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Q: In one of the Fluxx videos, Andy wins after playing a few cards, but shouldn’t he have had to satisfy the Play All rule before he could win?

A: Play All is not like an Action card which needs to be resolved before considering win conditions. It is “resolved” by changing the rules of the game. You play it, the rules change, and it’s done. Now it’s just in effect. After that Andy is just taking his turn, following the current rules, playing each card, and considering, after each play, whether he’s met the win conditions.

If you’re asking whether he can win in the middle of his turn, the answer is simply: yes. After all, he could win in the middle of someone else’s turn, too, if the cards play out right.

Q: What happens with Hand Limit 0 and Play All in effect, if I draw 1 and play it, and it increases the Draw?

…Do I get to play those cards because of Play All, or do I have to discard them because of the Hand Limit 0?

A: You must play those extra cards because of Play All. Hand Limits only apply to you when it’s not your turn, and when you played the Draw increase, you extended your turn. You need to keep playing, and would only need to comply with the Hand Limit if one of the subsequent cards you played changed or removed the Play All rule.

Q: It seems like Get On With It or Swap Plays for Draws would contradict Play All. Would putting either of these into play cause Play All to be discarded?

A: No. The instructions on Get On With It (or Swap Plays for Draws) only temporarily override the instructions on Play All and only on the turn of the player using it. Since choosing to use one of these is optional, simply putting either of them into play doesn’t contradict Play All, so you wouldn’t discard Play All just because you played one of them (nor vice versa!)

Q: With a multiple Play in place could I use the Necronomicon repeatedly to move a Creeper, then put it back in my hand, replay it and use it to move another Creeper?

It appears that with Play All, I could effectively do this an unlimited number of times, moving all the Creepers in the game to wherever I wanted them. Is this correct?

A: This is an unfortunate loophole with the card as written in the first several printings. It was intended that you could only use it once per turn to move a single Creeper. We updated this wording as of approximately September 2016 (but there are a lot of decks out there with it open-ended like this). If you’ve been playing it over-powered like this, you’d be within your rights, since it does not technically say “once per turn”. Now that you know the intended usage, you could still choose to use it as written, however, we’d prefer that it be nerfed as follows:

Our official ruling would be to play it as if it said “…once during your turn you may move any Creeper from one player to another, then put this card back in your hand.” Of course, if there were a multiple play situation, you might subsequently play it again to the table, but would not then be able to use it to move a Creeper again on your turn.

As always, “once per turn” means once per YOUR turn, not once on every person’s turn.
See For special Keeper (or Item) powers or Rules that say “once per turn”, does that mean…

Q: If Play All But 1 is in effect, and there’s something that requires me to increase my plays, do I end up playing all?

The Computer promo card, or Batcomputer in Batman Fluxx, for example, increases both your Play and your Draw by 1. So does the Rich Bonus. Play 1 extra doesn’t affect Play All, so why would it affect Play All But 1?

A: Play All But 1 isn’t the same as Play All: when you Play All But 1, you do have 1 card remaining, so when you are then required to play +1 cards, you do have one left to play, so you must play it.

You need to take Play All But 1 as a unit into consideration: you can’t just break out the Play All, and apply the effects of the Computer, and then apply the …But 1 part.

Note that since the effects of the Computer are not optional, you have to do it, whether you like it or not. Other similar effects may be optional, so always check on that. It’s pretty easy to see whether something says you “may” do it, or if it just happens.

Q: Why doesn’t the Time Traveler playing the Time Portal with Play All in effect break the game?

Scenario: Play All is in effect.
Someone has the Time Traveler.
They acquire a Time Portal.

From what I can tell this causes an infinite loop: they play the Portal, they rummage for what they want, play it, and the Portal returns to their hand. Since they’re in Play All, they play the Portal, they rummage for what they want, play it, and the Portal returns to their hand, and so on.

A: This doesn’t break the game because of something very important about the Time Portal: using it ends your turn immediately, so no infinite loop.

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 Play All is in effect, and my last play is Trade Hands, do I play all those new cards I got in the hand traded to me?

My opponent argued that because this was my “final” play (last card in my original hand), I was done playing all, and would not be able to play all of the new cards from the hand I’d just traded for.

A: You’ll be happy to know that you were correct, not your opponent. After the Trade Hands is completed, you now have cards in your hand, and the Play All rule says you keep playing as long as you have cards in your hand, so your turn doesn’t end, you just keep going.

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: 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: If a card says “Your turn ends immediately,” but Play All is in effect, which takes precedence?

A: When you play an Action or use a New Rule card says “your turn ends immediately” it means it’s specifically overriding any Play rule that might otherwise require you to keep playing cards on this turn. You also end any option you may have to use Keeper powers or “Free Action” Rules. If it says “your turn ends immediately” then your turn ends immediately – so make sure you’re all done with stuff before you play/use one of these cards!

See: Q: What cards have effects that include ending my turn immediately if I play/use them?

Also see: Would putting either of these two into play cause Play All to be discarded?