There was another question I was planning to add to my last email of
questions about Fluxx 4.0:
- Is the Poor Bonus optional? The way they are worded, it seems like the
Rich Bonus is optional, but the Poor Bonus is not.
However, as I looked over other Bonus cards in all the Fluxx games, the
question grew bigger, so I'm making a separate email about it. Your comments
are desired.
In my search for the True Principle of Bonus Card Discretion, these are
possibilities I've considered:
A. Explicit Language. If the card says "may" the bonus is optional,
otherwise it's mandatory.
Sorting through the bonus cards by this rule, here are the results. The
pertinent phrases from the cards are:
Optional:
- Rich Bonus: that person may play 1 extra card
- Party Bonus: all players may Draw 1 extra card and may Play 1 extra card
- Weapon Bonus: you may kill 1 of your Creeper cards
- Fake Accent, first part: you may play 1 extra card
- Grandparent Bonus: you may ignore any Hand Limit rules in play
- Parent Bonus: you may choose to draw 1 extra card on your turn
- Child Bonus: you may choose to play 1 extra card
- Judaica Bonus: you may play 1 extra card
- Cross Bonus: you may play 1 extra card
Mandatory:
- No-Hand Bonus: draw a new hand of 3 cards
- Poor Bonus: that person draws 1 extra card
- Eradication Bonus: all players draw 1 extra card at once
- Adrenaline Bonus: draw and play 1 extra card during your turn
- Fake Accent, second part: play 2 extra cards
- I Want to Sing!, both parts: draw 1 extra card ... draw another extra
card
- Borders Bonus: all players draw a card
This works pretty well, with an anomaly. In Fake Accent, it uses "may" for
playing 1 card, but not for playing 2; but I don't think it's meant to be
optional for 1 and mandatory for 2. I'm sure the "may" was implied for the
second part as well.
B. Accumulation Bias. Drawing bonuses are mandatory, while playing bonuses
are optional.
This seems to be the pattern above, so there's a good chance that's the
intention. There are exceptions, though: Parent Bonus says you "may" draw an
extra card; Party Bonus says "may" for both drawing and playing; and
Adrenaline Bonus omits "may" for both. So I'm not sure.
C. Universal Discretion. All Bonuses are optional, whether or not they say
"may".
This seems a reasonable interpretation of most cards, except that No-Hand
Bonus, Adrenaline Bonus and Borders Bonus definitely feel mandatory to me.
D. Universal Compulsion. All Bonuses are actually mandatory. The "may" used
is actually meant as an obligation, as used in many legal documents.
This also seems a reasonable interpretation for most cards, with exceptions:
Parent Bonus and Child Bonus both say "may choose to", which reinforces the
sense of being optional.
So, what do you think?
Bryan