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Q: I was watching the video of Powerhouse, and it seems like you guys made a mistake. Near the end of the game, shouldn’t Kristin have been required to trigger her reactor?

…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYllDaWr388&t=6m15s
Kristin plays a meltdown with the first die, so the reactor (two black pyramids) in her grid doesn’t activate. So far, so good. However, on her next turn, she still has the same reactor. Why is she allowed to “sit on it” (end her turn) without activating the reactor? The rules say that “you must Transform one” if there are two pyramids of the same size and color. If she had given a black pyramid back to Andy, he wouldn’t have been able to win with the two-die meltdown on the next turn.

A: YES, you are absolutely correct — we got our own game wrong in that video!!! OOPS!

Kristin indeed should have had to trigger that reactor and give Andy a piece, which would have kept the game going, just as you say. We just forgot!

Oh well, hopefully other players will do a better job of playing it than we did!

Q: If Sonic Sledgehammer is played, and I have the Expendable Crewman, must that be the Keeper I discard?

See this question in a video!
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 1

A: It depends. Were you the one who played the Sonic Sledgehammer, or was it an opponent? The Expendable Crewman’s power only triggers when someone else is taking or eliminating one of your Keepers. If you’re the one choosing a Keeper to get rid of (even just from a Keeper Limit) you’re not required to get rid of him.

Remember, it’s the person playing the Sonic Sledgehammer who gets to decide what Keeper everyone discards, including themselves. So if they are the one with the Expendable Crewman, they’re not required to discard that Keeper; they can get rid of whatever they want. However, if it’s someone else who has the hapless red-shirt, they have to choose for that player to discard the Expendable Crewman, even if there’s something else they’d rather that player lose.

To sum up, thematically: Your Expendable Crewman is only reckless when you’re under attack, otherwise, he’ll reliably go (or stay) where you want him to.

Q: If Dead Friends and Zombies Ain’t So Bad are both in effect, can I win with Goals requiring Friends?

See this answer as a video!
Ain’t So Bad

A: One could argue that your Zombified Friends are still Friends,
since Zombies Ain’t So Bad.
–Or–
One could argue that once your Friends are Zombified, it’s simply impossible to win with ANY Goal requiring Friends, even if Zombies Ain’t So Bad, since, really, they may not be so bad, but they’re not your friends anymore, they’re zombies. How many people describe their friends as “not so bad”? That’s hardly enthusiastic, you know?

So let’s ask ourselves how many of their Friend-attributes they maintain in Zombified form, such that they would meet the various Goals in a thematic sense:

• Zombie Food: are Zombified Friends Zombie Food?
Not really. Zombies don’t eat each other.

• Barricade the Windows: Could my Zombified Friends help me Barricade the Windows?
Maybe. Depends how hard it is to do that task. It would probably be hard.

• Getaway Driver: Can my Zombified Friends drive a car?
We’re gonna go with a big “no” on that one. Seriously doubtful.

and finally…

• We’re All All Right: Are my Zombified Friends “All Right”?
I don’t care how “not so bad” Zombies are, my Zombified Friends are definitely NOT “all right”.

TLDR:
The short answer from Andy himself is the second answer: if Dead Friends is in play, you can’t win with ANY Goal requiring Friends, because they’re not Friends any more, they’re zombies, even if they’re really nice Zombies. Sorry.

Q: Does the Expendable Crewman protect against the Scientist’s power, even though the Scientist can’t steal the Crewman?

See this question in a video!
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 2

A: Yes. The Expendable Crewman is a real martyr/idiot/klutz who jumps/falls into the line of fire, gets beamed away somewhere (or killed or whatever) whenever someone moves to take any type of Keeper, no matter what the stated action or power that causes that Keeper to be taken or destroyed.

Imagine this scenario:

As your Scientist is attempting to lure the Energy Being into his trap, the clumsy (and terribly unlucky) Expendable Crewman just happens by, accidentally stumbling into the trap, and is captured by your Scientist instead of the Energy Being. You get the Expendable Crewman instead of the Energy Being. Reset your trap and try again next turn…

Or… Red alert! Someone is trying to beam your Energy Crystals right out of the engineering room. Your Expendable Crewman (always first into the fray!) leaps towards the beam… and is sucked up by the would-be thief (some opponent’s Scientist).

Q: If I’m using my Laser Pistol to shoot another player’s Keeper-with-Creeper, and they have the Expendable Crewman, what happens?

Does this negate the Laser Pistol power (as the Expendable Crewman has no Creeper attached)
-or-
Do we discard the Creeper (attached to a different Keeper) and the Expendable Crewman?
-or-
Do we discard the Expendable Crewman only?

See this question in a video!
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 1
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 2

A: The Expendable Crewman’s powers take precedence over the Laser Pistol’s. So even though you aimed and shot the Laser Pistol at the Keeper/Creeper combo, the Expendable Crewman leapt (tripped?) into the line of fire, and was offed instead, leaving the Keeper/Creeper combo still there to be dealt with some other way. Note that in Star Trek Fluxx, Ensign Smith functions as the Expendable Crewman, and in TNG Fluxx, Tasha Yar has that power.

So, knowing this, you might choose not to even point the Laser Pistol in that direction, knowing that annoying Expendable Crewman is hanging around – but that’s up to you.

(Keep in mind that if you’re the one with the Expendable Crewman, AND the Laser Pistol or Sword, you’re free to target your own Keeper-with-Creeper, without accidentally hitting your own Expendable Crewman. If the shot is coming from within his own ship, he will dutifully follow directions, and stand aside, letting the attack go through. It’s only when outside forces threaten that he gets flustered or over-brave.)

Q: We think we broke the game. Are we doing it wrong?

See this answer in a video!
Little Answers

A: A good rule of thumb for any game is that if you find that you have several possible interpretations of a rule, the one that breaks the game is probably NOT the correct way to play.

Note that if you only see ONE way to play a card, and it seems broken, please do search our FAQ for known errata or clarifications*, or contact us. It could be a typo, or a new interaction that we have not considered.

*The fastest way is to search on the name of the card you’re having a problem with.

Q: How does the Expendable Crewman work when Exchange Keepers is played?

[In Star Trek Fluxx, Ensign Smith has the same function as the Expendable Crewman, and in Star Trek: TNG Fluxx, it’s Tasha Yar]

A: It all depends on who has the Expendable Crewman, and who played Exchange Keepers.

See this question in a video!
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 1

If the player who has the Expendable Crewman is the one who plays Exchange Keepers, they can choose to trade whatever they want. It’s only when someone else is taking a Keeper away from you that they must take/destroy the Expendable Crewman.

If, on the other hand, your opponent has the Expendable Crewman, and you play Exchange Keepers, you’ll be getting that dork in the red shirt, no matter what you’re actually coveting in your opponent’s collection.

Think of it this way: he readily obeys his own captain’s orders, but he always seems to leap forward at the last minute when a hostile force demands hostages!

Q: Can anyone look through the discard pile at any time?

…or only when they play Let’s Do That Again, which seems to be the only place that allowance is stated.

See this answer in a video!
Little Answers

A: Anyone may look through the discard pile at any time.

Here is our logic: If you could only look through the discard pile if you had played the card, then you’d never be able to check to see whether there was anything worth playing in there, so you might totally waste what is a potentially great card.

So, let’s say you’re only allowed to look if you’re planning to play it. Then it would only allowed if you had the card in hand, then you’d have to prove it to everyone, by showing it, potentially, which isn’t terribly fair.

In short, it’s just as the card says: “Anyone may look through the discard pile at any time,” and “anyone” means “anyone,” not just the person with the card, and “any time” means “any time,” not just when you play it.

Q: If someone cancels one of my plays with a Surprise, do I get the card back, and still have that play to use?

… or does the card that was canceled go in the trash (or to my opponent in the case of That’s Mine), and my attempt has used up one of my plays?

See this answer in a video!
Little Answers

A: No, it’s that second thing you said: the card that got canceled goes away, and that play has been squandered. On the other hand, your opponent had to give up a card from their hand as well, so it’s not as though it’s without sacrifice on their part too.

Q: What happens if Take Another Turn is played twice in one turn?

Based on the wording of the card, it would seem that you still only get one extra turn.

See this answer in a video!
Little Answers

A: Correct. You can’t save up any extra Another Turns. The maximum number of turns you can take in a row using this card is two. Most, but, unfortunately, not all, iterations or versions of this card have that language on them. Keeping things consistent across so many Fluxx decks is surprisingly difficult.

For those wondering how this card could be played more than once, it’s quite possible that one could play Take Another Turn, and then Let’s Do That Again (either during their first turn, or their “Another” turn)… but you can’t take another “Another Turn,” so don’t pick that card to Do Again.

Shadow Out Of Time in Cthulhu Fluxx functions the same way.