Hi everyone! Time for another sponsor profile – this time of Looney Labs – from our volunteer Hannah Tracy, in which she discusses their donations: exception-based card game Fluxx, and deceptively simple strategy game Pink Hijinks. She also flaunts her unusual Brain (in the form of the rare card pictured immediately below, of which I am terribly jealous), and tells us what happened when she took her brainy self into a game of Zombie Fluxx. (Dun dun DUN!)
Fluxx
Fluxx is a card game for 2-5 players (I have played with more but 5 is optimal). The game can last anywhere from a few minutes to about a half hour. Why such a varied length of time? Well, because the game of Fluxx is always changing.
At the beginning of the game, everyone is dealt 3 cards and the only rule is to draw one card and play one card on your turn. That is all there is to do until someone plays a new rule card which could allow you to play two cards a turn or limit the amount of card in your hand to one or a variety of other options. If a new rule contradicts a current rule, the new rule replaces the old one. If a new rule does not contradict a current rule, it is added on to the list of rules in play. OK, that may sound complicated, but the changing rules are the fun of the game.
Now how do you win? Well, that depends on which goal card is in play at the moment. So not only the rules but the goal of the game also changes. This is the basic concept of the game, there are a few other types of cards which can affect play and each has a description on the card itself of what you can do with it. For a fuller explanation HERE is the creator of Fluxx explaining the Family Fluxx edition, but really the best way to learn Fluxx is to just dive in.
Fluxx is one of my favorite games, it has tons of replayability, and so many fun versions, including Monty Python Fluxx and Oz Fluxx (which Looney Labs is donating for IGD!). I met my boyfriend over a game of Zombie Fluxx (he won, grr). It is not for everyone, the constant change can be difficult for people who like hard and fast rules. The teens in my library have had a tally sheet going for who has won the most games of Fluxx over the year. This could be a fun tournament style way to play Fluxx for IGD.
Pink Hijinks
Looney Labs has been generous enough to donate not one but two games to IGD! The second game is Pink Hijinks, which uses Looney Labs’ special Looney Pyramids.
The game is for two players and takes from 2-10 minutes, and showcases how incredibly simple rules – infused with a dash of randomness and filtered through an opponent’s brain – can still produce a surprising level of emergent strategy.
The goal is either to get a line of pyramids all the same size on your side of the board, with no extras; or to get all the pyramids onto the other player’s side of the board. You roll the die to see what size pyramid you will be able to move. The full ruleset can be seen here.
About Looney Labs
Andrew Looney is the primary game developer for the company. Both he and Kristen Looney, who runs the business side, have previously worked at NASA as well as other technology companies.
Looney Labs was founded in 1996 for the purpose of publishing Fluxx. The founders, Andrew and Kristen, had been working together on games since the late 1980s. They were also able to create easy-to-make versions of their pyramids, which can be used for hundreds of games – many of which are still being created. Looney Labs has since created a variety of fun and creative card, board, and pyramid games. Fluxx continues to be one of the most popular – there are now 9 different versions of Fluxx available, as well as expansions.