Cosmic Encounter is a board game which has the capacity for nearly infinite variety, each player taking the role of a particular alien species attempting to establish control over the universe. In 1992, Cosmic Encounter won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Boardgame of 1991, and placed 6th in the Deutscher Spiele Preis.

Description of Game play

The "board" consists of a home system with five planets for each player and an area in the middle termed "The Warp". There is also a cardboard HyperWarp Cone used for pointing an attack at an opponent's planet. Each player begins with twenty tokens in their home system. Two decks of cards are used: one deck which determines who is attacked next (the "destiny" pile), and one which contains the cards players hold in their hands. This second deck is made up of numbered cards which are used in challenges and many other special cards which affect the game in various ways. (The specific terminology of these cards varies among editions.)

On each challenge a player turns over a card from the first deck that determines which system to attack (his/her "destiny"), chooses a particular planet in that system, and puts one or more tokens in the cone to attack with. The attacking and defending players then have the opportunity to ask other players to ally with them. Allies stand to gain benefits if they join the winning side, or suffer losses if on the losing side. Each main player then selects one of the numbered cards from his hand, to play face down, then flip over simultaneously. The cards and tokens involved in the challenge are added up, any special conditions or cards played are taken into account, and the side with the higher total wins. If the attacking player is successful, he gains a base on the disputed planet. All tokens from the losing side are sent into the warp, where they cannot be used until retrieved.

The object of the game is to establish five bases on planets outside of one's home system.

Infinite Variety

The true depth and beauty of the game derives from the fact that each player has one or more alien powers which distort, extend, or break the basic rules of the game in some way, usually to that player's advantage. For example, one power's tokens are worth 4 of any other's tokens; another power never loses tokens to the warp; another power can see what card his opponent plays before choosing his card. There is even a power which can change the object of the game; other players are allowed to ask a yes-or-no question each turn in order to determine what they're trying to accomplish.

At the beginning of the game, these powers are randomly selected from the many different alien powers, so each game requires a different strategy to win. Many of these powers interact with one another in complex ways that are not immediately apparent, sometimes even requiring group consensus (or experience) to resolve conflicts.

There are many other cards which may be played at various times with many different effects, and some more advanced optional game components which add further levels of chaos and unpredictability.

Some players have created their own "homemade" powers, and posted these along with other various game extensions to the internet.

This possibility of an organic and completely different experience every time one plays was clearly one of the influences in the design of the very successful card game Magic: The Gathering.

Social Aspect

Cosmic Encounter is a very dynamic and social game, with players being encouraged to interact, argue, form alliances, make deals, double-cross, and occasionally work together to protect the common good.

Some powers encourage a role-playing aspect (e.g. the Sniveller, with the power to "whine" when doing worse than the other players.)

Edition History

This is a summary of the major English-language editions.

Cosmic Encounter was first released in 1977 by Eon Games as a base set with nine expansions over the following five years. The artwork on these early editions (esp. the alien power cards) is truly surreal and spectacular.

The rights were sold to Mayfair Games who released their Cosmic Encounter (1991) and a single expansion called More Cosmic Encounter (1992).

The most recent incarnation of the game was released by Hasbro under the Avalon Hill name in 2000.

External link

• Cosmic Encounter online version