or hate this game.
Once Upon A Time
There have been numerous versions of Fluxx since its original release, but until they started working with various intellectual properties in 2019, everything was very much drawn from the public domain. So here comes 2018’s Fairy Tale Fluxx. This feels like an obvious choice for the franchise as fairy tales are rich which characters and locations as well as already coming with a whole array of spells and curses that could be thematically woven throughout the deck.
The Keepers are a mix of everyone you could think of. You have recognisable characters such as ‘The Prince’ or ‘The Three Bears’ as well as objects like ‘Glass Slipper’ or ‘Treasure’. Although there are few, locations like ‘The Gingerbread House’ will pop up sporadically too. Nothing in here will surprise you. Goals will pair the obvious choices whether the Prince and Princess or the Little Boy and the Beanstalk.
If You Go Into The Woods Today...
It’s a surprise that for a subject so rich with magic and whimsy, the illustrations here are incredibly bland and simplified. Mary Engelbreit is a prolific illustrator for children’s fiction and within that particular genre her work has a level of charm that is missing in these stark white cards.
It is a shame as, if given the freedom to step away from the format and colours of the cards, I think she could have created a beautiful new look for the game. However, as it stands, the illustrations don’t do anything to draw you into the world of the game. Another surprise is that lack of fairy tale specific actions.
There are the odd cards, like ‘The Grand Ball’ which allow you to mix everyone’s keepers together and redistribute them which feels thematic. Or ‘Your Wish is Granted’ allows you to choose from three possible actions and have the one you want come true. I also enjoy that ‘Robin Hood’ takes a keeper from the player with the most and gives it to the player with the least. But there was a wasted opportunity to add so much possible theme when instead they just use the generic cards from previous editions.
Fee Fi Fo Ummmm…
The lack of creepers in this edition feels like they are actively targeting a much younger crowd. But, by not embracing theme I feel like younger players may not be able to connect with the actions and how they work.
At the time of writing, with dozens of versions still on sale, not counting the dozen now out of print, Fluxx continues to grow from strength to strength. How you choose a version will highly depend on your fandom. If you want to introduce younger players to card games then this might be one to get but with a recommended 8+ age on the box and artwork that seems to target a much younger audience, I think there are much better games out there.
That concludes our thoughts on Fairy Tale Fluxx. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts and tag us on social media @zatugames. To buy Fairy Tale Fluxx today click here!
