Marvel Fluxx is a game by Andrew Looney, published by Looney Labs. It is for 2-6 players. In this game, players will be playing Marvel comics themed cards which will constantly be changing the rules and victory conditions. They’ll be trying to collect different heroes and villains to their play area as they try to fulfill the current goal. Of course with everything changing, that goal may not be there for long. In the end, the player that can best negotiate all the changing rules to complete the current goal will be declared the winner.
To begin, the Basic Rules card is placed in the middle of the play area. The rest of the cards are shuffled together to form the deck. Each player is then dealt 3 cards. The deck is then placed face down next to the Basic Rules card, in the middle of the play area. The first player is chosen and play now begins.
The game is played over a series of turns. Each player will take a turn consisting of 2 steps. At the beginning of the game, those 2 steps will be to draw a card and to play a card. As the game goes on, New Rule cards will be played which will change the way the game is played. This could mean drawing more than 1 card per turn or playing more than 1 card per turn. These New Rule cards will take effect as soon as they are played. Sometimes these cards will even enforce a hand limit, meaning that the player may have to discard cards at the end of their turn to comply with this Rule Card. Besides the New Rule cards, there are also 3 other types of cards that player can play on their turn. There are Keeper cards. These are played face up in front of the player and remain there unless another card removes them. These are used to win the game by fulfilling the Goal card. Goal cards, when played, are placed face up into the middle of the play area. If there’s already a Goal card in this area, it is discarded and replaced with the new Goal card. The Goal card will tell players exactly which Keepers that they need to have in front of themself in order to win the game. Finally there are Action cards. These are one time use cards that when played must be followed and then discarded. Once the player has drawn the appropriate number of cards, played the appropriate number of cards and discarded down to the appropriate hand limit, as dictated by New Rule cards, then the player’s turn is over. Play will then pass to the next player in turn order.
The game continues with players following the steps of their turn until someone is able to fulfill the conditions of the current Goal card. The first player able to do this is the winner. Players are even able to win if they’re able to meet the current Goal on another player’s turn.
COMPONENTS
The game contains 100 cards and a collectible coin. Some copies will include a bonus pack of 7 cards, depending on where you purchase your copy from. The cards for the game are really great quality. The finish is very good which makes them easy to shuffle. The artwork on the Keepers and Goal cards appear to be ripped right from the comics themselves. Each one shows off one or more of the different characters from the Marvel Universe. I will say that pretty much the artistic style is very modernized. That is to say that the characters on the cards look more in line with the movies and more modern designs from the comics, as opposed to the original designs from my childhood that I’m more familiar with. Still the artwork is great and it works together quite well. On the New Rule cards, there are these large icons along with some text telling you how these rules work. These are a little nicer looking and easier to understand than some of the Fluxx games that I’ve played in the past. The Action cards have no artwork and are just a bunch of text for players to follow. I think some artwork would have made these a little nicer, but with them only being played and immediately discarded, it’s not a bit deal. The collectible coin that comes with the game looks more like a clay poker chip than a coin. I have to say, I like the design of this piece quite a lot. On one side there’s a picture of Cap’s shield. On the other side there’s a bunch of symbols that represent different characters in the Marvel Universe. Between all these icons is a box of text that reads, ” It’s My Turn!” The coin is actually a high quality piece that I really like. It looks great! The box comes with a handy dandy little insert that holds all the cards and the coin quite nicely. Overall I think the quality is very good and the components are well designed. I’ve very pleased with the look and feel of this game.
9 out of 10
RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this game is a large double sided sheet of paper that is folded several times in order to fit nicely inside the box. When unfolded, the sheet is rather large but folding it up, it fits nicely inside the box. There are a couple of pictures on the sheet including a sample of a game in progress. There’s also a very nice picture of several of the Marvel characters on the back of the sheet. The rules include only a few examples to help you understand the game, but that’s fine as the rules are quite simple anyway. The sheet has a few notes on things that may occur while playing the game, such as what to do if the deck runs out of cards. The sheet also includes a few frequently asked questions that delves into some of the history of the characters. I thought these answers were a nice touch. The rules are very simple to read through and understand. Overall I think the rules do a good job of explaining everything in a concise and easy to learn way. I’m quite happy with them.
9 out of 10
GAMEPLAY
Over the years, my kids and I have really enjoyed playing Fluxx. It was actually one of the first games that I bought for our family to play together over 10 years ago. Even now, we still enjoy playing Fluxx. Sometimes the themes haven’t exactly fit everyone in my family but with our love for the Marvel universe, this one may have hit the proverbial sweet spot. Every member of the family, from my youngest to myself, loves super heroes. We each have our favorites but you can bet that the Marvel characters always rank highest. It’s no surprise then that we enjoyed combining our love for all things super hero with our love for Fluxx. It was like peanut butter and jelly. Needless to say, we really like this one. For those that have played any version of Fluxx before, you’re pretty much up to speed. There’s nothing really new about this version other than the Keepers and Goals. A few other cards have been added or changed but it’s pretty much the same as any other version of Fluxx. For me and my family, that’s great! I’ve always heard it said that if you like fast and fun card games, then find the themed version of Fluxx that best fits your likes and your good to go. For us, this is that version. Marvel Fluxx hits every one of our like buttons. It includes characters from the movies like Captain America, Starlord and Thanos. It also has newer characters from the comics and cartoons like Spider Gwen and if you can find a copy with the extra cards, Miles Morales. Basically, there’s something here for every budding super hero fan from young to old. Fans of Fluxx or the Marvel universe will really enjoy this fast moving and fun card game. This is one that I highly recommend. If you love super heroes like me and my bunch do, then this is one that you’ll love to have.
9 out of 10
OVERALL
Marvel Fluxx is a family friendly card game of constant change with a Marvel comics theme. It can be played rather quickly. Most game sessions last around 15 to 10 minutes. The cards are really great quality and the artwork on them is super cool. I quite like the mix of characters that was chosen for the game. The rulebook is well designed and easy to follow. The game itself is lots of fun for the entire family. This is one that even younger players can enjoy. Fans of the Marvel universe or of any of the other versions of Fluxx should really enjoy this one as well. This is one that I highly recommend. As my family and I really enjoy super heroes, this one is perfect for us. Make mine Marvel, Excelsior!
9 out of 10
For more information about Fluxx and other great games, please check out Looney Labs at their site.
GAMING BITS 