1. What is Cosmic Encounter? 2. How is the game played 3. What comes with the game?

4. The rules I like to play with 5. Some of my more interesting matches 6. Power selection

7. The rules for a 2 player game 8. If you want to play me

1. What is Cosmic Encounter?

Cosmic Encounter is a board game first developed by Eon Games, then briefly distributed by West End Games and Games Workshop, and finally by Mayfair Games.

In the game, each player plays the part of an alien trying to conquer the universe. Each player's alien has a power that allows it to break some of the game's rules. The interaction of the powers during conflicts is the basis of the enjoyment of the game.

2. How is the game played?

The game is rather simple: Each player has a "home system" with 5 planets in it, and 20 tokens, which start the game evenly distributed across the 5 home planets. The object of the game is to establish bases on 5 foreign planets. A base is any number of tokens on a single planet. Any number of opposing players may have a base on the same planet.

Cards are dealt and the order of play is established. Then the first player is directed by a colored card to the system in which he mustmake his first attack. He designates which of the home bases there he'll attack and deploys 1-4 free tokens to a cone representing the attack field. The defending player (who is the owner of the system) defends with whatever tokens are on the planet being attacked.

Each side in the challenge can ask other players to ally with 1-4 free tokens.

Each main player then plays a challenge card face down (challenge cards include attack cards numbered from 1 to 40 and compromise cards). After cards are revealed, the card number is added to the total of the main player's and allies' tokens on that side of the challenge...higher total wins. If a compromise card is played it indicates that that side loses, but the player who played a compromise card takes consolation cards from her/his opponent's hand. If both players play a compromise, they have 1 minute to make a deal which can include exchanging bases, cards or some other immediate actions.

Winning tokens on the offense get to establish a base on the planet attacked. Winning allied tokens on the defense gain their owner rewards, either new cards or freed tokens. Winning main player tokens on the defense get nothing. All losing tokens go to the "warp" where they're not free for use.

Each player is entitled to a second challenge if their first challenge is successful. Play then continues around the board.

In addition, each player has (1 or more) alien power(s) which lets her/him break a rule in a particular way to her/his benefit. There are cards in players' hands (called flares and edicts) that grant temporary or instantaneous powers, such as freeing tokens from the warp, re-establishing home bases, etc. There are cards that act to multiply an attack card played. And many more game extensions that give CE it's character and it's unpredictability. This unpredictability is what makes the game so exciting!

There are also many game extensions that add additional twists to the game (e.g. moons, lucre, alternate hexes, praw, flares, ...)

Most of these things, however, just suck. Use the basic game.

3. What comes with the game?

The two Mayfair sets contain the following:

Basic Set:

48 Alien powers (with flares):

94 Cards

Attack 40(1), 30(1), 20(2), 19(1), 18(1), 17(1), 16(1), 15(4), 14(2), 13(1), 12(5),

11(2), 10(6), 9(2), 8(8), 7(4), 6(8), 5(2), 4(2),

1(1). Compromise(17). Edicts(22).

6 Planet Hexes (with reverse hexes on the back)

6 Token sets: Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Light Blue, Orange.

1 Warp Hex

1 Hyper-Space Cone

1 Rule Book

More Cosmic Encounter:

54 Alien powers (with flares):

88 Cards

Attack 20(1), 19(1), 18(1), 17(1), 16(1), 15(2), 14(1), 13(3), 12(2), 11(3),

10(3), 9(4), 8(3), 7(3), 6(3), 5(1), 4(3), 1(1), 0(2),

-1(1), -4(1), -5(1), -6(1), -8(1). Compromise(11). Kickers(9). Reinforcements(15). Edicts(10).

26 Destiny Cards (including 16 Comets)

100 Lucre counters

100 Moons

1 Rule Book covering the extra components

4. The rules I like to play with:

I enjoy playing CE with the More CE expansion Set. I like to use the basic rules (No lucre, reverse hexes, moons, praw).

I like to play with either 2 or 3 alien powers per person, selected in some sort of random or pseudo random

fashion (see: alien power selection). I usually prefer for the powers to be hidden. This means, you keep

your alien powers secret until the instant you want to use them for the first time. Of course, some

powers must be revealed right away (pentaform, worm, terrorist, symbiote, etc).

Most importantly, I like playing with 4 people. Playing with 2 people is as fun as playing tic-tac-toe,

playing with 3 people is tolerable, 4 is optimal, 5 is tolerable, and 6 is back to tic-tac-toe. You

must arrive at a compromise between getting in the action often enough and having

enough going on to make things interesting.

5. Some of my more interesting matches.

Someday this area shall be full of matches in which someone was very creative/intelligent

with some rule usage, etc, etc. For now, I just give one example of a match

that stands out in my mind.

Background: I was playing CE with a real jerk, lets call him Jaime. Jaime was pretty good,

and took any and all opportunity to ream me in any way possible, often sacrificing himself.

One day I was Playing Jaime with 2 other people. We selected powers in the #2 manner described in

power selection. I managed to select Amoeba, Macron, and Void. Jaime selected Sniveler, Virus,

and Worm.

Game: At the beginning of the game, Jaime used Worm to place 16 tokens on 1 home base,

and 1 token on each remaining base. I went first. I drew the Jaime's color. I tried to look dejected

as I pointed the cone at the base with 16 tokens on it. I placed 1 token in the cone dejectedly.

After cards were played, I revealed Amoeba. I took the opportunity to move 14more tokens into the

cone. I was now defending each home base with 1 token. We revealed cards. Jaime played

a 6. I played a 20 with kicker 2. Then I revealed Macron. Elated, I thought the outcome

was 22 to 100 in my favor. Then Jaime revealed Virus, making the score 96 to 100 in my favor.

Jaime called out for reinforcements, played a reinforcement 2, and got no others. At 98 to 100,

Jaime cosmic zapped Macron, making it 98 to 55 in his favor.

I played an un-zap, one of very few times I had it and remembered to play it...back to 98 to 100.

One of the other players revealed filch, and took the cosmic zap. I then played a finder

and looked for a cosmic zap in her hand.

Jaime, nothing to do, knowing he had lost, and I had a cosmic zap, feebly

tried to use Worm to re-position the cone to a planet with 1 token on it.

I cosmic zapped worm.

Ultimate insult: Right as Jaime was about to put the 16 tokens in the warp,

I uttered my favorite phrase:

"They don't go to the warp."

I revealed Void.

16 of Jaime's tokens went to the Void, and he was put out of the game permanently.

I've never seen someone out of the game so fast...rarely is someone out of the game at all

at any point, but Jaime bit it before he even had a turn. Such sweetness. To this day,

I email Jaime about that game.

6. Power selection:

A very important part of the game!! There are many good ways to select powers, ranging from the

random to the pseudo random. These are the two I use most:

1) Random. Place all flares face down and let everyone draw 2 or 3. The flares you get

are the powers you have for the game. Don't take your power until you are ready to use

(reveal) it. Variant: Let everyone draw 5 and keep 2 or 3. This is better as you

probably wont get stuck with a really crappy combination

2) Pseudo random. Select 5*(number of players) flares, randomly. Then reveal these flares to everyone.

Then randomly choose a player to start, and give him the deck of revealed flares. Let him choose 1,

and go around the table until everyone has 2 or 3. If you have a good memory, you can tell all the

powers in the game...but not who has them. You can also try to plan really good combinations,

as I did in my great victory.

7. The rules for a 2 player game:

Find another player.

8. If you want to play me.

I am always looking for people to play with! I live in Alexandria, Va. I have tried unsuccessfully to

establish a CE group here. If you know of one, let me know!

mail me!!!

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