Game Review: Star Fluxx

I have introduced my tweens and teens to a monster. No, not Bigfoot or The Blob, it is the card game called Star Fluxx. They are addicted in every sense of the word. Any time there is a break and there are two or more of them together, they can be seen shadowing the doorway to my office, trying to find their next fix.

Miss, do you have time to play Star Fluxx?

If you’ve never heard of it, Fluxx is a card game with ever changing rules and goals produced by Looney Labs. There are typically 5 types of cards in each deck of Fluxx cards:

 

 

To start, you take out the Basic rules card:

and place it face up on the table in front of all the players.

Then shuffle the deck, and deal three cards to each player. If anyone has any Creeper cards, they are placed immediately face up in front of the player, and then that player draws to replace the Creeper card. The person who goes first is the person who says, “I’m going first!” They then follow the Basic Rule: draw one card from the draw pile, and then play one face up. It can be a Keeper, an Action, a Goal or a New Rule. Then players follow the directions on the card- if it’s an action, they follow that action, if it’s a New Rule, then the player and the ones following abide by that new rule.

Rules can change (draw 2, draw 5, can only have 4 keepers), Goals change constantly, and Creepers and Keepers have various actions (some allow you steal other cards, while others protect you from harm). Not only does it keep players on their toes, but for those who need to work on their reading, it’s an excellent way to sneak in practice while they’re having fun. Make everyone read OUT LOUD the card they’re playing so that EVERYONE knows what’s going on, and no one is singled out. The vocabulary can be difficult, but in the excitement of the game they’ll be willing to have the challenge.

And the added bonus of having “their” librarian take the time to sit and play games with them makes it all the more special.

Star Fluxx is one that I constantly keep in my office, not only because of the educational value and the added bonus of assisting with a number of the 40 Developmental Assets for Teens and hitting a number of the bullets of the newest YALSA Initiative, it hits my geek buttons. It has the Time Traveler (Doctor Who) and the Mechanic (remarkable resemblance to Kylie from Firefly), along with references to 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Hitchhikers Guide’ to the Galaxy, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and other books and movies and tv shows that a space geek would love.

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED for a teen gaming collection. You can usually find it at your local comic shop (mine carries it and other Fluxx titles), and at other retailers such at Barnes and Noble and Target from time to time. You can also order it online.

Filed under: games, Star Fluxx