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 When
EcoFluxx
goes to the printers (Next week! Yikes!) we'll also be going
to press with a slightly updated version of standard Fluxx.
We're on the brink of selling through the current printing, known
as version 3.0, and after several years of playing with the current
version, I'm ready to make a few little tweaks. And we want to
print both games at the same time, since they will be identical
in various ways that give us bulk-printing savings (same card
count, same-sized rules sheet, same-sized tuck box, same-sized
display box).
"What's going to change?" I hear you asking, and
"Will we need to buy 3.1 if we have version 3.0?" Hold
on, one question at a time, please!
Whereas we made a lot of substantial changes when we went
from
2.1 to 3.0, the idea with 3.1 (as
with 2.1 before it) is to make a few minor corrections, but
nothing so major as to make upgrading necessary or recommended.
That said, I'm sure some collectors and die-hard fans will want
the latest and greatest...
Here's a (hopefully) complete list of what we're changing
this time around:
- Replace original Basic Rules with the new-style
Basic Rules
- Remove the Action "I Need a Goal" (it's too confusing
and not very fun)
- Replace it with a card that advertises the Mad
Lab Rabbit program
- Remove the Action "Go Fish" (again, it's more complex
than it's worth)
- Replace it with an Action called "Jackpot!" (you
get 3 extra cards instantly)
- Rename X=X+1 to "Inflation"
- On the Rich and Poor Bonuses, the word "anyone"
is being changed to "everyone."
- On Everybody Gets 1, the text is now starting with the sentence
"Set your hand aside."
- Exchange Keepers isn't changing functionally, but the text
is being revised for clarity. It now reads: "Pick any Keeper
another player has on the table and exchange it for one of yours.
If you have no Keepers on the table, or if no one else has any
Keepers, nothing happens."
- New text for the bottom of Let's Do That Again: "Anyone
may look through the discard pile at any time, but the order
of what's in the pile should never be changed."
- Text to add (in tiny print) to the Reverse Order card: "When
there are only two players, treat this card as Take Another Turn."
- All boilerplate text (those standard directions at the top
of each card) is being revised (becoming "To play this card..."
instead of "When you play this card...") as follows:
- Goal: To play this card, place it face up in the center
of the table. Discard previous Goal, if any.
- Keeper: To play this card, place it face up on the
table in front of you.
- New Rule: To play this card, place it face up in the
center of the table. This rule goes into effect as soon as you
play it.
- On Draw rules, add: Discard the previous Draw rule,
if any.
- On Play rules, add: Discard the previous Play rule,
if any.
- On Hand Limit cards, add: Discard the previous Hand
Limit, if any.
- On Keeper Limits, add: Discard the previous Keeper
Limit, if any.
- Action: To play this card, do whatever it says, then
place it on the discard pile.
- Various minor changes are being made to the box (see list
below)
The image shown above, of a 3-D Fluxx logo in space, is adapted
from the artwork I created this year for the Fluxx
World Championship medallion awarded at Origins.
I reworked this image as shown for discussion, but we've decided
not to be so radical as to switch to this image on the box. However,
we are still talking about switching the background color from
black to deep purple.
Here are the changes to the box we're definitely making:
- Wherever it says Version 3.0 it will now say 3.1
- Since we've gotten a registered trademark on Fluxx, all TMs
will change to (R)s
- The copyright statement will change to "© 1997-2005
by Looney Labs"
- New fine print on the bottom panel: "Printed in the
USA by Carta Mundi"
- The green starburst on the side flap will now say "Over
200,000 copies sold!"
- The large Looney Labs logo on the other side flap is being
replaced with a newer logo
- On the back, the image of the original Basic Rules will be
replaced with the new version
OK, next question. Yes, you, in the back. "Me? OK. Most
of those changes sound pretty unimportant, but I'd love to get
that Jackpot and the new Basic Rules card. Is there going to
be a way to get just those 2 cards?"
Yes. After we run the Promo
Card Scavenger Hunt again at Gen-Con and DragonCon, we'll
be putting together sets of those 6 new cards (which include
the 2 in question) as the 2005 Promo
Card Pack and selling them through our Short
Run Depot. And yes, you'll be able to buy them with Rabbit
Points.
Any more questions? "Yes. I heard you were going to put
the "Dude! It's Food!" icon onto the food cards. What
happened with that?"
Well, I've gone back and forth on that, and ended up on back.
On the face of it, the idea seems cool, particularly for when
you combine Fluxx with Stoner Fluxx, but ultimately, if the symbols
have no meaning in the game as it stands, they feel wrong. I
thought for awhile about switching in a goal like Snack Your
Way to Victory, but then Kristin decided the open slot should
be used for a Mad Lab Rabbit card. I'm just as happy to drop
the symbols anyway, since I couldn't decide if Milk should get
the "Look! It's Food!" icon. The dictionary defines
food as being nourishment of a solid form, but milk is the original
and most basic food and seems to me like it should have the icon.
So it's easier just to avoid the whole question by abandoning
the change.
Next? "What about the card
list for EcoFluxx?" I'm putting it up this week. I've
also updated the card list for Fluxx
Jr, which we'll be focusing on as soon as EcoFluxx and 3.1
are off to the printer. (Fluxx
Reduxx is currently on indefinite hold.)
OK, that's all I have time for now. Any further questions,
comments, and discussions about all of this should be directed
to the Fluxx mailing
list. Thanks! (And for those of you who've been on the list
for a while... did I miss anything?)
In other news, I've chosen a packing
assistant! His name is James Durfor, and we met at Origins.
(He made it into the Fluxx finals... that's the back of his head
and the cards in his hand in the photo on my Origins
Report page.) He starts next week. Also, Alison
is heading off to camp
tomorrow... she'd been planning only to work 3rd Session, which
is in August, but someone on staff for 2nd session got a broken
foot, so Vini the camp director called to beg Alison to fill
in. So she's rushing to finish up as much artwork as possible
before she goes. As for Kristin (who just turned 40... Happy
Birthday Kristin!),
she's been spending a lot of time working with her new sales
department, i.e. Alvaro
and Luisa, and she's *really* happy to finally have a sales
department. (So am I!)
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