           2003
Testimonials of the Week |
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| "Just got my >giant< package of Looney Labs games the other day, and my daughters and I have been having a great time with the contents. The by-far-favorite has been Martian Chess (played with the bandana chessboard, of course.) Interesting how much easier it is for children to grok the rules than adults. Most adults have a lot more experience with 'my color, my piece' I guess." -- email from Mark | "Friend brought back Chrononauts from a Gencon. I refused to play. I hated card games (starts with 'm' and rhymes with -agic.) I was bullied into playing, and boy was I glad! Have been hooked for ~ 3 years and am seeking to hook my little brother. This is one of the best concepts ever. I look forward to the prequel (someday). Love the Origins booth and the Big Experiment." -- comments accompanying an order from Kristy of Cincinnati | "It's an excellent game. It's one of our best sellers in the store. More than that, personally, I love it. Tremendously." -- Tonya of Games of Berkeley, explaining why stores love selling Fluxx, as quoted in our newest packet of Buyer Information |
| "I've been a long time supporter of your games. And I just wanted to thank you for coming out with Stoner Fluxx. With your games, you guys really do make a difference. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" -- comments accompanying an order from a fan named Joseph | "I just wanted to say thanks to you guys for the great games!! I'm a Don at Renison College in Waterloo, Ontario and this term my entire floor has been having a great time playing Fluxx and all of the games for Pyramids. We started off playing Fluxx (which is awesome!) and then a couple weeks ago some friends of mine bought a few stashes and ever since we've been hooked. Icehouse, Martian Chess, Homeworlds, RAMBots, Zendo -- they're all just amazing! Since then we've put in another order for about 10 more stashes (arriving soon!) and everybody is looking forward to their arrival! Anyway -- I'd just like to say thanks from everybody here at Renison, we've had hours of fun already and I look forward to hours more!" -- email from Jim Wallace, Don of Animal Floor | |
| "Just would like to take this opportunity to say that I love your game, Chrononauts. My (9yo) son and I play often. It has spurred an interest in history in him (something I never had) and I think that is the most wonderful possible outcome in a game of this sort. At nine, he is already learning historical facts and relationships that I'm just now learning by playing the game. We look forward to the prequel." -- email from David S. | "At the dull party (Setting), the host is unpopular (Problem). Andrew Looney (Character) arrives with Nanofictionary (brilliant Resolution)." -- from the capsule description of Nanofictionary, as printed in Games Magazine, in this year's Games 100 listings | "I had a fantastic demo today at school. The high school I work at has a self-contained BD (Behavior Disorder) classroom. They have time for games each Friday, so I took Fluxx in. It was a HIT! Most of these kids have a major problem following rules in the real world (which is why they're in the BD room to begin with), especially when they perceive that the rules change all the time. Having a game where (a) the kids controlled which rules were there and (b) controlled when the rules changed and (c) was FUN was the best thing for them today. They had to spend time reading the cards, and interpreting how the rules were to be followed... and all sorts of discussion and debate went on. They talked about how sometimes you're playing around and you don't have a goal in life... but when you have a goal, you get really focused on what you're doing. And how its OK to have the goal change in real life, even though its really frustrating sometimes ("I was gonna win, but you changed the goal, man!!"). These guys were touching on some very important topics for their lives through this game." -- Carol Townsend, from a message to the Fluxx mailing list |
| "Now, a mere two weeks since we got it, my husband and I find ourselves completely hooked on Icehouse and the various games it's inspired. Within a week, we'd picked up two more Icehouse stashes, the gameboard bandana, and Playing with Pyramids (not to mention Aquarius). We like the games very much, and we also really like the LooneyLabs approach to things in general." -- Emily of Oakland, CA, in comments accompanying an order | "I'm a PhD student at The University of Texas and I just recently won a set of Icehouse pieces in a Go tournament held at Great Hall Games (in Austin). I've enjoyed several of the games that can be played with the Icehouse pieces, specifically IceTowers (for the family), Icehouse (with 4 players), and Zendo (probably my favorite). While I was looking for the game rules, I spent some time reading the wunderland.com webzine. I really appreciated all the effort that you've gone to over the *years* to keep that interesting and full of new content. Keep up the good stuff!" -- email from a fan named Anderson | |
| "This new school is much more oppressive and strict. I would have to go through alot to create a card club. But I knew I had to, because I couldn't get through a week without playing Fluxx! The second week in my new school, I marched into the principal's office to speak to him about my plan. Let me tell you, he was stubborn. First he said 'Absolutely not!' right in front of my face... Within the next week, I started a massive campaign. I started visiting teachers and asking them there opinion on this matter. Slowly but surely, I gained their vote. I was completely devoted to making this work. I wanted to show other students that there was something wrong with the oppressive system and that something can be done about it. This sounds like an unprobable fiction story, but this is what I did. Miraculously, the principal called me down to the office during literature the next week. He told me with a smile on his face that the teachers had agreed to allow the club. He also added that they thought that I was quite a character... I was just glad I got this club going." -- Rabbit report sent in by Maxx Cho | "When I got the Zendo boxed set, I was impressed. The box and everything inside is beautiful. I knew what to expect out of the Icehouse pyramids themselves. They are the coolest playing pieces devised for strategy games since chessmen and checkers were invented. Everything in this new Icehouse set has a quality that screams "professionally-made game." Little Looney Labs has come a long way from the flimsy plastic tower-box that housed the original Icehouse game." -- Will McDermott, reviewing Zendo in Issue #2 of Undefeated magazine | |
| "I would like to take this opportunity and tell you how much we enjoy the Fluxx game. It's the most popular gift to give my friends & Family, I gave a way 7 already and I'm waiting for this shipment for my angry waiting list (8). As I live in Israel I had to translate the game to Hebrew and use stickers for the children who don't know English yet and didn't like the fact that they are left out. It's a big big hit here ... even in Hebrew." -- comments accompanying an order from Liza of Israel | "Especially when you factor in the game's dramatically low price point, it's obvious that the Style of Aquarius is top notch. Card games that cost twice this much and pay thousands of dollars for their artwork don't look this good. Aquarius deserves a full "5" out of "5" rating in Style.... I actually picked this game up years ago, based on how much fun Looney's first card game, Fluxx, was. However the randomness of the game bugged me and so I put it aside for almost five years, before picking it up again recently. It's won me over now, once I saw that the game could be enjoyable if you just downplayed the importance of actually winning, but I can see other players having the same issues." -- Shannon Appelcline's review of Aquarius at RPG.net | "By-the-way, thank-you, THANK-you, THANK-YOU, for the copies of your games. I've been by Lori's house a few times since the con, one night we sat and played the Aquarius game for about 5 hours straight. When it finally hit 2am we decided to call it quits. We have, in small groups, been playing everything. Thank-you for allowing us to demo your games. (I think Aquarius will soon catch Fluxx as a favourite pick up game.)" -- Joseph of Game Base 7 |
| "I just wanted to give a quick thanks to Looney Labs and all the Rabbits that worked at Origins. I had a whole mess of fun, much of which was due to their efforts. For those that did not attend, I have a couple photos of the Big Experiment at my web page."-- email from Brad Weier | "The rulecard does an impressive job of winnowing the rules down to what'll fit on the front and back of a card (with most of the back taken up by a simple example)--and fortunately the rules for this game are simple enough that they survived the reduction. Having these rules simply available on a card, without need to resort to the Internet, was a great boon. Overall, I find the Icehouse Pieces classy and impressive" -- Shannon Appelcline's review of Tic Tac Doh! at RPGnet | "We purchased Aquarius this year (only a couple more to go before we have them all) and played it for the first time yesterday with some friends. Aquarius is one of our two favorite games from Gen Con this year. The game is a riot and a great game to socialize with! Great job! Now, what are you going to do top that one?" -- Email from Dan M. of San Francisco |
| "Zendo is a triumph of game design. At once both elegant and engaging, I plan to play it again and again. It's simple enough to be a good party game and complex enough that I have already started designing more deviously 'simple' riddles. This is a game that would make a good gift for kids or those who rarely play games... In short, I had high expectations for a release from Looney Labs, and Zendo did not disappoint. Check it out!" --Gary McBride, reviewing Zendo at RPG.net | "When I see people like you, when I step into a room full of color, light, love, and hope, when I see a dream made real, I'm recharged. It makes everything seem possible again. That's all I wanted to tell you. Just that you're important, that you do Good Things, and that you've made me feel a little better." -- email from a fan I met at Origins | "I would have to say that Andy Looney was our most memorable guest, just for his personality. He was a lot of fun: if you've ever been to the Looney Labs room at Origins, you can see and feel the energy there, and he's the dynamo that is the source of that energy." -- Terry O' Brien of Escape Artist Productions, in an interview published in the Gaming Herald, regarding guests on their public access television show, "The Gamer" |
| "Zendo
is a bit more sophisticated, more imaginative and less mathematical
than classical Eleusis... It's one of the very few games that
is both really fun and a real brain burner."
-- Bruno
Faidutti's Ideal Game Library |
"Nanofictionary is a storytelling card game that does a great job of providing props which help get players thinking creatively. It's also an Andrew Looney game and thus has the implicit wackiness that you'd expect." -- Shannon Appelcline, reviewing Nanofictionary at RPG.net | "Wow, what a great game! It's probably one of the few things my family will ACTUALLY come together to do for hours on end. We even nudged my grandmother into playing a few hands. Keep up the excellent work! And thank you again." -- email from Derek R. regarding Fluxx |
| "Hello! My daughter asked me to write you about Fluxx auf Deutsch that you mentioned was on the stove. She is in high school, and she and her friends play Fluxx during breaks in quiz bowl competitions. Most of them also take German, so if this project comes to fruition, there is a market for at least one German Fluxx in the U.S. I just bought her Chrononauts, and she is so excited. Thanks for making stuff that allow me to spoil the daylights out of her, while making her think." -- John L via email | "I'm a special education teacher... I taught my group of gifted/ED students (emotionally disturbed) to play Fluxx just before Winter Break. They played for 6 weeks straight, and still ask to play the game when they have downtime in Tech Ed. I used the game to teach them some skills they need for the Maryland Functional Reading test (READING the directions, natch, and understanding that directions CHANGE!)." -- Magi, on the Edu mailing list | "Since ordering your initial display at GAMA , all I can say is WOW !!! Your display paid for itself in the first month. One of the best turnover game displays in our store!" -- Rich Deibel, of the Game Shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| "Great fun and has wonderful educational potential for English teachers to use in middle and secondary schools." -- comments about Nanofictionary from a female Mensa Mind Games judge in the age 56-75 category | "The graphics are great. Love the quirky options. Can we get expansion decks? We love it like Fluxx! This game made water come out of my nose." -- comments about Nanofictionary from a female Mensa Mind Games judge in the age 41-55 category | "It's *AWESOME* Fun, replayable, easily-learned, and hilarious. It's a crime if you don't get the award again. I can't wait to get home, buy it, and play. Keep them coming, because I'm now a fan of LL." -- comments about Nanofictionary from a male Mensa Mind Games judge in the age 23-40 category |
| "Well, just to let you know, I am a fan of your games... We enjoyed them so much that we gave our copy of Nanofictionary to our son's school gifted teacher for his enjoyment. He came home from class today, where they played it, and they all loved it there! Look forward to seeing more on the classroom ideas section, though I don't really know how much more "classroom friendly" they could be. They are well designed, and pretty obvious for their subject areas. I'm just spreading the word in my small corner of the world." -- Mary C. of Kansas City, in an email |
"Coolest. Thing. Ever." -- comments accompanying an order for Fluxx from Dan K. of San Francisco |
"The Game Master sounds like a good idea for a promo card for game stores. It's too geeky a character to put into the basic game for general consumption (my mom probably doesn't know what a game master is, for example) but for gamers it's as evocative an archetype as the President or the little black cat." -- Andrew Petrarca, on the rabbits mailing list |
| "Stumbled across FLUXX in a hobby shop in NJ during a holiday trip. My husband and I are addicted to FLUXX and try to play daily (best 2 out of 3). We're really excited about version 3.0." -- comments accompanying an order from Tonya Z. of Dublin, CA | "We absolutely love the games so I had to get them for my wife for valentine's day! Fun and interesting games that aren't your standard board game or Trivial Pursuit are so hard to come by and Looney Labs' games are the perfect alternative!" -- Todd F. of Hightstown, NJ in comments accompanying an order | "Fluxx Version 3.0 adds welcome variety to the classic game, while maintaining its wackiness. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you owe it your yourself to 'Buy 1, Play 1.'" -- Jason Winter, Scrye magazine |
| "I loved your novel the Empty City (loved is an understatement). I think that the Empty City would make a great movie. It has all the captivating elements that great movies have -- love, fantasy, imagination, drama, etc. I am asking you for permission to let me write a screenplay for an Empty City movie. At first you may think this idea is crazy, like I did, but after you think about it, you will probably realize that it is a really good idea. Just think about it." -- email from Yair Oelbaum | "Playing with Pyramids reminded me of the classic of game literature Abbott's New Card Games by Robert Abbott because of the range of different new games played with a single piece of equipment. I think Looney's book is an essential addition to the game book collection of anyone interested in new game ideas." -- Book Review from Abstract Games magazine, Issue #13, Spring 2003 | "I coach for the U.S. Physics Team. One of the students this year brought copies of Fluxx and Chrononauts, which were absolute hits. We found ourselves playing at lunch, at dinner, after dinner (when the students should have been studying and I should have been working!), and before class. I'm amazed I got all my exams graded in time. I'm not amazed that I didn't get enough sleep." -- email from Andrew Lin |
| "This game is, in six words... Very Very Very Very Very Fun! This is probably the best card game I have ever played. I first played it at camp, and we played it for hours! Up to about midnight. Constantly changing, never boring. Sometimes, if the goal is to have 10 cards in your hand, but you can only have five cards in your hand, it's HILARIOUS! BUY THIS GAME!" -- 5 star review of Fluxx posted at FunAgain.com by a gamer from Earth | "Dude, we are *so* buying this game!" -- comment about Fluxx overhead last weekend at Chattacon and dubbed "quote of the weekend" by Brian Cooksey in his Rabbit report | "The most fun you can possibly have in 2-20 minutes! Fluxx is the most creative, and innovative game I have ever played. If you do not have fun playing this game, then there is no hope for you. This is the most fun I have ever had, that can be contained in a box!" -- 5 star review of Fluxx posted at FunAgain.com by Yair Oelbaum |
| "This is the castle where about 200 of us Esperanto speakers spent the past week celebrating the new year. Around 30-50 of us had a great time playing Zendo, making me glad that I'd spent some time translating the rules. Many children, including a 9-year-old girl from Belgium and a boy from Iceland, were able to play as equals with the adults. It's great!" -- a postcard of a castle in Germany which we got from our Zendo investor, Tom Phoenix | "You probably had to be there, to watch the puzzled, shocked, annoyed, wounded and eventually apoplectic looks that crossed and recrossed the faces of my near and dear (including the Corry of Forry, who frequently nosed her way in to investigate despite her obvious humor impairment, and my wary father, who had to endure all of the women in his life nearly spitting with laughter every time he came into the kitchen to freshen his drink. We couldn't get him to play for some reason). Anyway, my family and I are now hooked, and I plan to spread this game like a new gospel." -- Kate Sherrod, talking about Fluxx in her 12/26/2002 blog entry at Life in a Northern Town | "FLUXX is an overwhelming success at Yeshiva Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, where there are plenty of British, Canadian, South African, Israeli, and American fans of your zany card game, known more affectionately as the FLUXX CLUBB. If you are Jewish, you know about the activities that we avoid on Shabbat. If you are not Jewish, let me simply say that FLUXX is a great way to spend time with others on Shabbat!" -- email from the Clubb's president, asking questions about shipping on a bulk order |
Previous Testimonials: [2001] [2002]
See Also: the The current Testimonal of the Week page and the original "What our customers are saying..." page
