![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/ChemistryFluxx.200-150x150.jpg\")
The somewhat silly, chaotic game of Fluxx comes in a huge variety of themes. Math Fluxx and Chemistry Fluxx are now options that make a fun little game that combines learning with quick (chaotic) gameplay.<\/p>\nThe somewhat silly, chaotic game of Fluxx comes in a huge variety of themes. Math Fluxx and Chemistry Fluxx are now options that make a fun little game that combines learning with quick (chaotic) gameplay.<\/p>\n
Chemistry Fluxx <\/strong>or Math Fluxx<\/strong> <\/p>\n Fluxx cards come in four main flavors, New Rules, Goals, Keepers, and Actions. The object of the game is to play Keepers in front of you in hopes they eventually match up with the current Goal card (which always lists the 2-3 Keeper cards needed to win.) The game begins to get chaotic as the Goal card is always changing, and so are the Rules!<\/p>\n The game starts out with a single rule: Draw 1 card, then Play 1 card. This could be playing a Keeper in front of you, placing out a new Goal card (displacing the old Goal card), putting down a new Rule (adding to the current rules), or playing an Action card (a one and done card that lets you steal other Keepers, redistribute some cards, etc\u2026)<\/p>\n The most entertaining part of the game lies with the new Rules cards. These typically either change the number of cards you draw, change how many cards you can play, or change the hand limit (the number of cards you can hold at the end of your turn.) This can result in situations later in the game where you\u2019re drawing three cards, playing four cards, and have a hand limit of 2. A few other rules cards change the game in more unique ways (like play all but one card, etc\u2026)<\/p>\n At the start, there isn\u2019t any way to win the game, because there hasn\u2019t been a Goal card played. Once played, players attempt to collect the the two or three Keepers on the Goal card. (Of course, often a player already has most if not all the listed Keepers in play when the new Goal is placed.) A new Goal card replaces the previous one so there is only one in play at a time.<\/p>\n As one can imagine, the game is spent in a continual struggle to both place (and keep) Keepers in front of you while simultaneously getting the right Goal card into play. Meanwhile, all the other players are doing the same thing. Add in some Actions and changing Rules cards, and winning the game relies on some strategy, but also a healthy bit of luck.<\/p>\n I would typically steer clear of a game with so much uncontrolled randomness, but these two new editions intrigued me as they have an educational component. As with all good \u201ceducational games\u201d these were games first and any educational bits added later. This results in an entertaining pastime that also contains bits of science or math.<\/p>\n The Keepers in the Math deck are all numbers (single digits and a ten) and the Goal cards consist of number values. Some are math-related questions such as Three Cubed or One Hundred Pi, while others are more festive like Your Age or Today\u2019s Date. The game includes the flavor of some Math concepts (Pi, exponents, etc\u2026) and then includes math operations (like plus\/minus\/multiply\/divide) through Rules cards rather than Keepers or Goals.<\/p>\n The Chemistry deck consists of keepers made up of common elements.and the Goal cards are molecules. Collect Carbon and Hydrogen to win the Natural Gas goal and Calcium, Carbon, and Oxygen are needed to win at the Limestone goal. My favorite is the Diatomic Goal (get two O\u2019s or two H\u2019s\u2026) The keepers also include a test tube, lab coat, and goggles so one Goal is \u201cSafety First\u201d (lab coat and goggles.) As with the Math deck, the game doesn\u2019t add in much in terms of laws or properties of Chemistry, but it does introduce common molecules seen in basic chemistry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Verdict<\/strong>: <\/p>\n Fluxx of a Different Flavor<\/strong>: <\/p>\n Kid Factor<\/strong>: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The somewhat silly, chaotic game of Fluxx comes in a huge variety of themes. Math Fluxx and Chemistry Fluxx are now options that make a fun little game that combines learning with quick (chaotic) gameplay. Chemistry Fluxx or Math Fluxx Publisher: Looney Labs Ages: 8+ Players: 2-6 Time: 5-30 minutes (Review copy provided by Looney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,14],"tags":[180,35,214,213],"class_list":["post-17170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews","category-unplugged-miscellaneous","tag-boardgame","tag-card-game","tag-fluxx","tag-looney-labs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17170"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17231,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17170\/revisions\/17231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPublisher<\/strong>: Looney Labs
\nAges<\/strong>: 8+
\nPlayers<\/strong>: 2-6
\nTime<\/strong>: 5-30 minutes
\n(Review copy provided by Looney Labs)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Math-Fluxx_3D-Contents-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Chemistry-Fluxx_3D-Contents-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nFluxx is chaotic, almost uncontrolled – more of a pastime than a game. Thus, the game lives or dies according to the experience brought by the theme. As a science nerd, I do enjoy the themes. They aren\u2019t going to teach an entire subject (Chemistry\/Math) but they do serve as a great way to familiarize players with common concepts. Normally, I would avoid Fluxx as a \u201cgame\u201d as I would rather play something where I have a bit more control over my own destiny. However, I could easily see playing either title (Math or Chemistry) with younger folks in order to expose them to common Math and\/or Chemistry ideas.\u00a0 As a Chemist myself, I like how the Chemistry deck gives a bit of exposure of the topic without being heavy-handed.\u00a0 The Math version can be played in a “standard” way, emphasizing Goals and Keepers, but standard math operations can be brought in by emphasizing those specific Goals and Rules.<\/p>\n
\nI can\u2019t end without commenting on the many, many other themed versions of Fluxx. You can get Batman Fluxx, Firefly Fluxx, Dr. Who Fluxx (coming soon), Adventure Time Fluxx, Cthulhu Fluxx, and Monty Python Fluxx (as well as a few other more generic ones like space or nature.) I haven\u2019t played most of them but they center around Keepers and Goals with the appropriate theme. However, there are a few fun bonus cards and ideas for each set. For example, there is a rule in Monty Python where you get advantages for quoting from the movies. Fans of the appropriate theme will find a fun little diversion, but any given theme isn\u2019t going to make the game into a \u201cwinner\u201d if you\u2019re not already a fan of Fluxx. (*Note, there are a couple more \u201cAdult\u201d themed games – Stoner Flux and Drinking Flux – under the \u201cFully Baked Ideas\u201d label if you want something with a more grown-up theme.)<\/p>\n
\nNot a lot of text here, and the Rules cards are pretty straightforward. The action cards do have some text, but the Keepers and Object cards all have graphics which make them easily recognizable. (Just avoid the \u201cgrown-up\u201d themed games mentioned above.)<\/p>\n