The Looneys are at it again, by which I mean Andy Looney and his merry band of game designers here in the great state of Maryland. Astronomy Fluxx, another entry in the long line of Fluxx card games has launched (see what I did there).Seriously, Fluxx must surely hold the record for the most iterations of a game. If not, it surely will be soon at this rate! As one who enjoys Fluxx and space in general, I was interested to see how the two combined. Let's take a look.
Astronomy Fluxx is 100 cards with a decidedly different look - they all have black backgrounds instead of white, which I found quite striking (as you can see from this blog, I approve of white on black). The theme of the game is heavenly bodies and space exploration, a subject near and near to my heart as I was born a few months before the moon landing, and grew up in the age of satellites, probes and of course the Shuttle. Nowadays most young people don't even believe the moon landing happened - but I digress.
Readers of this blog know how the game works by now. Deal each player three cards, on your turn, you start out with the basic rules: Draw one, play one. As you go, you'll collect Keepers (cards you play in front of you that may make you win) and play goals (cards which state which Keepers are needed to win). In Fluxx, change is the only constant, and some cards cause chaos. You can even win on accident. Some gamers are not a fan of this, and Fluxx is largely a "love it or hate it" sort of game. But if you take it light, it can be a fun ride.
Like a few other entries in the Fluxx line (Anatomy Fluxx, Math Fluxx, Nature Fluxx) Astronomy Fluxx purports to be educational. I am not convinced it's worthy of the classroom, per se, but you can pick up an interesting factoid or two, and show off how many constellations you know, for instance. The game injects a bit of "Chronology" or "Timeline" with a few cards that have dates on them - an Action card called "Quiz Me!" calls for players to guess the date of an astronomy-related event (for example, the launching of the Hubble telescope). First player to guess correctly gets to draw a card. Mostly the game is just about having fun with space concepts.
This version of Fluxx contains no "Creeper" cards which can prevent you from winning the game. That means it's a more lighthearted experience than some other variants. If you've played Fluxx you already know if you like it, and if you haven't, I suggest you give it a go - it's a unique and variable experience. And now.... on to Mars!
Astronomy Fluxx is 100 cards with a decidedly different look - they all have black backgrounds instead of white, which I found quite striking (as you can see from this blog, I approve of white on black). The theme of the game is heavenly bodies and space exploration, a subject near and near to my heart as I was born a few months before the moon landing, and grew up in the age of satellites, probes and of course the Shuttle. Nowadays most young people don't even believe the moon landing happened - but I digress.
Readers of this blog know how the game works by now. Deal each player three cards, on your turn, you start out with the basic rules: Draw one, play one. As you go, you'll collect Keepers (cards you play in front of you that may make you win) and play goals (cards which state which Keepers are needed to win). In Fluxx, change is the only constant, and some cards cause chaos. You can even win on accident. Some gamers are not a fan of this, and Fluxx is largely a "love it or hate it" sort of game. But if you take it light, it can be a fun ride.
Like a few other entries in the Fluxx line (Anatomy Fluxx, Math Fluxx, Nature Fluxx) Astronomy Fluxx purports to be educational. I am not convinced it's worthy of the classroom, per se, but you can pick up an interesting factoid or two, and show off how many constellations you know, for instance. The game injects a bit of "Chronology" or "Timeline" with a few cards that have dates on them - an Action card called "Quiz Me!" calls for players to guess the date of an astronomy-related event (for example, the launching of the Hubble telescope). First player to guess correctly gets to draw a card. Mostly the game is just about having fun with space concepts.
This version of Fluxx contains no "Creeper" cards which can prevent you from winning the game. That means it's a more lighthearted experience than some other variants. If you've played Fluxx you already know if you like it, and if you haven't, I suggest you give it a go - it's a unique and variable experience. And now.... on to Mars!
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