Review: Martian Fluxx

Martian Fluxx pub. by Looney Labs. 100 card deck plus instructions. MRSP $16

Gameplay--Martian Fluxx, as you might guess, is a Martian themed version of Looney Labs popular Fluxx game. This version is packaged in the 3 3/4 x 5" box that Looney has gone to with their releases since Zombie Fluxx, which makes them easier to display and find on the shelf. The backs of the decks are still the same, meaning this deck can get shuffled together with any of the other Fluxx decks, though the card assortment means you'd need to shuffle in the Creepers, Goals and Keeper cards to keep the deck playable. Most of the Creepers are Pathetic Humans, while the Goals are such things as Take Me to Your Leader and Martian Chess, with Keepers such as The Mothership and Martian Chess.

There are two new cards in the game: The Meta Rule and the Ungoal. The Meta Rule is a rule card that plays along the Basic Rules card and stays in play the entire game. Once the players agree to put it in play at the start of the game, it can't be removed by an Action card or a New Rule. If the Ungoal is drawn and put into play, once its conditions are met, the game ends with no winner. Since its conditions specify Martian Fluxx cards, it won't be used except in games where other Martian Fluxx Cards are also used.

Salability--Martian Fluxx doesn't have the "cool" factor of zombies and and, for whatever reason, zombies are currently cool, nor does it have the name recognition of Monty Python. MF will sell because, hey it's Fluxx, but I don't expect to see it doing the numbers of either Monty Python Fluxx or Zombie Fluxx. Looney Labs does have a demo kit available which gives you posters and sell sheets, as well as a demo deck and a dozen promo cards to hand out to purchasers or demo players.