Flixo
Flixo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 72 number cards (6 sets of 12 cards from "-1" to "10")
- 12 Flixo cards (1 set of 12 cards from "-1" to "10", the numbers have faces)
- 12 eye tokens
- 2 rulebooks (German & English)
Setup
Here's how to set up Level 1 of the game:
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From the Flixo cards and number cards (which all share the same card backs), sort out the 12 Flixos - the numbers with faces. Shuffle the Flixos and place them as a face-down pile at the edge of the play area.
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Use one set of 12 number cards from "-1" to "10" per person. Put the remaining number cards back in the box. Shuffle the number cards you are using and place them as a face-down draw pile. With 2 people: use three sets of 12 number cards (instead of two).
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Hide the Flixos you're playing against inside your card displays. To do this, draw Flixos and number cards from both piles as shown in the table below, shuffle these cards, deal 9 cards to each person, and lay them out unseen as a face-down 3x3 display (3 rows and 3 columns) in front of you. With 2 people: deal 12 cards to each of the two people and lay them out unseen as a face-down 3x4 display (3 rows and 4 columns, or 4 rows and 3 columns).
Number of people 2 3 4 5 Flixos 4 6 8 10 Number cards 20 21 28 35 -
Put 1 number card per Flixo in play into the box unseen from the draw pile (for example, 6 number cards if you are playing with three people). Then reveal the top number card of the draw pile and place it face up as the first card of the discard pile next to the draw pile. Place the 12 eye tokens next to the draw pile.
Playing the Game
Taking turns, you each perform one action in turn until the game ends. Your most important goal is to find and remove the Flixos in your displays. You also want to shrink your displays to have as low a total of numbers as possible.
Performing an action: On your turn, choose one of these two actions. Passing is not allowed.
- Take the top card from the face-up discard pile and swap it with any card in your display, whether it's a number or a Flixo, face up or face down. Discard the card from your display face up onto the discard pile, then place the card you took face up into the gap in your display.
- Draw 1 number card from the face-down draw pile, look at it, and decide... ... whether to swap the number card with any card in your display. Discard the card from your display face up onto the discard pile, then place the number card face up into the gap in your display. Or... ... whether to discard the number card face up onto the discard pile and then reveal any face-down card in your display.
Example - Action 1: Angelika swaps the face-up "3" from the discard pile with a face-down card in her display, and places the revealed Flixo "9" face up onto the discard pile. (She could have swapped the "3" with any other card instead.) Hedwig goes next and must take the Flixo "9" from the discard pile.
Important: If you discard a Flixo onto the discard pile, the next person must take that Flixo from the discard pile. In that case, they cannot choose the second action!
Remember: the draw pile contains only number cards. All Flixos start the game in your card displays.
On each of your turns, keep in mind that you can only win with a shared plan. Always check which number cards or Flixos the others need for their displays, so you can deliberately discard those onto the discard pile and pass them around the table.
Example - Action 2: Nicole draws a "7" from the draw pile. She doesn't want the "7" and discards it onto the discard pile. Then she reveals a card in her display and finds the Flixo "6".
Removing Flixos and number cards from your display: If, at the end of your turn, a row or column in your display contains only face-up cards with the same number - ideally including a Flixo - you remove these cards from your display and set them face up to one side, to keep track of the numbers and Flixos you've removed! If this creates a gap in your display, slide the remaining rows or columns together.
If this now gives you another row or column of face-up cards with the same number in your display, remove those cards too. Repeat this step as often as necessary.
Last row or column: If only a single row or a single column remains in your display, you can only remove the cards in that row or column if they all have the same number. If you do, your display is empty!
Example - removing cards, getting a reward: Angelika removes the middle column of "3"s. Since a Flixo is among them, the team receives a reward. Then she slides the display together and also removes the two "4"s.
Reward for removing Flixos from your display: Every time you remove a Flixo as part of a row or column, you interrupt the turn for a reward! As a team, choose a face-down card in any display, look at it, and place it face down again in the same spot. Place an eye token on the card, since you may look at it again at any time. Do not place the card back face up in the display!
Example - last row: In Nicole's last row there are three single cards, of which she still doesn't know the face-down one. She may only remove the row from her display if all three cards have the same number.
Important: If you perform an action and discard a Flixo from your display onto the discard pile, you do not receive a reward and may not look at a new face-down card!
Game End and Final Scoring
Once all the cards in a display are face up - or a display is empty - the final turns of the game begin. Everyone else takes one more turn before the game ends. Exception: if someone draws the last card from the draw pile, the game ends immediately after their turn, without the remaining people getting another turn.
The person who takes the final turn of the game may discard a Flixo onto the discard pile without you losing. The discard pile - and the Flixo on top of it - count as removed!
If you still have face-down cards in your displays at the end of the game, reveal these cards. If this creates rows or columns with cards of the same number, remove these one after another as well.
Victory or defeat?
You lose together...
- ... immediately during the game if someone leaves a discarded Flixo lying on the discard pile, or
- ... at the end of the game if someone still has Flixos in a display with at least two rows and two columns.
You win together at the end of the game if, in every display, either...
- ... there are no more Flixos, or
- ... only one last row or column remains, whether or not it has Flixos.
Scoring: If you win, add up the numeric values of all cards - Flixos and number cards - in your displays. Subtract 5 points from the total for each empty display.
The lower your total, the better you did:
- 5 points or fewer: Great! You're FLIXO professionals!
- 6 to 10 points: Above average!
- 11 to 20 points: Not bad!
- 21 to 30 points: How about a plan?
- 31 points or more: Only practice, practice, practice will help!
Example - scoring: Hedwig has emptied her display. Nicole's display still has 2 number cards and 1 Flixo, Angelika's display still has 2 cards. Hedwig gets -5 points, Nicole 9 points, and Angelika 12 points. Together they win with 16 points - not bad!
The Different Levels
You can easily adjust the difficulty. To learn the game or for a relaxed round, try Level 0. Once you've beaten Level 1 several times and want bigger challenges, try Levels 2 to 4, or the large 3x4 display. The rules of the game always stay the same; you only need to adjust the number of Flixos and/or number cards.
Level 0: Use only 1 Flixo per person. Shuffle 2-5 Flixos with the corresponding number of number cards, as shown in the table below. Then put 1 number card per Flixo from the draw pile into the box unseen.
| Number of people | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flixos | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Number cards | 22 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
Level 1: As described above, you play with 2 Flixos per person.
Level 2: Every time you win, increase the number of Flixos by 1 until you have won against all 12 Flixos. Remember to put 1 number card per Flixo from the draw pile into the box unseen.
Level 3: Leave the Flixo "-1" and the number cards with "-1" in the box. Start with 2 Flixos per player and, after each win, increase the number of Flixos as in Level 2, until you have won against all 11 Flixos again. Don't forget: put 1 number card per Flixo from the draw pile into the box unseen.
Level 4: As Level 3, but leave all cards with "-1" and "0" in the box. Start with 2 Flixos and keep playing until you have beaten all 10 Flixos again.
With 3 to 5 people - the 3x4 display: After winning a few games at Level 1 and 2, you can also play with 3x4 displays. To do this, shuffle an additional set of 12 number cards from "-1" to "10" into the face-down draw pile.
| Number of people | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flixos | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Number cards | 30 | 40 | 50 |
Level 1: Shuffle the appropriate number of Flixos and number cards, as shown in the table, before putting 1 number card per Flixo from the draw pile into the box.
Level 2 and 3: First increase the number of Flixos after each win until you have beaten all 12. Then leave all cards with "-1" in the box and start again against up to 11 Flixos.
Level 4 (only with 3 and 4 people): Leave all cards with "-1" and "0" in the box and play against up to 10 Flixos. There is no Level 4 for 5 people, because without a draw pile or discard pile you can only win with enchanted displays in which all numbers are already lined up in rows and columns!