InQuest 16 - 40 - Unmasking "The X-Files": X-Files CCG Feature
tacted Donruss Trading Cards and
signed an exclusive manufacturing
contract and service agreement with
them. Red Zone and Top of the Order
came out last November. At that time
Topps held the "X-Files" collectible
card game license. Building on their
momentum, NXT, Donruss and the
graphics design firm NLS approached
Topps about obtaining the license.
Topps agreed to relinquish it and Fox
agreed to pass it on to NXT.
The first thing Kent did was watch
every episode from the first and sec-
ond seasons. "I watch the show on a
weekly basis, but I hadn't memorized
every episode," he says. "One of the
concerns that we had and that Fox
had was that they wanted to make
sure the game maintained the atmo-
sphere of 'The X-Files,' so we had to
become 'X-Files' experts."
The designers had to determine
more than just game rules and atmo-
sphere: For instance, would the stars
be on common cards?
signed an exclusive manufacturing
contract and service agreement with
them. Red Zone and Top of the Order
came out last November. At that time
Topps held the "X-Files" collectible
card game license. Building on their
momentum, NXT, Donruss and the
graphics design firm NLS approached
Topps about obtaining the license.
Topps agreed to relinquish it and Fox
agreed to pass it on to NXT.
The first thing Kent did was watch
every episode from the first and sec-
ond seasons. "I watch the show on a
weekly basis, but I hadn't memorized
every episode," he says. "One of the
concerns that we had and that Fox
had was that they wanted to make
sure the game maintained the atmo-
sphere of 'The X-Files,' so we had to
become 'X-Files' experts."
The designers had to determine
more than just game rules and atmo-
sphere: For instance, would the stars
be on common cards?
"You're going to get Scully and
Mulder in hopefully just about every
Starter deck we put out," Kent
responds. "We're going to reserve cer-
tain key events that happened in the
series as the rare cards." The goal is to
please those who want collectibility
and those who "just want to play with
Mulder and Scully."
But serious collectors will want to
keep an eye out for special Mulder
and Scully cards, Macdonell adds.
"Dana and Fox, any of those guys,
can improve slightly in play. You can
have a Dana card that gets more pow-
erful as the game goes on - but those
cards will be rare."
The card faces are being designed
by NLS, which has designed high-pro-
file trading card sets for SkyBox.
The background of each card,
Kent says, resembles "what your desk
would look like if you were an inves-
tigating agent and you had all your
equipment splayed out over the top
of the desk. Superimposed over that
is the picture of the thing we're try-
ing to depict on the card and a little
note that tells you what the effect of
the card is."
Mulder in hopefully just about every
Starter deck we put out," Kent
responds. "We're going to reserve cer-
tain key events that happened in the
series as the rare cards." The goal is to
please those who want collectibility
and those who "just want to play with
Mulder and Scully."
But serious collectors will want to
keep an eye out for special Mulder
and Scully cards, Macdonell adds.
"Dana and Fox, any of those guys,
can improve slightly in play. You can
have a Dana card that gets more pow-
erful as the game goes on - but those
cards will be rare."
The card faces are being designed
by NLS, which has designed high-pro-
file trading card sets for SkyBox.
The background of each card,
Kent says, resembles "what your desk
would look like if you were an inves-
tigating agent and you had all your
equipment splayed out over the top
of the desk. Superimposed over that
is the picture of the thing we're try-
ing to depict on the card and a little
note that tells you what the effect of
the card is."
The cards' backgrounds will also
boast little yellow stick-on notes or
scrawls on phone memo paper to
heighten the illusion that you're an
agent at your desk and someone has
just handed you new information. Stills
from the series will illustrate the cards.
Although the initial release, due to
debut at the Gen Con Game Fair in
Milwaukee this August, is limited to
the first two seasons, expansion sets
will come out based on each addi-
tional season. The third-season expan-
sion deck is slated for late December.
Kent hopes two things about the
cards will particularly impress "X-Files"
fans. "One is the idea that you're try-
ing to investigate your opponent, as
opposed to just whomping them on
the head," he says. "You have to use
some detective reasoning and there's
some thinking involved. I'm hoping
that is going to be a lure, because I'm
assuming that most people who
watch 'The X-Files' like it for the
mystery involved.
boast little yellow stick-on notes or
scrawls on phone memo paper to
heighten the illusion that you're an
agent at your desk and someone has
just handed you new information. Stills
from the series will illustrate the cards.
Although the initial release, due to
debut at the Gen Con Game Fair in
Milwaukee this August, is limited to
the first two seasons, expansion sets
will come out based on each addi-
tional season. The third-season expan-
sion deck is slated for late December.
Kent hopes two things about the
cards will particularly impress "X-Files"
fans. "One is the idea that you're try-
ing to investigate your opponent, as
opposed to just whomping them on
the head," he says. "You have to use
some detective reasoning and there's
some thinking involved. I'm hoping
that is going to be a lure, because I'm
assuming that most people who
watch 'The X-Files' like it for the
mystery involved.
"The other thing I'm really excited
about and hoping they'll notice is
that we're going to pull things
directly from the series and
put them on the cards. So
it will actually increase
your knowledge of 'The X-
Files' just by reading the cards
and looking at them and seeing
how they'll work in the game."
And one more thing: Macdonell
says the look of the cards should
attract lots of attention. As he enthu-
Siastically puts it, "These X-Files cards
are going to blow away every other
card set that's out there."
Edward Willett lives in Canada and therefore
outside of the jurisdiction of the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Designers'
Five Favorite
X-Files Cards
It's not surprising that in a set of more
than 300 cards, some will stand out.
about and hoping they'll notice is
that we're going to pull things
directly from the series and
put them on the cards. So
it will actually increase
your knowledge of 'The X-
Files' just by reading the cards
and looking at them and seeing
how they'll work in the game."
And one more thing: Macdonell
says the look of the cards should
attract lots of attention. As he enthu-
Siastically puts it, "These X-Files cards
are going to blow away every other
card set that's out there."
Edward Willett lives in Canada and therefore
outside of the jurisdiction of the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Designers'
Five Favorite
X-Files Cards
It's not surprising that in a set of more
than 300 cards, some will stand out.
Alien Abduction: Macdonell calls this
card "totally cool" and says it's been
one of everybody's favorites, not just
because it looks good but because of
its interesting game effect. When you
play Alien Abduction you flip the card
out on the table. "If it ends up land-
ing on an agent, that agent is
abducted: You take the agent, place
him face-up 10 cards down, and
when he works his way back to the
top of the stack, the agent is returned.
I really like the elegance of that mech-
anism," Macdonell says.
Lone Gunmen: Another card Mac-
donell particularly likes is the Lone
Gunmen, the conspiracy theorists
Mulder turns to when he needs
unorthodox help. "Lone Gunmen is
a card that you place on a site," Mac-
donell says. "Every turn you place a
token on the card, and when you go
to investigate the site, each token on
the card gives you a plus one. It's
pretty well analogous to the way the
Lone Gunmen are used in the show:
Mulder goes and turns them on to
something and/or requests informa-
tion on something that ends up being
vital to the resolution of that partic-
ular case."
card "totally cool" and says it's been
one of everybody's favorites, not just
because it looks good but because of
its interesting game effect. When you
play Alien Abduction you flip the card
out on the table. "If it ends up land-
ing on an agent, that agent is
abducted: You take the agent, place
him face-up 10 cards down, and
when he works his way back to the
top of the stack, the agent is returned.
I really like the elegance of that mech-
anism," Macdonell says.
Lone Gunmen: Another card Mac-
donell particularly likes is the Lone
Gunmen, the conspiracy theorists
Mulder turns to when he needs
unorthodox help. "Lone Gunmen is
a card that you place on a site," Mac-
donell says. "Every turn you place a
token on the card, and when you go
to investigate the site, each token on
the card gives you a plus one. It's
pretty well analogous to the way the
Lone Gunmen are used in the show:
Mulder goes and turns them on to
something and/or requests informa-
tion on something that ends up being
vital to the resolution of that partic-
ular case."
X: This represents one of Mulder's
informants. He's a powerful defensive
force within the game because "X lets
you negate cards," Macdonell says.
Deep Throat: Mulder's occasional infor-
mant during the first season of "The
X-Files" came to an untimely end but
is still around in the card game. "Deep
Throat essentially lets you ask another
question, a free question," Macdonell
says. "It's pretty powerful."
Alien Bounty Hunter: This is a nasty
creature to play on someone because,
if he's defeated, he simply goes back
into the deck and you re-shuffle. That
means the Bounty Hunter can keep
showing up. You need a special com-
bat knife to kill him - per the third-
season finale, not the second-season
episode - which won't be available
until the expansion set is released.
- Edward Willett
