Leather Goddesses of Phobos Cheats & Cheat Codes for PC

Leather Goddesses of Phobos is a 1986 interactive fiction video game developed and published by Infocom. Steve Meretzky wrote Leather Goddesses of Phobos, but it isn’t the only interactive fiction video game he’s worked on. He also designed A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985), a political satire story that criticized Ronald Reagan’s actions as the 40th President of the United States. Steve Meretzky also worked on an interactive fiction version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1984). Leather Goddesses of Phobos was released across multiple platforms including the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Macintosh, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, and MS-DOS.

The game was Infocom’s 21st release and the Solid Gold re-release made it into the Top 5 Best-Selling Infocom games ever made. The text adventure game originally came with several physical items players needed to use to get through the game. These items included a scratch-and-sniff card with seven numbered sections, a 3-D comic book called The Adventures of Lane Mastodon, 3-D glasses, and a catacombs map. In 1987, Leather Goddesses of Phobos earned a Codie Award for “Best Software Packaging” thanks to its creative additional content.

At the time of its release, Leather Goddesses of Phobos earned high praise. In 1986, it was Infocom’s best-selling game and sold around 130,000 copies in total. By today’s standards, that doesn’t sound like much, but that was incredible for the genre and the time period. It was praised for respecting female players, storytelling, and innovative puzzles. Modern gamers still have a lot of respect for the game. My Abandonware rates it a 4.3 out of 5 and 86% of Google users claim to like it.

Today, Leather Goddesses of Phobos can be found online. One of the safest places to experience this interactive fiction game is My Abandonware. My Abandonware has an online DOS version of the game that players can play without downloading anything. Players can also download several versions on My Abandonware. The website has the following versions: DOS, Mac, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, and Commodore 64.

Leather Goddesses of Phobos Premise

Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive fiction video game, often called a text adventure game. Unlike many retro games of the 1980s and ’90s, interactive fiction’s only goal is to tell an immersive story. Many games of the time, like Pro Wrestling (1986) and Mach Rider (1985), focused entirely on throwing players straight into the action of the gameplay. Any story that exists is purely there so the setting of the game makes sense. Beyond that, many classic video games don’t care about telling a complex story. Interactive fiction is sort of like the antithesis of those types of games. The only thing games like Leather Goddesses of Phobos care about is telling a story.

At the beginning of the game, players choose which gender they wish to play. They also get a sidekick companion. The sidekick depends on which gender the player chooses. Players who choose male get a sidekick named Trent who isn’t too bright but is a well-built man. Likewise, players who choose female get Tiffany, a beautiful yet clumsy woman. The chosen gender will also dictate how the game goes. Male-chosen players will experience different encounters than female-chosen players. Throughout the story, players can visit up to 75 locations. Players also have a choice on how sexual they want the game to be by selecting their desired “naughtiness” level. The naughtiness levels are “tame”, “suggestive”, or “lewd”.

The game takes place in the year 1936 and players start in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The story is a science-fiction tale of the Leather Goddesses of Phobos’ plans to invade Earth. The player controls a character the Goddesses abduct and experiments on. The main character (MC) is part of the Goddesses’ final testing stage before they put their plan into motion. If the Leather Goddesses of Phobos succeed in enslaving humanity, they’ll turn Earth into a “twisted sexual pleasure dome”. Since the MC is one of the only humans that stands between the Goddesses and Earth, it’s up to them to put a stop to the invasion. To do this, the player must create a Super-Duper Anti-Leather Goddesses of Phobos Attack Machine.

Leather Goddesses of Phobos Main Characters

Since Leather Goddesses of Phobos is an interactive text adventure-style video game, there are several key characters involved in bringing the story to life. The story follows the main protagonist and their designated companion as they set out to stop the Leather Goddesses of Phobos. The story will reveal more about each character as the player continues, so this guide will only take a look at the basics.

• The MC: The main playable character is supposed to be a self-insert for the player. At the beginning of the game, the MC’s gender is chosen by which bathroom the player decides to visit. If the player chooses the men’s restroom, they’ll play as a male and if they visit the women’s restroom, they’ll be female. The gender the player chooses dictates what companion they get. The companion will be the same gender as the MC. The MC is a hostage of the Leather Goddesses of Phobos. He or she is part of the final round of human testing before the Goddesses launch a planet-wide invasion on Earth. They plan to enslave humanity to use them and the planet for sexual pleasure. The fate of the world rests in the MC’s hands. To stop the Goddesses before they turn Earth into their “pleasure dome”, the MC must build a Super-Duper Anti-Leather Goddesses of Phobos Attack Machine.
• Trent: Trent is the male sidekick. If players choose to play as a male, then Trent will be their companion throughout the rest of the game. Trent is described as dim-witted and buff. As a basic description, Trent sounds like a stereotypical jock. Throughout the game, Trent dies repeatedly. Each death is more ridiculous than the last, but he always comes back. Each time he returns, he’s completely unharmed and has an unhinged story about how he’s still alive.
• Tiffany: Tiffany is the female sidekick. If players choose to play as a female, then Tiffany will be their companion throughout the rest of the game. Like Trent, Tiffany is beautiful, but a little ditzy. She fills the dumb blonde/hot bimbo trope extremely well. Despite Tiffany’s characterization, Leather Goddesses of Phobos manages to avoid being offensive towards women. The game received high praise for being respectful of female gamers. Tiffany also dies and comes back in increasingly ridiculous ways throughout the game.
• The Leather Goddesses of Phobos: The Leather Goddesses of Phobos is a group of alien invaders who want to take control of Earth, enslave humanity, and turn the planet into a “pleasure dome”. Some players think this sounds like a pretty good fate, so whether or not the Goddesses are evil has been up for debate for almost 40 years. Despite the debate, the game tasks the player with putting an end to the Goddesses’ plan. To do this, they must create a Super-Duper Anti-Leather Goddesses of Phobos Attack Machine. Naturally, the MC is ill-prepared to do this and must find all the pieces required for building such a device. At the beginning of the game, the Leather Goddesses are holding the MC hostage as part of their human experimentation. They must first break out of the Goddesses’ prison before they can do anything to stand against the invaders.

Leather Goddesses of Phobos Titles in the Series

Leather Goddesses of Phobos is one of Infocom’s most famous interactive fiction games. Thanks to the game’s initial popularity, it spawned a small franchise of its own. A few pop-culture moments have referenced the game too. For example, The Martian, a 2015 science fiction film starring Matt Damon, gives this classic game a shoutout. Apparently, astronaut Beth Johanssen has Leather Goddesses of Phobos on her laptop. The game was also parodied in Sierra Online’s Space Quest IV (1991).

The Leather Goddesses of Phobos Series:

• Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986)
• Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen (1988) – This isn’t a video game, exactly. Technically, it’s an “Infocomic”, which is an animated story that doesn’t require the “player” to do much. They are more engaging than just reading a comic, though. These Infocomics came out as interactive fiction games began dying out as a way to keep the genre alive. This Infocomic has little connection the the Leather Goddesses of Phobos, though. The only solid tie between them is the Lane Mastodon character, who appeared in the 3-D comic book that came with the original game.
• Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X! (1992) – A direct sequel to Leather Goddesses of Phobos

Leather Goddesses of Phobos Cheats, Guides, & Walkthroughs

Although Leather Goddesses of Phobos is easy enough to find online, playing it is a whole other hurdle to jump. The original game came with several physical items that players needed to help them navigate the game and solve some of the in-game puzzles. Without the companion items, which included a map, a 3-D comic book and glasses, and a scratch-and-sniff card, players may not be able to complete a playthrough of the Leather Goddesses of Phobos.

Because of this, cheats or other exploits may tempt modern gamers. Unfortunately, the interactive fiction genre rarely has cheats, codes, or other exploits. Most games in this genre are text adventure games, so there isn’t much room for cheating. Unfortunately, Leather Goddesses of Phobos is one such game. There are no cheats or codes to make the game easier and without the original companion material, players will likely need extra help.

The best chance players have is to look up a complete walkthrough of the game that will help them navigate the proper channels. Unfortunately, these guides come with spoilers, so they’re not the best solution either. Stuck players won’t have much luck finding help outside walkthrough guides, though. To avoid as many spoilers as possible, try not to read too far ahead in the guide. It’s not a flawless fix, but it’s something.

Recommended Leather Goddesses of Phobos Guides & Walkthroughs

• GameFAQs user NMcCullouch uploaded a detailed Leather Goddesses of Phobos walkthrough that will help anyone navigate the game from start to finish.
• Cheat Channel and Cheat Book both have Leather Goddesses of Phobos Tips & Tricks guides that aren’t quite as detailed as the GameFAQs walkthrough. This is a good option for players who want guidance, but may not want everything answered for them.
• For players who prefer a video walkthrough, AppleAdventures has an hour-long video walkthrough of the game on YouTube. This is great for players who want to have a visual representation of what they’re playing alongside the game itself.

Leather Goddesses of Phobos Cheats FAQs

If players Google “Leather Goddesses of Phobos video game cheats”, no frequently asked question results come up. Just Googling “Leather Goddesses of Phobos video game” also turns up no FAQs.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©AppleAdventures / Infocom.