When Sherlock Holmes exclaimed, “The game is afoot!” we all know he was talking about the game he pursued in his investigations: criminals, truth, and a just outcome. But that was hardly the only game Holmes fancied. He was a card player, as evidenced by numerous references and one notable attempt to get a game going in a bank vault. Back then, the most popular game was whist, but if Holmes was around today, he’d have a lot more choices.

One game I think our favorite detective might enjoy is called “Fluxx,” a fast-moving game whose rules change with each card played.  One of the most intriguing thing about Fluxx is its many versions. There are Family Fluxx, Eco-Fluxx, Stoner Fluxx, Zombie Fluxx, and, actually, any other version you’d care to create. The Fluxx people actually sell blank, customizable cards that a permanent marker can turn into anything you can imagine. It’s very easy to imagine a Sherlock Holmes Fluxx deck, and so I sat down the other night and actually tried to plan my own.

Of the 84 playing cards, the most customizable cards are the 23 goal cards and 18 keeper cards are the main target for creating a Sherlock Holmes deck. Keepers are cards played in front of you to attain the current goal, which can win the game. For example, if the goal was “Cleaning Up 221B – the player with both Mrs. Hudson and 221B on the table wins,” if you played a “Mrs. Hudson” card and a “221B” card, you would win. Here’s my list of keepers in a Sherlock Holmes deck:

1. Sherlock Holmes
2. John H. Watson
3. Mrs. Hudson
4. 221B
5. Inspector Jones
6. Inspector Lestrayd
7. Mycroft Holmes
8. Professor Moriarty
9. Colonel Sebastian Moran
10. Wax Bust of Sherlock Holmes
11. The Bagatelle Card Club
12. Toby
13. Wiggins
14. Irregulars
15. The Tregennis Family
16. Devil’s Foot Root
17 Mary Morstan
18. A deck of cards

The goals you would play for?

1. “A partner and confidant” – Holmes and Watson
2. “Cleaning 221B” – Mrs. Hudson and 221B
3. “Scotland Yard” – Jones and Lestrayd
4. “Brotherly Love” – Sherlock and Mycroft
5. “Reichenbach” – Holmes and Moriarty
6. “The London Underworld” – Moriarty and Moran
7. “The Wrong Target” – Moran and Wax Dummy
8. “Turning Her Tenant” – Mrs. Hudson and Wax Dummy
9. “Off His Rails” – Mycroft and 221B
10. “Pinchin Lane” – Watson and Toby
11. “A Boy And His Dog” – Wiggins and Toby
12. “Street Urchins Assemble!” – Wiggins and Irregulars
13. “Mrs. Hudson’s Terror” – Irregulars and 221B
14. “Going to the Club” – Moran and the Bagatelle
15. “Say No To Drugs” – Tregennis Family and Devil’s Foot Root
16. “Save Sherlock Holmes!” – Watson and Devil’s Foot Root
17. “At least one Mrs. Watson” – Watson and Mary Morstan
18. “A Rubber in the Vault” – Inpector Jones and a Deck of Cards
19. “A Lesson On Eclipses” – Inspector Jones and Professor Moriarty
20. “Dogs Playing Cards” – Toby and a Deck of Cards
21.  “Silence Is Golden” – if the Diogenes Club is in front of you and you are silent for the entire turn after you play it, you win.

As you can see, I tried to tilt the game to Canonical card-referencing tales, but it’s obviously a first draft. I also haven’t come up with any Holmes-based Action cards or New Rule cards, but that is why I haven’t built my Sherlock Holmes Fluxx deck yet. But it’s coming! It’s coming! If you decide to try out Fluxx and eventually come up with some of your own, let my know (and feel free to steal or alter any of the ideas above).

Your humble correspondent,
Brad Keefauver