Four new card games arrived today! I played Fluxx with the kids and Noah won after making use of a crafty Action card that allowed him to mine the discard pile for a “swap a Keeper” Action card. This Action let him swap one of his Keepers for one of mine that allowed him to meet the Goal.
- Fluxx – A card game where the cards themselves determine the current rules of the game. By playing cards, you change numerous aspects of the game: how to draw cards, how to play cards, and even how to win.
- Set – Each card contains 1-3 matching objects, in one of three colors, shapes, and shadings. Nine cards are laid out, and the first person to spot a set of three collects those cards. The cards are replaced from the deck and play continues.A set consists of three cards which are either all alike or all different in each attribute: for instance, if all three cards have the same number of objects, but different shapes, shadings, and colors, then they’re a set.
- Bang! – The outlaws hunt the Sheriff. The Sheriff hunts the Outlaws. The Renegade plots secretely, ready to take one side or the other. Bullets fly. Who among the gunmen is a Deputy, ready to sacrifice himself for the Sheriff? And who is a merciless Outlaw, willing to kill him? If you want to find out, just draw (your cards)!
- San Juan – A card game based on Puerto Rico. The pack of 110 cards consists of production buildings (indigo, sugar, tobacco, coffee, and silver) and “violet” buildings that grant special powers or extra victory points. Cards from the hand can be either built or used as money to build something else. Cards from the deck are used to represent goods produced by the production buildings, in which case they are left face-down. A seven-card hand limit is enforced once per round.In each round or governorship, each player in turn selects from one of the available roles, triggering an event that usually affects all players, such as producing goods or building. The person who picks the role gets a privilege, such as producing more goods or building more cheaply.
Though similar in concept to Puerto Rico, the game has many different mechanics. In particular, there are no colonists and no shipping of goods; goods production and trading are normally limited to one card per phase; and trades cannot be blocked.
Victory points are gained exclusively by building, and the game ends as soon as one player has put up 12 buildings.