Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Looney Labs' Monty Python Fluxx is a variation on their popular Fluxx card game, expanding on the updated game play first introduced in Zombie Fluxx. The added bonus is the insanity of the Pythons, for this game includes dead parrots, knights that say "Ni!" and not even one morsel of cheese.
COMPONENTS:
100 cards and a set of instructions. The cards are not plastic/linen coated, but seem fairly durable. The cards consist of six types: Goal, Action, Basic Rules, New Rule, Keeper, and Creeper.
GAME PLAY:
Trying to describe gameplay is difficult since one of the fun elements of the game is that the winning conditions (Goal) are unknown before the game starts. Not only this, but the rules of the game change as New Rule cards are played.
To begin, each player is dealt three cards. If a player receives a Creeper card, mostly evil creatures from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in this variant (and, of course, the Spanish Inquisition, which no one expects), the Creeper is immediately laid down and another card drawn to replace it.
The Basic Rules card is laid down. That card tells the players to draw a card and play a card. Any one of the cards the player has in hand can be played. Those playable cards belong to one of four types:
GOAL cards, when played, will determine the winning conditions for the game. Playing a new Goal card will eliminate the previous goal (in most cases, depending on new rules currently in force).
KEEPER cards are used to satisfy the Goal card's winning conditions. For instance, if the Goal is to have the Holy Grail and Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch Keeper cards and a player has played those cards, that player wins.
ACTION cards tell the player to perform a particular action, such as steal a Keeper from another player or sing a classic Python song to gain an extra play.
NEW RULE cards modify how the game is played. A rule might now be to draw three cards or to talk with an outrageous accent. A rule of a particular type overrules a previously played rule of the same type, the older rule being discarded. Rules can stack up (though Action cards, such as My Brain Hurts!, exist to remove rules).
The Creeper cards may also have their own rules. The Knights Who Say "Ni!" are defeated if any card with "It's" is in play.
The constant shifting of the rules and goals makes for insane game play. Add in the "anti-Keeper" Creeper cards and this version of Fluxx is even nuttier than the original.
PROS:
* No round of this game ever plays the same twice.
* Game length varies due to the combined effects of New Rule and Goal cards.
* Utterly unique gameplay makes the game fresh for seasoned card players.
* The frantic nature of play with changing rules and goals makes for some real nailbiting.
* A great game for severely sticking it to other players.
* The humorous illustrations on the cards and the sheer inanity of some of the goals, rules, and actions keeps people laughing--or singing "The Lumberjack Song."
* Fluxx expansion packs will work with Monty Python Fluxx. You can combine other full Fluxx decks, too. (Though Monty Python Fluxx has color illustrations on the card fronts, while some of the older Fluxx game card images are B&W line drawings.)
* Simple enough for kids ages 8 and up.
* Dude, it's got Nude Organists!
CONS:
* Though definite strategies exist to play for a winning hand, they are all too easily undone by some of the Action cards and Goal changes, making the game a little too random for some players.
* The cards, though sturdy, could still use a linen finish (although this would make them look different from older expansion pack sets.)
* Should the rules pile up (more than five or six), people often forget to abide by all of them. This is especially true of younger players.
* Despite simple gameplay, the complexity of variations of rules, actions, and goals can bewilder players unfamiliar with the game (though repeated play will break them in quickly). Many of the cards have explanatory text that should be read to all players or else they will not follow what is going on, especially if unfamiliar with the game. (In Monty Python Fluxx's favor {or detriment, depending on how you look at it}, it's less chaotic than Zombie Fluxx.)
* Serious card players won't see the sense in a game like this. (But then again, who wants to play a game like this with serious card players?)
CONCLUSION:
Once people get the hang of this game, it works. It's simple to pick up, though impossible to master. Anyone can win, either through smart play or dumb luck. And if you know what "Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink!" means, you'll eat this game up.
Monty Python Fluxx is the second game in the Fluxx series that uses Creeper cards, the other being Zombie Fluxx. The two games do play differently, though. Zombie Fluxx comes packed with Creepers (the Zombies), while Monthy Python Fluxx has only a half dozen. But while Zombie Fluxx gives you plenty of ways to get rid of your Creepers, Monthy Python Fluxx does not, making it tougher to win if you're stuck with one.
Monty Python Fluxx and Zombie Fluxx--which to choose? A tough call. Zombie Fluxx's gameplay makes it more possible for someone to win in a wild combination of moves that requires a lot of forethought--or just plain dumb luck. Monty Python Fluxx's gameplay is more straightforward. In that, it may actually be the more mental game. Shrewd gameplay rewards players more often than in Zombie Fluxx. Still, the even better question may be, Why not buy both and shuffle the decks together? Indeed, what could be better than going after the Killer Rabbit with a chainsaw? Or dispatching a quartet of zombies with Excalibur? Talk about making tasty brains hurt!
Click Here to see more reviews about:
Looney Labs Fluxx Monty Python Fluxx Looney"You're a LOONEY.""I'm not, but he is.""Who?""Him -- the guy who made this Monty Python Fluxx game.""What's looney about him?""Look, I don't want to argue about that, he just is. He's a Looney!""Ya know, hyou shouldn't run around calling game designers 'looney' for no good reason."But I've got a good reason. The man is Looney! It says so right on the box!""You're the looney.""BURMA!""Why did you say 'Burma'?""I panicked."
Get 19% OFF
Click here for more information about Looney Labs Fluxx Monty Python Fluxx Looney
