Nick Fury. Black Panther. New Rule. Action. Goal.
All of these words and phrases can be found on the cards for the new Marvel Fluxx, from Looney Labs. It’s a game that doesn’t have any rules — until it has a hundred.
First, players pick three cards that can either be a keeper, a goal, an action, or a new rule. At the outset, no rules have been established, and no goals are in play. Each player picks up one card and puts down one card. If it’s a “new rule,” that means that all players must follow it until another rule card cancels it out. Some rules dictate how many cards you take from the deck on your turn, while others tell you to use make you get rid of cards.
An action card basically means an advantage. It allows you to do things such as switch your hand with another player or throw away all the rules. The best one is the arena card. If drawn, everyone but the person who put it down must choose one of their keepers in play to battle. Players then debate which one would win, and when their cases are made, the drawer of the action card chooses a winner. The victorious person gets to keep their card, and all of the others are thrown into the trash pile. Another great one is the Thanos card: If he snaps his fingers, well, you can guess.
Once a goal is on the table, it can be replaced at any time, but that means all of the keeper cards need to be gathered. All of the keepers are named after Marvel characters we know and love. Nick Fury joins the likes of Captain America, Spider-Gwen, and Groot.
A lot of keepers in play means a lot of categories into which they can be grouped — that’s where the goals come into play. Players have to gather keepers matching whatever goal is in place at the time. Some goals require gathering three keepers, while others require two. An example of a category is “Mean & Green,” in which players need to collect Gamora and Hulk. But if someone puts a new goal down, Hulk is no longer a smash.
Sound complicated? It is.
The game can stretch on forever, but with the right group of friends, it can be endless fun. Just be sure to shuffle the deck.
Photos: Looney Labs
