Pirate Fluxx and Monster Fluxx – plenty of randomness

Pirate Fluxx card game — Shiver me timbers – another Fluxx game!

If you love games with a lot of luck and randomness, then Fluxx is the card game for you. Or we should say, one of the Fluxx card games is for you. Because Fluxx comes in a variety of themes.

And two of the latest Fluxx games we’ve played from Looney Labs are Pirate Fluxx and Monster Fluxx – themes with a wide appeal.

The basic play of every Fluxx game is the same – draw and play cards until one player accomplishes the goal to win the game. The catch in Fluxx is that the Goal changes constantly throughout the game. Oh, and so do the Rules.

That’s right, if the only constant is change, then Fluxx is a constant. Because its changing all the time.

How to Play Fluxx
For those not familiar with Fluxx games, we’ll give a quick run down of how to play:

Every player gets 3 cards and play begins with the Basic Rules – Draw 1, Play 1. So on a player’s turn, they draw 1 card to their hand and choose 1 card to play. The big question is which card to play because every card is different.

There a 5 types of cards – Rule, Goal, Keeper, Creeper, and Action.

Playing a Rule card will change a rule of play. For example a new rule may be Draw 3. So every turn instead of drawing 1 card, players will draw 3. If a new rule contradicts an existing rule, the new will replace the old. And there are plenty of rules that can be added on like hand limits, Keeper limits and such.

Playing a Goal card will give the game purpose. It sets the win conditions which are usually having 2 or 3 certain Keeper cards in play in front of you.

Keeper cards are item cards that players place in front of them to, as the name suggests, keep. If Keeper cards you have in front of you match the Goal, you win.

Creeper cards are like bad Keepers, the are forced to be placed in front of a player and typically prevent them for winning while in play.

Action cards are all over the map. They bring another level of unpredictability that can steal cards, trade hands, take everyone’s Keepers and shuffle them around, and plenty more.

Pirate Fluxx
Even though we already have a few Fluxx games, the sound of a Pirate version was a bit much to resist. After all, pirate themes in games can be lots of fun.

And with crazy Fluxx it’s no different – a pirate theme keeps it plenty of fun.

While the Rules cards are pretty much the same as all other Fluxx games (draw, play, limits, etc), he other cards dial in the pirate theme well. Keeper cards include things like Frigate, Captain’s Hat, Rum, Limes, Gunpowder, and Pieces of Eight. And Creeper cards will put you in Shackles or give you Scurvy.

The Goals are also well named such as Marooned where the player with the Island and Dinghy keepers wins. Or Land Ho that requires the Island and 1 Ship keeper. Or Run our the Guns (Cannon & 1 Ship).

The twist in Pirate Fluxx that we like is the addition of the Surprise card type. It lets you play out of turn to cancel something another player is trying to do. Like if you play the Yar! That Be Mine! card – when another player places a Keeper on front of them, it gets placed in front of you instead.

There are a few more twists in Pirate Fluxx, but it’s still Fluxx. Nevertheless, we give Pirate Fluxx a big thumbs up. A fun theme beats the original for sure.

Monster Fluxx

Re-read the above section on Pirate Fluxx and substitute the word “monster” and there you have it.

But remember, this is Fluxx. It doesn’t try to be anything else. It’s all about taking the same game mechanics and throwing on a theme that people will enjoy playing.

Actually there is a big difference in Monster Fluxx – there aren’t any Creeper cards. We guess that’s because we’re playing with monsters, aren’t they all creepy?

Also, unlike Pirate Fluxx, there aren’t any Surprise cards. It’s back to basic Fluxx with a monster theme.

But if you’re a monster fan, then we’d suggest skipping the basic Fluxx game and jumping straight to Monster Fluxx.

That way you’ll get to play with Keepers like The Vampire, the Mad Scientist, the Castle, Skeleton, Bigfoot, the Mummy and more. And you’ll have monster themed Goals like I Was Working In My Lab (Mad Scientist & Laboratory) or Bats In The Belfry (Bats & Castle).

Between these two Fluxx card games, we favor Pirate Fluxx because we like pirate themes more and it has more twists throughout the game.

If neither of these themes strike your fancy, then check out the other Fluxx games. Chances are good that there’s a theme for you.