SNAP Review – Across America Fluxx

I’d love to take our family on a road trip…

Are we there yet? (No)

We could travel across the United States, seeing the sights, stopping for famous landmarks… (He hit me! STOP IT)

Maybe we’d better take a card game instead.

Game

This is a SNAP review for Across America Fluxx, the newest version of the Fluxx card game from Looney Labs.

Like most of the other Fluxx games, it was designed by Andrew Looney and it’s best for 2-6 players, ages eight and up.

Art

Let’s talk about that art.

For the most part, this looks like other Fluxx games: there’s a lot of text, and not a lot of images. But the Keeper cards are all American landmarks, illustrated in a lovely postcard style by Katie Melrose.

They’re nice! I like them.

Mechanics

So, how do we play Across America Fluxx?

For anyone who hasn’t played a Fluxx game before, where have you been? But really, the concept is simple. Every turn, you’ll be drawing some cards and playing some cards from your hand. There are four broad types of cards in this version: Keepers, Goals, Actions, and New Rules.

New Rules are what Fluxx is known for, and they’re exactly what they sound like: they change the rules of how a turn works. The game starts at “Draw 1, Play 1”, but playing a New Rule can turn it into combinations like “Draw 4, Play All but One” with options to draw more cards by singing about travel or discard your entire hand to draw a new one. (“Mom!”)

New Rules stay in play until they are superseded by another new rule or some kind of Action.

Actions are one-time use cards. Play one on your turn to steal cards, discard rules, or maybe shift some cards around.

Keepers are cards that get played in front of you, while Goal cards specify a combination of 2 or 3 Keepers. If any player has the Keepers to fulfill the active Goal, they immediately win the game.

In Across America Fluxx, all the Keepers are famous American landmarks – the types of things you’d visit on a road trip. The Goals, the Actions, and some of the Rules play off the idea of a cross-country trip.

(“Ok, are we there NOW?” NO! …”I have to go to the bathroom.”)

Expectations

So what did we expect from Across America Fluxx?

Well, we expected the wackiness of a Fluxx game. I hoped this would be one of the friendlier Fluxx versions, without a bunch of extra card types and vindictive cards that can make the game a little bit more competitive – it’s a family game! (And longer.)

Surprises

But some things did surprise us about this.

I really enjoyed the rules that encouraged us to talk about the places represented in the game. Some of the goals did this too, like “Thanks Teddy!” which is about our national park system – and “The State or the City?” which is about the difference between Washington state and Washington D.C.

There’s a rule that lets you draw extra cards if you sing a traveling song or a song about a place. I liked it, but there are some that we never need to hear again… (child sings “Country roads” in the background)

The places represented lean heavily towards the national parks and the Southwest states, but our New Englander family was still able to find a few places we’ve seen in real life. Like one or two.

Recommended?

So, do we recommend Across America Fluxx?

This is a great game for families. It’s on the simpler side for Fluxx games, so games will generally last long enough for everyone to have a few turns, but not dragging on into infinity.

Kids love being able to change the rules, but they might not like the way they have to keep their plans flexible.

(Mom, are we there yet NOW?)

Yes, we’re there.

(Finally!)

It’s time to rate the game.

We’re going to give Across America Fluxx 3 ½ rest stops out of 5.

Find it on Amazon or direct from Looney Labs.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Across America Fluxx from Looney Labs for this review.

This post contains affiliate links, which do not change your price, but help support The Family Gamers.

SNAP review music is Avalanche, provided courtesy of You Bred Raptors?