XXXenophile CCG

XXXenophile CCG is Steve Jackson Games' adult-themed CCG based on Phil Foglio's long-running erotic-sci-fi comedy comic, and it is one of the very few 90s CCGs aimed specifically at an adult audience rather than a tournament-player or fan-of-IP audience.

The game

Released in 1995 by Steve Jackson Games, XXXenophile CCG is a two-player duel (or solo-with-partner cooperative variant) where cards combine to form increasingly elaborate Foglio-style alien-encounter scenes. Mechanics use an Action-and-Position system where combinations score points, and the win condition is a Satisfaction threshold rather than damage.

The context

Phil Foglio was already famous for his Magic the Gathering Unhinged-style humour cards and his Dungeons & Dragons What's New column. XXXenophile the comic had been running since 1989, and Steve Jackson Games (GURPS, Car Wars) was a natural home for an adult CCG that the mainstream publishers would not have touched. It was sold strictly through adult-hobby-store channels in the US.

The collector angle

The base set is the only English release. The distribution-restriction nature of the game meant many copies were sold and never opened because owners kept them as curiosities rather than playing them. Phil Foglio-signed cards from Steve Jackson Games' 1995-1996 convention appearances are the primary chase, and the Golden Ticket promo card from the 1996 GenCon is the trophy pull. Overseas editions exist in German and Italian, printed in even smaller quantities, and trade at a premium among Foglio-comics collectors.