Mystery Fluxx
Mystery Fluxx Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Fluxx is a game about constant change. Begin by following the Basic Rules. Each player starts with a hand of 3 cards. On your turn, draw 1 card, play 1 card. New Rules take effect as soon as you play them. Collect Keepers to match the Goal and you win!
Setup
Place the Basic Rules card in the center of the table. Shuffle the deck and deal three cards to each player. Establish the draw pile by placing the remainder of the deck face down where everyone can reach it.
Going First
The dealer goes first. Or choose a player at random. Play proceeds clockwise.
Types of Cards
Each turn, you will Draw at least one card, add it to your hand, and Play at least one card. Here's how each type of card is used in the game:
- New Rules change the way the game works. When a New Rule is played, you must adapt to it right away. When a New Rule contradicts a card already in play, the old rule is discarded. New rules take effect immediately. To play one, place it face up in the center of the table.
- Keepers are what you need in order to win. To play a Keeper, place it face up on the table in front of you. Keep them in front of you after playing.
- Goals indicate which Keepers you currently need in order to win. Goals are played face up in the center of the table. Discard the previous Goal, if any.
- Actions are single-use cards. To play an Action card, do whatever it says, then place it on the discard pile. Follow the instructions on the card, then discard it.
Turn Sequence
- Draw the number of cards currently required.
- Play the number of cards currently required.
- Discard to comply with any Limit rules in play.
Optional actions allowed by New Rules, Keepers, etc., may be performed at any point during this sequence.
All cards are always playable, even if they have no effect. If you aren't sure how a card works, try reading the full text aloud as you play it.
Limits: At first there will be no limitations on the number of cards you can hold in your hand or Keepers you have in play - but Hand and Keeper Limit cards will create such restrictions. These rules only affect you when it's NOT your turn, so you can ignore them until your turn ends. When someone plays a new Limit rule, the other players must immediately comply with the new restriction, discarding cards of their choice as needed.
How to Win
The game continues until someone meets the conditions of the current Goal. That player wins instantly, no matter whose turn it is! (If a tie, the game continues until one winner emerges.)
Sample Game (in progress)
Goals also go in the middle. They are shared by all players. Keepers are placed in front of their owners. New Rules that override the Basic Rules are placed overlapping the part they supersede. Other New Rules are placed in the center. The Basic Rules card stays in the middle for the entire game. After following an Action card's instructions, place it onto the discard pile (face up).
Examples
Here are a few examples to show how various cards interact:
After drawing one card, you play the Draw 3 New Rule. Now the rules require you to draw three cards on each turn, but since you only took one card before, you must immediately draw two more cards. The next player draws three cards for their turn. They play Draw 2 which changes the rules again, but they draw no more cards, having already gotten (at least) two cards this turn. Since Draw 2 contradicts Draw 3, the Draw 3 rule is discarded.
If you play the Action called Draw 2 and Use 'Em, you will immediately draw two cards and play them both. If one of those cards is Draw 3, Play 2 of Them you would keep going, drawing three more cards, playing two cards, and discarding the third. All of this activity would be considered the playing of just one card when counting the number of plays on your turn.
Suppose you play Draw 3, Play 2 of Them. You will start by drawing three cards. If any of those cards are Creepers, you would place them in front of you and redraw immediately until you have three non-Creepers, then you would choose which two of those cards to play.
Other Types of Cards
Meta Rules: A Meta Rule is an extra rule that stays in play for the entire game. Whereas New Rules may be added and removed many times during the game, Meta Rules stay in force until the game is over. (The Basic Rules are a Meta Rule.) Meta Rules are usually established at the beginning, but some Meta Rules have special conditions which cause them to go into effect at a specific point in the game. Once added, a Meta Rule stays in play until the game ends.
Creepers: These are like Keepers you do not want. Usually Creepers prevent you from winning, but sometimes you actually need them to win. Creepers are kept on the table in front of you in the same area as your Keepers. Creepers cannot be held in your hand. Instead, they automatically go into play. As soon as you draw a Creeper, you must place it face up in front of you and draw another card. This does NOT count as a "play." (Card text: When you draw this, you must immediately place it in front of you, and draw another card.)
You might have to accept several Creepers at once as you draw cards, until you've drawn the required number of non-Creepers and added them to your hand. Note that this is true any time you draw a card, such as during an Action.
First Round Creepers: At the start of the game, any player whose initial hand of cards contains a Creeper must immediately play all of the Creepers they have, and draw again, as needed, until they have three non-Creeper cards in hand.
Dangers: These cards can cause one or more players to be eliminated from the game. (Card text: When you play this, someone may be eliminated from the game!) When a player is knocked out, they must discard their entire hand and all of their Keepers. If only one player remains, that player automatically wins.
Eliminated players must wait until ALL other players have completed a turn before jumping back into the game. (See "Jumping In" in the "Other Notes" section.)
Players may re-enter the game as many times as they wish, until The Final Act Meta Rule goes into effect. If an eliminated player is seeking to re-join just as the deck runs out, they may do so only if they are able to draw at least one card before the deck is re-shuffled.
Two-Player Dangers: If this started as a two-player game, Dangers work a little differently. Until "The Final Act," you do not win by eliminating the other player. Instead, they can jump back in as soon as they've discarded their stuff.
Notes About Dangers: Dangers are not like Creepers. You do NOT have to play them as soon as you draw them; you play them like Actions.
Secrets: These cards each represent a horrible secret known only by you. (Card text: If this card leaves your hand for any reason, you will have to do whatever it says (which will be bad for you).) You are required to reveal this card and carry out the actions it describes if a Secret leaves your hand for any reason.
Surprises: These cards can be played at any time, even when it isn't your turn. (Card text: This card can be played when it's not your turn, to cancel a card being played. During your turn, it works like an Action.) Surprises have two functions, one for during your turn, and one for out-of-turn. A Surprise can additionally be used to cancel out another Surprise.
Investigator: Any Keeper labelled with the Investigator icon is considered an Investigator.
Other Notes
Regarding Discarding: You cannot simply discard unwanted cards. You can only discard if compelled to by a Hand Limit or similar compulsion. (Yes, this means you could end up being forced to play a card that makes someone else win.)
Reshuffling: If the Draw pile runs out, shuffle the Discard pile, turn it over to make a new Draw pile, and keep playing.
Cards in Play: Whenever something mentions a card "in play," this refers to a card that is face up on the table, but not in the discard pile. Keepers must be in play for you to meet a Goal that requires them. If a Keeper has a special power, you must have it in play in order to make use of its bonus ability.
Free Actions: Some cards allow for bonus actions which can be taken at any time during your turn. Since they don't count as plays, they are called Free Actions.
Jumping In: New players may join at any time by being dealt a hand of three cards.
Dropping Out: Players can exit the game at any time. Just discard your hand and all of the cards you have in play.
Solo Fluxx Overview
Complete details can be found at LooneyLabs.com/solo-fluxx
- Set aside all of the cards listed here: The Final Act, Detective Bonus, Search Warrant, J'Accuse!, Trade Hands, Steal Something, Exchange Keepers, All 4 Surprises, All 3 Secrets.
- Separate New Rules into their own deck.
- Shuffle both decks. Place the Rules Deck to the left (with the Basic Rules) and the non-Rules (the "Main Deck") to the right.
- Deal yourself 3 cards from the Main Deck.
- Take your turn by drawing from the Main Deck and playing from your hand.
- Alternate your turn with drawing one card from the Rules Deck and putting it into play.
- Max of 4 Rules in play at a time: one each of Draw, Play, Limit, and Other. Each New Rule replaces any previous such rule.
- Comply with any new Limit rule before taking your next turn.
- Any time you meet the conditions of the current Goal, move that Goal to the Scored Goals pile, and discard all Keepers and/or Creepers required by the Goal.
- The game ends as soon as either deck runs out.
- Your score is the total number of Goals you collected.
FAQ: If eliminated, jump right back in after the next rule is drawn.
Questions?
When playing Fluxx, there are many interesting situations that can arise. If you get stuck on how a particular card works and need an official answer, the fastest solution is to check the publisher's extensive online database of Frequently Asked Questions: faq.looneylabs.com
If you can't find the answer you need there, email the publisher for a ruling.