Cthulhu Fluxx

A few years ago, my local bookshop began holding regular board game nights. This was before I had really discovered the hobby so went along with very little knowledge of what to expect. The first game that was recommended to me was Fluxx and I could not have it enjoyed it more. For a novice in the world of tabletop gaming, this was a great way to embark on my journey. The next morning, I immediately went out and bought myself a copy.

Years later, Fluxx has grown more popular and has spawned many variations, such as Firefly Fluxx and Doctor Who Fluxx, that sit proudly on my games shelf. Now, Iet’s take a closer look at one for the Lovecraft fans out there: Cthulhu Fluxx.

Harnessing The Shadows

For those who might be asking ‘how does this game even work?’, I will give you a brief explanation. Fluxx has one golden rule to start off the game: draw one, play one. It’s as simple as that. The beauty of Fluxx is the games’ ability to change as you play, and Cthulhu Fluxx is in no short supply of game changing rules!

The aim of the game is to achieve the goal that is currently in play. All goals require you to collect and keep cards known as Keepers but with new rules regularly being played and constant changing goals, it’s not so easy to claim victory.

To begin, players will be dealt 3 cards and the rest of the deck will remain face down in the centre of the play area. There are a variety of cards that are used in Fluxx, these include:

Goal Cards – these cards establish what the players are aiming to collect. Quite often they show 2 different Keepers that players must have in front of them to win, although sometimes they can show up to 3.

Keepers – Keepers make up the requirements for the Goal Cards. They are easy to spot in your hand as they are bright green and sometimes have special abilities that can be used when played.

New Rule/Meta Rule – As the name suggests, New Rule cards either replace or add to the current rules that are in play. It can be as simple as replacing the ‘draw 1, play 1’ rule with ‘play 3’ or it can be something more complicated. These cards can vary depending on which edition of Fluxx you may have but in Cthulhu Fluxx, there are plenty of rules that stack. In contrast, a Meta Rule card is played at the beginning of the game and remains in play throughout.

Creeper – A Creeper card is something players want to avoid having, unless of course they are part of the current Goal requirement. These cards will prevent a player from winning and can also attach themselves to a Keeper.

Surprise – These cards allow players to use its ability to mess with their opponents or gain an advantage at any time during the game.

Action – Action cards are single- use abilities that can be played on a players turn.

Ungoal– These cards are the opposite of Goal cards. If the requirements for this card are met, everybody loses!

We’re All Doomed

A new feature added for Cthuhlu Fluxx is Doom Points. Certain cards will show an hourglass symbol in the bottom left-hand corner, with some cards having 2 or 3 of them. These symbols indicate the amount of Doom Points that card is worth. Some of the Ungoal cards will require a certain number of these points to be accumulated to meet the cards conditions, so it’s worth keeping half an eye on how many points the table has as your playing!

Alongside the Doom symbols, some cards will show an hourglass that is tipped on its side. These symbols represent Anti-Doom which, as I’m sure you guessed it, counteract Doom Points. These cards can help negate the tables overall Doom Point total if it’s getting a little too high.

Also, in this edition of Fluxx, there are Investigator symbols that have been added to some of the Keeper cards. These symbols come into play with certain Creepers in the deck as they attach themselves specifically to Investigators. There are also some Goal cards which involve having any Investigator in play as a winning condition.

Components

As always in Fluxx, the cards themselves are differentiated by colour which is extremely helpful when playing as many of the cards have quite a lot of black and white text on them. The artwork for any Fluxx game is always fantastic. Looney Labs makes sure to hit home with their chosen theme whilst always staying true to their Fluxx roots with each version of the game they bring out. Lovecraft fans will be pleased to hear that this remains true for Cthulhu Fluxx. The artwork and subtle nods to Lovecraft’s tales will be sure to delight long-time and new fans.

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned earlier, I’m a fan of the Fluxx series. I think it’s a great way to mix pop culture and board games together to create a quick and easy game. I was excited to review Cthulhu Fluxx given the game itself and its theming, so it didn’t take long for it to hit the table.

We played 2 games back-to-back and both were seemingly very different. The first game was over quickly, so much so that some players were barely able to have many turns at all, but this is to be expected when playing Fluxx.

Our second game, however, took much longer. In this edition of Fluxx, there are a lot of New Rule cards and when stacked together can create some complex gameplay, so as our game went on the more complicated it began to get. It does feel like a game that is meant to drive you mad, much as the theme suggests! In the end, we were undone by the Doom Points as by that time we had collected so many Keepers and Creepers!

I did enjoy the addition of Doom Points in this addition of Fluxx. In a way, it saved us from going round in circles for too long when playing and losing interest in the game. I would say that when a lot of different rules come into play, the game can get quite hectic so I wouldn’t recommend Cthulhu Fluxx to players who are new to Fluxx.