SPANC: Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls is a card game from Steve Jackson Games illustrated by Phil Foglio for two to four players, who each control a crew of, well, Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls. The object of the game is to be the first crew to collect 10 Loot tokens and/or Poolboy cards. ("Poolboys are of no practical use, aside from housekeeping and footrubs, but they are very good for their owners' morale" says the manual.) The stereotypes of pool boys and other things makes it easier to figure out what they're used for.
The crew is made up of four Cat Girls, determined by randomly dealt Crew Cards. Each Cat Girl has four skill ratings on her card: Space Pirate, Amazon, Ninja, and Cat Girl skills (bet you didn't see that coming). Play consists of a series of "Capers," each of which is made up of four challenges from the Challenge Cards. Each crew takes turns attempting the challenges, rolling against the appropriate skill on the Catgirl's card. Some cards add bonuses or penalties to the skill roll. Bonuses can also be applied to the roll if the Catgirl has a Toy Card, or can trade with someone who has an applicable Toy Card. Winning the challenge lets you take Loot tokens and/or Toy Cards.
There are optional rules for Catfights if more than one crew completes all four challenges. Between capers, the crew gets to trade Toy Cards or buy more from the deck with their Loot. Some of the challenges that must be tackled include Locked Vault, Laser Beams of Doom, Ball of Yarn, Catnip Farm, Friendly Guard Puppies, Stuck Airlock, Holiday Crowds, Chinese Finger Trap, Anti-Ninja Spray, and of course fighting off Teenage Boys.
This card game provides examples of:
- Cat Fight: If two or more crews finish a caper in the same round they start PVP skill contests. Space Pirate attacks can steal loot, Amazons knock out opposing crew, Ninjas steal toys, and Catgirls steal poolboys.
- Color-Coded Characters: The player tokens are red, yellow, blue, and green. Also, the four skills are consistently colored between the Crew Cards and Challenge Cards.
- Distracted by the Sexy: At least half of the “Catgirl” challenge cards and PVP “catfights” to lure away poolboys from the opposition.
- Enfant Terrible: The “Kittens” challenge card shows a not-too-maternal feeling catgirl swarmed by kittens with Jaeger-esque dentition.
- Faceless Mooks: The Token Mooks card.
- Fun with Acronyms: The title, obviously — and the Designer's Notes in Pyramid Magazine had a Suspiciously Specific Denial concerning the non-existence of an expansion pack called Barbarian Dogboy Space Marines.
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: The crew have various colors of fur, including green, orange, yellow, red, purple, pink, and dark blue.
- Ms. Fanservice: Most of the crew are drawn in deliberately suggestive or flirtatious poses and varying states of undressing from their already skimpy outfits. The Poolboys serve as Mr. Fanservice.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: The crew are all... space pirate amazon ninja catgirls, to varying degrees.
- The One Guy: One of the poolboys is a cat “boy”, the only male of the species to appear in game.
- Punny Name: Shurikitten.
- Rule of Cool: The attitude of the story-conceit.
- Shout-Out: The crewmember named Mystery appears to have a bladed glove suggesting Wolverine or Freddy Krueger. The Toy Card "Stabby Spiky Thing" might be a reference to the "Mr. Pointy" stake from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "Only a Scratch" is, of course, "Tis but a..." And the Sailor Suit Toy Card is obvious. While the “Lucky Rabbit’s Foot” looks like it came from one of the giant rabbits Agatha Heterodyne disarmed.
