[4] Stavropoulos describes the physical X-Card as simply an X drawn on an index card by the player facilitating the introduction of this tool in a game.

[1][6] He released it under a Creative Commons Share Alike license[a] which enables other games to include it in instructional materials.

[8][9] In 2021, Stavropoulos worked on the writing team for Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, the first official Dungeons & Dragons book to include the X-Card.

[12] Evil Hat stated that "a content warning and the use of Safety Tools (like the X card, Script Change, or Lines & Veils) creates an atmosphere of trust and respect.

[17] Maddie Cullen of Dicebreaker suggested the X-Card as the safety tool for when "something unexpected might still come up" even after determining game boundaries.

[18] Rory Bristol of GeekDad wrote, "the X-Card helps a DM consider the needs of their group with a concise and simple tool.

However, as cons, D'Amato viewed the X-Card as a "reactive, not preventive" tool and that it "still requires someone to communicate in a difficult moment".

White, a professor at Penn State Altoona, in a historical retrospect examined the early online discourse in The Forge diaspora on the X-Card including a discussion prompted by game designer Vincent Baker in 2013.

[6] White highlighted that Stavropoulos was an event organizer who developed the tool to help ensure a "positive experience in convention-based play" with strangers, however, many online commentators assumed "play takes place within stable, pre-existing groups" which is "an important distinction in understanding the issue".