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Q: If during your draw phase, the draw pile runs out, can you play a card that requires use of the discard pile before reshuffling it to finish drawing?

A: If you’re asking if you can interrupt the completion of your Draw phase to play a card that requires the discard pile, and the answer would be no. You need to complete your Draw phase before playing anything. In this example, let’s say the draw pile contained two cards, and it was Draw 3. You’d have to draw those two cards, reshuffle the discard pile, and draw your last card. Then, and only then, could you start playing cards from your hand.

If, however, you’d completed your Draw phase, and it ran the draw pile out exactly you should technically not reshuffle the discard pile until someone needs to draw more. So if there were three cards in the draw pile, and it was Draw 3, and you drew three cards, the discard pile should technically be left in place until you, or the next person needs to draw again. In that case there would still be a discard pile for you to use with various card plays on your turn.

Q: Is there a limit or order to drawing off the bottom of the discard pile using Composting?

A: You can choose to take any or all of your Draws from the bottom of the discard pile, and you can do it in any order. You can take one off the draw pile, then one off the bottom of the discard pile, then one off the draw pile, then one off the bottom of the discard pile. Each time you draw, you can choose which place to draw from.

Since you can look through the discard pile at any time (without changing the order) you can look at all the cards near the bottom of the deck, and see if drawing four cards will get you to a specific card you’re looking for. It’s a pretty powerful promo in some ways.

Q: Do the cards you draw with the No-Hand Bonus count towards your Draw for that turn?

If I qualify for drawing three cards because of the No-Hand Bonus, and the Draw rule is five, do I draw a total of five cards or eight?

A: The No-Hand Bonus states: “Draw a new hand of 3 cards BEFORE observing the current draw rule” (emphasis added). Your drawing 3 cards is considered a “pre-turn action”: these cards essentially make up a “new hand” which simulates you having had a hand BEFORE starting your turn. Then you observe the current draw rule, which says draw 5 cards.

So you draw a total of eight cards in this case.

Secondary Q: So if I increase the Draw rule from Draw 2 to Draw 4 on my turn, do I still get to draw an extra 2 cards? One of my opponents argued that I had already drawn 5 for the Bonus plus the Draw 2, so I couldn’t draw more when I increased the Draw rule.

A: Since the cards drawn for the No-Hand bonus are separate from those drawn because of the Draw rule in play, and don’t count towards the number of cards drawn for your turn, YES, you get to draw two more cards when you increase the Draw from 2 to 4.

Q: If the rules are Draw 1, and I draw three Creepers in a row, how many cards do I redraw?

…I say it’s just one card, but my husband says it should be three, since three Creepers were drawn. Who is right?

A: For practical purposes, you are correct. If you have laid down three Creepers in a row like that, you are left needing to draw 1. After your draw phase, you should end up having drawn just 1 non-Creeper for your Draw 1.

If anyone is having a hard time wrapping their head around why this is, here’s a blow-by-blow description of what happens when you draw three Creepers in a row while trying to Draw 1.

You Draw 1. It’s a Creeper.
It goes in front of you, and you draw to replace it, hoping for a non-Creeper to satisfy the current Draw rule.
Your “draw to replace” is… a second Creeper.
It goes in front of you with the first, and you draw to replace it, hoping for a non-Creeper to satisfy the current Draw rule.
Your “draw to replace” is… a third Creeper.
It goes in front of you, and you draw to replace it, hoping for a non-Creeper to satisfy the current Draw rule.
Your “draw to replace” is… finally a non-Creeper, which you add to your hand, and you have successfully followed the current Draw rule, which is Draw 1.

As you can see, in some ways, your husband is right… but the thing is, the three cards that were “drawn to replace” did happen… they’re just over as soon as you draw 1 non-Creeper.

Q: Do I get to draw extra if Cosmic Instructions comes up and is put into play a second time in the game?

Cosmic Instructions says one gets to draw extra when the card is “first put into play”. Does that mean that if it comes up again in the game, the person playing it doesn’t get to draw those extra cards?

A: In consultation with Andy, we concluded that the word “first” is redundant and unnecessary. Just pretend it’s not there. What is meant is that when the card is put into play (from a state of not previously having been in play) this special action is invoked. So yes, if Cosmic Instructions is trashed via Rules Reset or some other card, and later finds its way into someone’s hand and they play it again (or is pulled via Strange Aeons), the person playing it gets to draw the extra three cards.

Q: Suppose during my turn my “Draw Count” goes down 1, then up 1. Do I draw an additional card?

A: Okay, so let’s say we’re at Draw 1. Then you increase to Draw 4. So you draw three extra cards, so that –> on your turn, you have Drawn a total of four cards. Then, maybe you decrease to Draw 2. You can’t “Undraw” so you just keep your cards. Now imagine that the Draw rule goes up to 3. Draw 3 means that –>you must have Drawn (at least) 3 cards on your turn. Have you done that? Why yes! In fact, you’ve Drawn 4. So you don’t get to Draw extra.

Q: If I play Draw 2 And Use Em, and increase the Draw Rule, but then get rid of it with the other card, do I get to draw extra?

For example, if the current rule is draw 1, and the card “draw 2 and use ’em” is played, and the cards drawn are a Draw 4 (New Rule) and Let’s Simplify (Action). The player then plays the new rule card followed by the action to simplify, and removes the new rule; does the player draw the addition cards as per the new rule? We were not sure if having set aside one’s hand would mean that you couldn’t draw those extra cards until the “mini hand” was resolved.

A: You’d resolve the increased draw as soon as it was played, whether your hand is set aside or not. In other words, if you started with Draw 1, and, within the mini-hand played Draw 4, you’d draw 3 more cards, and put them in your set-aside main hand. Then you’d play the Let’s Simplify, and the Draw 4 card would go away.

Note that this ruling will also apply to Draw 3 Play 2 of Them (D3P2), Fizzbin, and when executing Goal Bonanza.

Q: When a Draw or Play Rule is played, do I get to immediately draw or play the number on the New Rule?

Or is it dependent on how many I have already drawn or played during my turn?

A: Rules take effect immediately, and the wording on Draw/Play Rules states that you should “Draw/Play [x] cards per turn.” Therefore, if you have already played 3 cards on your turn so far, and the rule is (now) Play 4, then you can only play one more card. The count does not start from the point the card is played, since the number of cards played is per complete turn.

Here’s another example which may be useful: If “Play All” is in effect and you play 6 cards, and then play the card “Play 3,” your turn simply ends, since you have already played 3 and have no more remaining plays in your turn.

Draw rules are similar, in that you count the total number you have drawn on your turn, so if you start with “Draw 3” and then play the card “Draw 4” you only get to draw one additional card, since Draw rules specify “so that you have drawn [x] cards on your turn.” When you increase the Draw rule, you only draw the difference. If you decrease it on your turn, however, you don’t have to “Un-draw.” You just get to keep the excess cards you drew when the Draw rule was higher.

Q: If Swap Plays For Draws and Play All (or Play All But 1) are both in effect, how does that resolve?

If I draw the number of cards I have left in my hand to play, do I have to play them all? Which one takes precedence? Play All, or Swap Plays?

A: Once you have exercised your option to Swap Plays for Draws, you have no more plays left (you have swapped all your remaining plays) so your turn is over. So, no, you don’t play those new cards drawn. In that sense Swap Plays “takes precedence” since you may still have cards in your hand at the end of your turn even though Play All is in effect.

Specific example:
The Swap Plays For Draws card explicitly states that when this rule is in effect, you may choose at any time to play no more cards, and draw the number of cards as you have plays left. Play All says to play all your cards this turn.

So lets say you have five cards in hand. You play two cards, and decide you want to swap the rest of your plays for draws. Since you have three cards remaining, and Play All is in effect, you have three plays left to swap, so you draw three cards, thereby ending your turn.

Likewise, if Play All But 1 is in effect, then as long as you have more than 1 card remaining in your hand (which would mean you have plays left to swap) you would get to draw the number of cards in your hand minus 1, since the number of plays you have remaining is simply 1 less than the number of cards in your hand. As with Play All, of course, once you choose to swap your remaining plays for draws, you have no more plays.

Q: How does the math work on Distress Call?

Distress Call states that “All players draw 1 card from the deck,” and then that “Anyone with a Creeper then draws additional cards until they have drawn 2 cards for each Creeper they possess.” Is the first card drawn by this action included in the cards drawn for Creepers? That is, if I have one Creeper, do I draw 2 total cards or 3 (one from the first part and two from the second)?

A: The first card you draw is included in the total of cards you draw if you have Creepers. So if you have 1 Creeper, you draw a total of 2 cards.

Q: Is Swap Plays For Draws limited by the number of cards you have in your hand?

A: Sort of. If you have more than enough cards in your hand to cover the number of plays left allowed by the Play Rule, then you just subtract how many plays you took from the number shown on the Play Rule. You played 1 and it’s Play 3, and you have 7 cards left in your hand? Play 3 minus the 1 play you took leaves you 2 remaining plays you could swap for draws. Your hand size does not affect how many plays you have left to swap.

If, however, the Play Rule indicates more plays left than you have cards left in your hand, then the number of plays you have left is the number of cards in your hand. The number of plays you can swap for draws is the number of ACTUAL card plays you could make, not the theoretical number of plays allowed by the Play Rule.

EXAMPLE:
Draw 1, Play 3 is in effect.
You have a hand of 0 and you draw 1 card. Now you have 1 card in your hand. How many plays can ACTUALLY be taken by you? Not 3 because the Play Rule says 3, but 1, because you only have 1 card in your hand. You can’t play cards you don’t have. At whatever time you choose to exercise Swap Plays For Draws, the question is: how many ACTUAL plays do you have left? In this case, you have only 1 play available to you, which you could choose to swap for 1 draw. Now you have 2 cards in your hand, but do you get to play them because the Play Rule says 3? NO, because with Swap Plays For Draws, you are deciding to sacrifice ALL your remaining plays for draws, so, by definition, no matter how many you drew, you have no plays left in your turn.

This is turns out to be exactly how we figure out how many cards can be drawn when the Play All (or Play All But 1) is in effect. In that case, you look at the number of cards you have left (or that number minus 1) and that’s how many plays you have, so that’s how many cards you draw. Again, remember that using Swap Plays For Draws means you have no more plays left in your turn, so you won’t be able to use any of those cards you just drew until your next turn.

Swapping Plays For Draws is one of the ways you can avoid having to playing a card that would make someone else win.

See also: Can I use Get On With It if I played my only card, but the Play rule says to play more?

Q: The ÜberChrononauts rules card says “On your turn, Draw 2, Discard 1, and Play 1.” How does that work exactly?

Does that mean you draw 2 cards, keep 1 and discard the other, or do you draw 2 cards, add them to your hand, discard any card you choose from your hand, then play a card?

A: The latter. It’s kind of like a game of Fluxx, if the rules at the time were Draw 2 plus a New Rule called Discard 1 which, if it existed, would require you to discard 1 card between the Draw and Play parts of your turn.

Q: The Composting promo card says it’s okay to look at the bottom card of the discard pile. If there is a multiple play in effect, can I look at more than one card at a time?

A: Any player may look at the entire discard pile at any time, but the order of what’s in the pile should not be changed. So you can look at as many of those cards as you like, and if you see a card you want that’s, for example, third from the bottom, then (as long as you have at least three draws available on your turn) you can take all those “from the compost pile” to reach it.

In fact, when Composting is in play, some people choose to splay out the bottom of the discard pile to more easily see what’s within drawing range for a turn.

Q: Are the powers of the Computer optional?

A: Well, it depends which version of The Computer you’re using. The bottom line is: check the language. Where it says “may” or “can” it means you don’t have to if you don’t want to. If it just says certain parameters are increased… they’re just increased, no choice about it.

For all versions of The Computer, the increase in Draw and Play quantity is required, which interacts with Play All But 1 to make it Play All – no choice for you. For the versions in Star Fluxx and both Star Trek Fluxxes, the Limit increase is optional, but for the promo card version and the Batcomputer, the owner must use the increased limits.

Note that BMO (Adventure Time Fluxx) has the power of optionally increasing Limits by 1, and Data (Star Trek: TNG Fluxx) has the power of optionally increasing Play by 1.

   Star Flux
   Star Trek Fluxx
   Star Trek: TNG Fluxx 		   Batcomputer
   Computer promo 		   BMO    Data
   increase Play/Draw    required    required    –    optional
increase Limits    optional    required    optional    –

Q: What happens when you are required to draw more cards in the middle of performing an Action like Draw 3 Play 2?

For example, suppose we are at Draw 1 and I play Draw 5 as the first of my Draw 3 Play 2 cards. I’d need to immediately Draw more cards, right? So Where do they go? Should I put the extra cards in my original hand or in the side hand I’m using for the “Draw 3 Play 2” card?

A: New cards would be added to your set-aside hand in this case. Since you’d already drawn 1 new card at the start of your turn, you’d need to Draw 4 more and add them to your set-aside hand. It’s OK to look at them as you do — in fact, you need to, since you’d need to play and redraw any Creepers that came up in those 4 cards.

Similarly, if you played Jackpot! you’d add the new cards to your set-aside hand, and if you played Discard and Draw, it would be your set aside hand that you’d throw away and replace. If you played Rotate Hands, it would be your set-aside hand that you rotated.

Note that this ruling will also apply to Draw 2 and Use ‘Em (D2UE) and Fizzbin, as well as when executing Goal Bonanza.

Q: What happens if I play Draw 3 Play 2 with no draw or discard pile? Do I redraw it as part of executing it?

A: You would draw as many as you can and make do with what you have at that point, even if that makes it “Draw 0 Play 2 of them.” If you don’t get your full value for the card because of the situation, maybe it’s not a good idea to play that card at this time.

The important point is that you would not redraw the Action played as one of the cards for the Action. The Action card does not become part of the discard pile until after the Action has been fully resolved. (I find it helpful to imagine that the Action card hovers in the air above the discard pile while the Action is happening, perhaps spinning slowly in space so that it can be seen by all, then gently settling down onto the discard pile afterwards.)

Note that this ruling will also apply to Draw 2 and Use ‘Em (D2UE) and Fizzbin. Neither the original action, nor the cards executed from your temporary hand are in the discard pile until the whole Action is completed.

Q: What happens if both the draw pile and the discard pile run out?

Suppose it’s a Draw 5, Play 1 type of situation and no one plays a Hand Limit or a multiple Play rule. Eventually everyone has a big hand and the draw pile runs out. The discard pile gets reshuffled and reused, but suppose the situation continues until there are no cards left to be drawn. What happens? Do you just skip the draw phase of your turn till your next turn comes up where you can draw enough cards for the ‘draw requirement’? or draw what you can now and proceed to your turn?

A: Draw what you can and continue. In general, if the rules command you to do something impossible, then you just do as much as you can, and move on. If the rule says Play 3 and you only have 2 cards, then you Play 2 and stop. Similarly, if the rule says Draw 4 and there are only 3 cards for you to draw (even after reshuffling) then you draw 3 cards and proceed with the Play phase.

So yes, if the Draw pile and the Discard pile are both empty for someone, you just continue with some people not getting any new cards during their Draw phase. Now, some cards might enter the discard pile during a person’s turn, but they don’t get to immediately Draw those available cards retroactively. You don’t assess whether the discard pile needs to be reshuffled until there is an actual need for someone to Draw. Mind you, you’ll all find yourselves drawing things someone else just played for a while, but you might not choose to use them right away.

In such a situation everyone will be holding massive hands of cards so there should be plenty you can Play, even if you’re not drawing any. At some point someone will play a Hand Limit and suddenly there will be plenty of cards to shuffle again. (This is why every version of Fluxx has Hand Limits.)

Q: Do I have to observe the current Draw rule entirely before I can play any cards?

A: Yes, on all turns you are supposed to observe the Draw rule before the Play rule, though it sometimes happens, if you change the Draw rule during your turn, that you may have to draw additional cards in the middle of your turn.

(Unless you have a Meta Rule that says otherwise.)

Note: Many of the Meta-Rules discussed in the linked article don’t actually exist. In particular, the one which would apply here, Quota Style Turn Order does not exist. Neither does Early Limit Compliance.