Channel X, A Pepys Game
First Published: 1966, A Pepys Game by Castell Brothers Ltd., St. Cross Street, London
Illustrator or Designer: Not Credited
Contents: 52 Cards, 12 Small Cards, Pepys Currency + Rules Booklet
Channel X has a pack of 52 cards, comprising 24 Programme cards, 12 Advertisement cards and 9 Time cards of 60 minutes, 3 of 30 minutes and 4 of 2 minutes. There are also 12 small cards: 6 Channel cards and 6 Advertising Company cards. There is also a total of £300,000 of "Pepys Currency".
Channel X was the last of Pepys' Double Feature games. The premise of the game was to "make your fortune as a TV Tycoon". Independent televison, reliant upon advertising sales, was not initially a very profitable business in the UK and many doubted its viability but within the first couple of years of operation it has been said that "the ITV companies were making so much money they hardly knew how to spend it." It was against this profitable backdrop that Channel X was launched.
The box appears to be a photomontage of buildings on the South Bank of the River Thames with a views in the middle distance across the river and of Waterloo Bridge. Across the Thames is an office building, possibly based on Shell House. On the South Bank close to Waterloo Bridge is The Shot Tower (demolished 1962) and The OXO Tower (this is in the wrong location but does stand nearby). The Tower block in the foreground looks similar to Kent House, part of London Weekend Television's South Bank Television Centre (demolition planned) but construction didn't start on this building until 1970. Whoever designed the box made a very educated (or lucky) guess on the likely location of a major ITV network's London HQ. For an excellent history of British TV studios and see www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk
In 1987 a TV production company "Channel X" was launched by Jonathan Ross and Alan Markle.
Game & Version Details
 | Channel X - Box Contents |
 | Channel X - Card Back |
 | Channel X - Small Card Back |
 | Channel X - Rules Front |
 | Channel X - Rules Back Note 3 explains the game's infringement of The Television Act (1964). Thus informed players can enjoy a game with clear consciences, safe in the knowledge that they are not actually breaking the law of the land. |
 | Channel X - Box Top |
 | Channel X - Box Side Left |
 | Channel X - Box Base |
 | Channel X - Box Side Right |