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What should be taken into consideration when mixing fluxx sets?

I played a game of Stoner and Zombie fluxx mixed the other day, and I found it super fun. It add variance to the theming, and especially with the Stoner fluxx (if you're playing with the, ahem, special rules) and stretches it out.

What are the potential pitfalls of mixing sets, and what else should be taken into consideration?

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    Possible duplicate of Can Monty Python Fluxx be used with the regular Fluxx deck, or is it a separate game?
    – AndyT
    Mar 1, 2017 at 12:08
  • @AndyT That question should be closed as a duplicate of this question. The question you marked as the target is a more specific question and this is a broader question that would serve as a better duplicate target.
    – Joe W
    Mar 1, 2017 at 12:51
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    @JoeW - 50:50 decision. Personally I think closing a question with the banner "this question already has an answer here" where the "here" was asked 5 years later is a bit counter intuitive. And the older question also had a higher voted answer and an accepted answer.
    – AndyT
    Mar 1, 2017 at 17:26
  • @AndyT counter intuitive yes, but we are suppose to weigh how specific vs how general the questions are along with how long it had been out there to decide which to close.
    – Andrew
    Jan 19, 2018 at 5:51

2 Answers 2

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Mixing Fluxx sets is fun, but it will:

  • probably make the games take longer since you have half as much chance of getting a relevant keeper. The more sets you add the lower the chances of getting the card you want will be. With 3 decks your chances are 1/3. With 4 decks your chances are 1/4. And so on. [Thanks to @SocioMatt for encouraging this generalization.]
  • get weird. Some sets, like Star Fluxx, have keepers with superpowers which might overpower the other set you mix with it. Reports indicate that Monty Python Fluxx doesn't mix well.
  • Stoner Fluxx and some non-English Fluxx editions have different backs which might let your opponent figure out which cards you don't have more easily.
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  • I'd point out that your chance of getting a relevant keeper gets worse the more sets you mix. Mixing three sets means 1/3 of the keepers go with 1/3 of the goals (roughly). For this reason, games will get longer, on average, the more sets you add. So if you want to play a four hour game of Fluxx, shuffle those 20 versions together.
    – SocioMatt
    Feb 11, 2016 at 14:48
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    If the different backs issue really matters to the OP (it might not, especially for a relatively casual game like Fluxx), it could presumably be solved by using card sleeves with opaque backs. Or by getting the 2.0 version of Stoner Fluxx, which apparently has the same backs as regular Fluxx.
    – Ilmari Karonen
    Feb 14, 2016 at 2:36
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    Mixing sets may also make it harder to get rid of Creepers since sets that have few/no Creepers also have little/no Creeper removal. (This becomes especially relevant when mixing in Batman Fluxx, where all Creepers keep all players from winning)
    – Miguel van de Laar
    Jun 24, 2016 at 7:25
  • I wouldn't say different backs are that big an issue, while having the same back would be preferable, mixing 2 decks of 90ish cards (84-100 according to wikipedia) will give you very little chance of knowing exactly which card, though it does double the odds from half a percent to a percent. The only information you will have about a hand 100% certain is if that player only has cards from one of the sets.
    – Andrew
    Jan 19, 2018 at 5:56
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Apply some houserules to make it easier to achieve goals

Mixing Fluxx sets works great for the most part and can be a lot of fun. The biggest issue is that it's harder to get the combination of keepers in order to achieve a single goal. Therefore, our group plays by the following rules:

  • Starting hand is 3 + the number of additional sets.
  • The number of goals allowed in play are 1 + the number of additional sets. "Double Agenda" and similar cards that allow two goals are treated as "+1 Goal Limit" cards. If the limit is reached, adding a goal allows you to replace any goal.*
  • Sometimes, there are unexpected interactions between sets. Players may agree by majority vote that a card from one set counts as a card for another one.
    • For instance, the "Long Live the Captain!" (Pirate Fluxx) New Rule gives +1 Draw if "The Captain's Hat" is on the table. We decided by majority vote that if "The Captain" (Star Fluxx) is out, it is considered a substitute and is treated as if it were "The Captain's Hat". This does not count towards Goal cards though, and if both are out, the substitute no longer counts.
    • Similarly, the "Armada" Goal (Pirate Fluxx) requires you to have three ships out. We decided by majority vote that the "Starship" (Star Fluxx) may be considered one of the three ships.
    • If a ruling seems broken, a majority vote can undo the new rule as well.

In general, we haven't had problems with mixing sets under these rules. Regarding the concern about some sets having Keepers with special powers, we found that in general they were targets for stealing, while players tended to quietly win with Keepers without powers.

Also, all decks aside from Fluxx 1.0 and Stoner Fluxx 1.0 have the same card backs, so there shouldn't be any issue with compatibility (Stoner Fluxx 2.0 has the regular Fluxx card backs).

* We tried only allowing one goal per set to be out at a time, and a new goal must replace an existing goal from the same set if one is out. However, we found this didn't quite work out because sometimes you really wanted to eliminate a particular goal, but were forced to eliminate another. Another rule that allows for diversity of goals without restricting players may be desirable.

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