I mentioned before that I like the game Fluxx.  It’s easy to learn and easy to play and as long as you don’t get a person who likes to think really hard about the order they want to play their cards in (I love you anyway sweetie), it’s very fast paced.  Fluxx is a card game  for 2-6 players and there are many different versions which can be played individually or mixed together for a wild and crazy time (I haven’t been brave enough yet).

The rules:  Draw one, play one.

Could it possibly be that simple?  Yes it could but usually it’s not because people may play cards that change the rules.

The Goal: Whatever the ‘Goal’ card says.  Sure there might not even be a goal until late in the game and the goal may change from time to time (often just as you are about to win) but it is usually having a combination of specific cards on the table in front of you.

Just last night I broke out my latest version: Martian Fluxx and had a wild time with all the adults in the house at the time.

Looney Labs (the makers of this game) also have Fluxx, Zombie Fluxx, Monty Python Fluxx, Eco Fluxx, and Family Fluxx.  Did I mention that this is the same company that came up with Nanofictionary (another one of my favorite games).

I just tried out a new game called “We Didn’t Playtest This At All”.  If you’ve ever played Fluxx, then you can easily get an idea of how this game works.  Start with two cards and pick someone to go first.  On your turn, you draw one and play one.  Game proceeds from there but if my experience is indicative, then it can end very quickly.

The game also seems to incorporate some of my favorite parts of Quelf, like, “The next person to point at someone loses” and “The next person to say ‘they’, ‘their’ or ‘there’ loses”.  I love that stuff.

Interestingly, the instructions do not specify how to win and in fact it is possible for the game to end without any winner at all.  Watch out for black holes!

My son has just finished re-watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  And he loves the board games that my husband bought and is looking for them as we speak.  There’s really no hope since my husband has an extremely large number of games and we haven’t unpacked them.   He has about 12 recliner sized boxes of games.  We used to keep them all in the garage.  Now I have no idea where they will all end up.

I have recently been exposed to the most addicting activity that has yet to be unleashed upon the world. That’s right. The horror that is online Ticket to Ride.

This classic and popular board game is harmless enough when played at your friend’s house on an actual board. You can’t keep playing too many times because your friends will only play for so long. Eventually they all have to go home.

Not so with online play. Even if there is no one online to play with because every other person in the world has finally gone to bed, you can always play against the AI.

I need help. Seriously.

Avalon Hill’s board game, Star Wars: The Queen’s Gambit may be out of print but is still fairly popular on ebay even a decade after it was released. The visually impressive setup of the boards and pieces would dominate any game table, but unfortunately, the strategy and mechanics do not live up to the look of the game. It is somewhat one-sided with the droid armies usually winning, but fun for an occasional replaying of the final events of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.