Last night we played Fluxx!
It’s a card game that begins with a special deck and a simple premise. Draw One. Play One.
We happened to play a version themed for Monty Python, but that just makes the wording and artwork different, not the principles of the game.
In a little while we had: Draw 3. Play 3. (Except it was really 5 because the One, Two, Five card got played) Hand Limit 2. If you sang a Monty Python song no one had used yet you could draw an extra two cards and if you consistently spoke in a fake accent you could play two extra cards. And the goal was to have the catapult and the cow in front of you…
This is because about half the cards in the deck allow you to change the rules.
And in a blink you can see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Or vice versa. But only if you’re paying attention to how the changes in the rules affected your cards and those of the other players. I almost played a card that would have given the win to a friend, completely by accident.
Unfortunately it’s not so easy to tell when the rules have changed in real life, nor when you have the opportunity to change them yourself. Sometimes it’s subtle or you don’t see the effects for a while or parts are hidden from you.
But it happens.
And it’s worth looking for.
What other games or exercises do you know of that make you look for changes in the rules?
Does it make you feel differently if you EXPECT rule changes to be part of the game?
Image credit – Looney Labs, borrowed without permission, but since it’s their game I’m promoting – and telling you how much fun it is and that you really should go get a copy because it will stretch your brain – hopefully they won’t mind.
