Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 5-30 minutes

Martian Fluxx shares a lot in common with the other Fluxx games, and thus the Gameplay and Design sections of this review will largely depend upon the similar description that I wrote for previous iterations of the game.

The Components

Martian Fluxx comes in a double-width cardb ox with a divider and a lift-off top. It's pretty much my favorite design for card games, because it's very compact, yet the cards are easy to access.

There are 100 total cards in the game. They're broadly divided into five types: rules, goals, keepers, actions, and creepers. They're all printed on medium-weight high-gloss cards.

The original Fluxx used to be printed as a two-color game, and you can still see that in some of the design, such as the black-and-white card backs and the one-color side bars which identify a card's type. However, increasingly Fluxx has moved to full-color art in recent editions. Here not only are all the pictures on keepers and goals in full-color (and to my eye, larger and more prominent than ever), but in addition the artwork for the rules cards has been colorized. It's increasingly difficult to see Fluxx's small-press beginning.

When I talk about Style, I always include theming in the equation, and once more Andrew Looney has done a great job in producing this new thematic Fluxx game. Between cows, abduction chambers, tinfoil hats, men-in-black, and lots of Martian tech, it's obvious that Looney has plumbed the depths of the alien genre (and it comes across well).

Just based on the components I'd probably give Martian Fluxx a "4" out of "5" for Style, but when you add in the great theming--and the chuckles that will result from it--Martian Fluxx earns a full "5" out of "5" from me.

The Gameplay

Martian Fluxx follows upon the gameplay of the original Fluxx, as expanded in Zombie Fluxx to include creepers and an ungoal. The object of the game is to play keepers to accomplish the current goal.

Standard Play: A game of Martian Fluxx starts with each player being dealt a hand of three cards. Then on his turn a player draws one card, then plays one card. There are five different types of cards that can be played:

Rules. These are cards that change the basic rules of the game. The simplest ones change how many cards you draw, how many cards you play, and your hand limit. Martian Fluxx also introduces a special "meta rule", which can be put into play (and stays in play) before the game begins. There's only one, which puts a time limit on the game.

Actions. These cards let you do special things, such as stealing cards from other players, drawing cards and using them, etc.

Keepers. These are cards that you play and keep in front of you. They're things like The Mind Control Transmitter, The Tentacle, and The Pyramid. Keepers are what you ultimately need to win the game. Several of the Keepers are marked with special "Martian Technology" icons (which are required for certain goals). Many of these Keepers also have special powers, such as the Abduction Chamber which hides humans.

Creepers. These are a sort of anti-keeper. They're mostly humans, some of which are female, one of which is a leader. There are also a few other Creepers, such as The Army and Germs. When you draw a creeper you must immediately play it, then must draw to replace that card. You can remove Creepers by various means, such as the aforementioned Alien Abduction card. You might want to keep Creepers because certain goals require them. You might want to get rid of Creepers because you can't win the game if you have Creepers out--unless they're specifically required.

Goals. There's only one goal out at a time (unless a specific rule is in effect, which allows there to be two); when a new one is played, the old one is replaced. These goals describe a list of keepers and/or creepers that you must have out to win. For example "Mars Needs Women!" requires "Mars" and at least 2 female Human Creepers. "To Serve Cows" requires the Instructions and at least one Cow. In Martian Fluxx there's also one ungoal: if it gets played and the Army and the Germs creepers are in play, everyone loses. (It's a Martian retreat!)

Winning the Game: A game of Martian Fluxx goes until someone meets the goal currently face-up. This usually happens when they play it after meeting the criteria, but with the ever-varying rules, sometimes a player is forced to play a goal that lets someone else win.

(For more on the original Fluxx's rules, see my review of it, which includes some nice illustrations.)

Relationship to Other Games

Fluxx was a card game designed by Andrew Looney and originally published by I.C.E. in its waning days. After the original I.C.E.'s destruction the game came over to Andrew's own publishing house, Looney Labs, where it's since become a cornerstone of their business. The game has gone through multiple editions and multiple foreign translations, but still maintains its core ideas of playing keepers to accomplish goals.

After producing small expansion packs and variant Fluxx games for a while, Looney Labs put out Zombie Fluxx, with its slightly expanded rules for Creepers and Ungoals in 2007. This new game follows in Zombie Fluxx's footsteps. (Grrr! Argh!)

One warning: unlike some of the other Fluxx variants, this one isn't intended to be mixed with the core game.

The Game Design

My thoughts on the design of Martian Fluxx largely match my thoughts on other releases in the series. Thus the following is largely drawn from my previous reviews ...

Fluxx is a light game. It's great for families and for casual play, but it's not a strategic gamer's game. With that said, it does a great job of appealing to the casual play style.

The core ideas of Fluxx (that you play keepers to accomplish goals and that you can change the rules) are both simple and interesting and they result in a game that keeps changing enough to keep it interesting. In fact, that's probably the best praise that one can give Fluxx: it's just plain fun--and funny; Andrew Looney has a good sense of humor.

This newest game, Martian Fluxx, doesn't change any of that. The new game is light, fun, funny, and clever, just like its predecessors. My only minor complaint is that, at points I don't think it makes quite as good of a game, largely because the goals tend to be less immediately obvious (though more funny). That's a relatively minor complaint, however. Beyond that, Martian Fluxx does a great job of adapting the Fluxx mechanics to the genre, allowing them to complement each other well.

Generally, Martian Fluxx is a fine new addition to the Fluxx family and a fine game of its own; I've given it a "4" out of "5" for Substance.

Conclusion

Martian Fluxx takes the standard Fluxx gameplay and adds some fun variety and fun theming. It's a fun game for casual play.