Monday , March 18 2024

Card Game Review: ‘Star Trek Voyager Fluxx’ from Looney Labs

Star Trek Voyager Fluxx from Looney Labs adds another generation to the lineup of trekking adventures in the card game with the ever-changing rules. Already players have seen earlier series like Star Trek Fluxx and Star Trek the Next Generation Fluxx, and Voyager takes things all the way to the Delta Quadrant with new twists and clever action.

Star Trek Voyager Fluxx keeps its basic rules along Fluxx lines. At the beginning, players receive a hand of three cards and then take turns drawing and playing one card. Cards might be Actions or even new Rules, which change the mechanics with more draws and plays. Players seek to collect Keeper cards, and the right combination matching a Goal card in play will mean victory. Creeper cards will get stuck to players and prevent them from winning until they move on.

Like the other Star Trek Fluxxes before, Star Trek Voyager Fluxx offers vivid trek flavor with space-faring cards. Action cards harken back to any number of episodes like Distress Call, which gives bonus draws to everyone and extra bonus to those with Creepers, and Time Portal, allowing players to dig through the discard or draw piles. Two unique cards are especially Voyager: the “Ancestor’s Eve” New Rule providing bonus draws for naming family members and “The Caretaker” Action that allows the player to pick up a big list of Keepers from anywhere on the table, making for a swift win when a savvy player uses it at just the right time.

In addition to the New Rules and Actions, Star Trek Voyager Fluxx provides a wealth of meta-gaming through optional actions on Keeper and Creeper cards. Often Keepers pull double-duty, such as the “Janeway from the Future” Keeper counting as Kathryn Janeway or the “Mobile Emitter” also covering for The Doctor. Other Keepers help eliminate Creepers, such as B’Elanna repairing Malfunctions for the “Phaser” discarding a Creeper outright. Fitting with the time-travel aspects of the later seasons, several Timeship Keepers allow players a bonus turn for discarding, which can be truly a game-changer at the right moment. The most important Keepers to keep track of are the Transporter and Janeway, both of which can steal Keepers in play for free. Many of the villainous Creeper cards, meanwhile, are movable, such as the Kazon pursuing the Voyager Keeper or Species 8472 shifting targets.

Star Trek Voyager Fluxx is a card game for two to six players aged eight and up. Games are quick, lasting ten minutes to at most half an hour thanks to the numerous ways for players to steal Keepers and get bonus draws. Each player will have to keep close attention to the Goal card in play and everyone’s Keepers as well as those in hand to see what will bring a win.

About Jeff Provine

Jeff Provine is a Composition professor, novelist, cartoonist, and traveler of three continents. His latest book is a collection of local ghost legends, Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma.

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