Fluxx

Fluxx, the game where the rules are always changing.  I will admit up front that with all the different versions of this game out now I have never played the original game, but I have played a couple of different versions.

Fluxx isn't the sort of game I normally want to play, but people in my group seem to like it so it comes out from time to time and I do enjoy it for what it is, a simple card game with a real feeling of chaos.

The game starts simple enough, draw one card, play one card.  As the game goes on you will be playing different cards which will change the game.

New Rules
These cards will change how the game plays.  It could be special rules that will be in effect the whole time or special actions you can take on your turn.  The most basic of these are changing the number of cards you draw or the number you play each turn, but they can be more extravagant.  This is one of the major parts of the game, the constantly changing rules.

Actions
Actions are one of card you can play, normally into the discard pile, which allow you to do something special that turn.  What action you can take depends on the text on the card.  Some might be simple, draw 3 cards play 2 of them and discard the rest for example.  Some might help you win, stealing cards you need from your opponents.  Others can cause really mayhem in the game as they ask you to collect every card in play, shuffle them and deal them out again.




Keepers

Keepers are cards played down in front of you and they stay there.  They are the cards used to win the game.  Some do have special rules or might be affected by new rules that are brought into the game, but most are just left in front of you in an attempt to complete the goal and win the game.

Creepers
Creepers are played in front of you in the same way as Keepers.  Unlike Keepers they are bad.  These are not in every version of the game but only the later versions.  In most cases you can not win the game with a Creeper unless the goal says you can.  There are some Creepers, like Larry the Zombie, who make it impossible to ever win the game.  Depending on the version there are different ways to get rid of Creepers you might end up with in front of you.  Some actions might let you move your Creepers to someone else or a New Rule that affects them.  There could also be Keepers that allow you to discard or move your Creepers.


Goals

Finally we get to how you actually win the game.   You don't start with a goal in play but as the game goes on people can play one to the table and that becomes the current goal.  The goal will show the win conditions you must meet and when you do, you win.  Mostly it will be a combination of Keepers (and sometimes Creepers) you must have in front of you.  They can sometimes have other special rules or text that you need to complete as well.  Goals can be changed by any player during their turn if they have one in their hand.

Some versions of the game include Un-Goals.  These can be played the same as any Goal.  The difference is that if the conditions on an Un-Goal are meet, everyone loses the game together.

So what do I think of the game.  I said for what it is, I enjoy the game.  It can be a nice game to play early in the evening before anything too thinky comes out or at the end of the night when 4 hours of Eldritch Horror has you wanting something fun and simple.  It might not be a game I would choose to play but I am not going to argue if someone else wants to.  The game is not something you can have much strategy or tactics in past your current turn, a single card played by another person can ruin everything for you even if you had the perfect play set up ready to go to win you the game on your next turn.  It does have an issue that because of the random elements in the game it can really drag on, game time can be as random as the play.  It could be 10 mins before someone plays a goal and you have the cards in your hand to complete it, it could be that after 30mins you have all the keepers ready to go, the goal in your hand ready to play and suddenly someone takes a keeper from you and the game carries on.  That does make the game a little unsuitable for a filler because the random game length means you can't plan the start time for your next main game.

As I said at the start there are lots of different versions of the game.  I have played a few and they do have a slightly different feel to them even if the game play is the same.  The theme is set into the goals, keepers and even the rules and action cards.  It could be killing zombies or talking like cartoon characters depending on the version.

According to Board Game Geek at the time of writing there is:
Adventure Time Fluxx
Batman Fluxx
Christian Fluxx
Cthulhu Fluxx
Family Fluxx
Firefly Fluxx
Holiday Fluxx
Jewish Fluxx
Martian Fluxx
Monster Fluxx
Monty Python Fluxx
Nature Fluxx
Oz Fluxx
Pirate Fluxx
Star Fluxx
Stoner Fluxx
Zombie Fluxx
As well as the original game and expansions and promos for that.

When it comes down to it, if you want to get the game you can choose which ever you like.  Pick a theme and get that copy of the game.