Looney Labs Fluxx Mailing list Archive

Re: [Fluxx] "Able to draw the extra cards you were supposed to get"

  • From"Bryan Stout" <bryan.stout@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • DateSun, 11 Jan 2009 16:26:33 -0500
I agree with AnnOn that Andy's comments (about drawing when both the
draw and discard piles are empty) felt wrong to me.  Saying that you
can continue to draw throughout your turn, as more cards hit the
discard pile, seemed to violate other principles:

-  "You must follow the turn sequence established in the rules sheet
unless a Meta Rule says otherwise."
-  "If the rules command you to do something impossible, then do as
much as you can, and move on."

Some further thoughts: (The examples happen when the draw and discard
piles are both empty.)

A)  Of course the Draw X cards all tell you to draw more to match the
new Draw amount if you haven't already.  I had always considered this
a special dispensation of the Draw cards, not a general principle of
drawing throughout your turn.  If the card hadn't said the player
could draw more if needed, I would assume that it only took effect on
the next player's Draw phase.  And, this is a policy affecting the
demand side of drawing; the topic we're discussing is the supply side,
a different issue, and a policy on one side doesn't have to be
reflected on the other.

B)  The proposed policy would allow most Actions to be played multiple
times in a turn.  You play it, carry it out, and discard it; it
immediately goes into the draw pile and is drawn, to be played again.
You can't do this with Take Another Turn, since it would only be
discarded after the extra turn is over, but imagine having Taxation!
or Steal A Keeper played 8 times in a turn* !   This isn't enough to
disallow the policy -- I usually think that such rarely available
snarkiness should be aplauded -- but it does give you pause.

C)  If we allow the turn phases to overlap, then if a player plays
Keeper Limit 4, and he is the only one with more than 4 Keepers, then
in the last phase in his turn his some or all of his discarded Keepers
immediately get drawn back into his hand.  I think most of us would
say that drawing cards during the final phase of a player's turn feels
wrong.  If we would forbid phase 1 steps happening during phase 4, why
should we allow them during phase 2?

To conclude, here is the answer that seems right and consistent to me:
If there is an exceedingly rare situation where there are not enough
cards to fill the Draw quota, even after shuffling the discard pile,
then draw as many as you can, and move on to the Play phase of your
turn.  If more cards are discarded later in your turn, you may not
draw them since the Draw phase is over.

Bryan

* You can end up having an effective Draw 8 rule if the following New
Rules and Keepers are in play: Draw 5, The Party, Party Bonus, and
Inflation.