Review: Alice in Wonderland Fluxx (Looney Labs)

If any piece of literature deserves to be enshrined in a Fluxx deck, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland stories certainly qualify. What else would you do with a world of disappearing cats, bottles labeled “drink me,” and talking caterpillars with hookah pipes than put them into a card game with ever-changing rules?

In Wonderland Fluxx, Andrew Looney and the team at Looney Labs bring the world of Alice, the Red Queen, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, and the rest of them to life on a game table near you.

Let’s drink the bottle (the one with the label, not the other one), run through the Strange Door, and explore five things you need to know about Wonderland Fluxx.

Absolutely Amazing Artwork

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Wonderland Fluxx draws its material from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871).

The game uses many of the 92 famous illustrations drawn for those editions by Sir John Tenniel, along with some additional art penned by Andrew Looney himself.

The effect is simply stunning. Seeing the cards spread out on the table in the middle of a game is like playing inside a storybook.

Bringing Home the Theme

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As they did with other themed Fluxx games in the past, the Looney Labs team skillfully weaves the story throughout the majority of the game’s 100 cards.

Classic quotes show up in card titles throughout the deck. Keeper cards adorned with all of Tenniel’s main character drawings set you up for victory. Goal cards remind you of specific moments in the story, from Alice falling Down the Rabbit Hole to her part at the Mad Tea Party to the Queen demanding that someone paint her flowers red.

Our Favorite Cards

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It’s hard to pick out favorites from such a rich set of options, but a few cards really stood out.

I loved the goal card for Alice and the Mad Hatter, because the Hatter’s riddle, “Why is a raven like a writing desk,” always makes me laugh. Likewise, the five themed action cards recalled favorite moments from the books, especially Alice’s go-to phrase Curiouser and Curiouser.

For some reason, the keeper card for the Oysters made me sad, especially after I saw the goal card Things That Vanish, which requires a player to have the Oysters and the Cheshire Cat in order to win. (I’m rooting for you, Oysters!) And then there’s the art on the Jabberwock card, which will probably haunt my dreams for a few weeks. Ew.

How You Win

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As the name implies, a game of Fluxx is always, well, in flux. That begins with the question of how you win. To win the game, you need the right combination of keeper cards (cards that you “keep” in front of you on the table) to match the current goal.

Unfortunately, they key word in that last sentence is “current,” because goals get replaced all the time. But don’t worry — even if the goal gets replaced, the keeper cards you played stay on the table in front of you (at least for now).

Classic Fluxx gameplay

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Every Fluxx game begins the same way: All players get three cards in their hands, and the Basic Rule is in play: draw a card, play a card. From then on, literally anything could happen.

As cards are played, the game changes. Rule cards add new rules like “draw two cards” or “play 4 cards.” Action cards do something right away, like give everyone a card, remove half the rules, or let the current player steal a card from someone else.

Surprise cards let someone play out of order and stop something from happening, like adding a new rule or even winning the game. Keeper cards work with goal cards to help you win the game, while the dreaded creeper card exists to make someone’s life miserable.

Verdict

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Although every version of Fluxx begins with the same framework, Looney Labs always finds ways to make the game new and engaging. I don’t know how they make the magic happen, but they definitely did the trick again with Wonderland Fluxx.

Maybe it’s the way they interpreted the whimsical theme or used the classic line art to bring the tales to life, but whatever the reason Wonderland Fluxx earns a strong thumbs up from us both.

If you love Fluxx or just want to find out what happens when you bite into a cake with Eat Me written on top, Wonderland Fluxx will take you where you want to go.