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The X-Files

"I want to believe."

That's what Fox Mulder said to his therapist when asked if he believed
the voice that told him that his missing sister would soon return to him.

That's also what I muttered to myself when I opened my first set of X-
Files cards. I wanted to believe that a collectible card game could capture
the feeling of one of the best things to hit television this decade. I
wanted to believe that, despite my prior experience with licensed
properties (Doctor Who, anyone?), a collectible card game based on a
television show would not be abysmal. I wanted to believe in The X-Files.

I wasn't disappointed.

The X-Files Interactive Card Game takes you into the world that
lurks just beneath the surface of our daily lives. Aliens walk among us.
The supernatural is real. And our government is doing its best to
conceal the truth. (Unlike Illuminati, this game takes its conspiracy
theories very seriously.) The players act as both the perpetrators of
this charade and the agents determined to expose it.

At the start of the game, each player constructs a team of FBI
agents, each with a variety of skills and a special ability or two.
During the game, agents investigate sites and gather the evidence required to
win. Agents also produce resource points (RP), whicn can bring certain cards into play
from your hand. These cards include equipment, witnesses and sites, all of which are
valuable components in your investigation

Each player also chooses an X-File; this represents a particular conspiracy acting
against the best interests of humanity at large. An X-File is identified by its affiliation
(among them alien and occult), its methods (possession, violence and so on), its motives
(to exist peacefully; to take over the world) and its consequences (death, madness). When
you pinpoint all of your opponent's X-File's characteristics (there are five possibilities for
each attribute), you can guess its identity and win.

When it's not your turn, you must protect the identity of your secret manipulator
from your opponent's agents. Of course, it's not going to be easy. You can play cards
that benefit your X-File as well, but those are paid for with conspiracy
points (CP). Usually, CP are generated by "selling" RP cards.

If a player chooses to, he can reveal one of his X-File's attributes
publicly. This gives him access to one of his X-File's special abilities - for
example, if he reveals that he has an alien affiliation, he can hinder the
active investigators with alien adversary cards anywhere. Of course, this
also puts his opponent one step closer to victory.

The playing field is divided into three sections: the bureau (where
the agents begin the game and equipment tends to be assigned), the
field (where evidence is gathered and sites are investigated) and the
hospital (where wounded agents can heal). During your turn, you decide
which agents will be in which areas of play. Some agents, like Assistant
Director Walter Skinner, are more useful in the bureau than in the field.