- Posts: 8773
- Thank you received: 6758
- Forum
- /
- The Salon
- /
- Article Discussions
- /
- Flashback Friday - Cosmic Encounter - Love it or Hate It? Do you Still Play It?
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)
Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.
Flashback Friday - Cosmic Encounter - Love it or Hate It? Do you Still Play It?
Love it or hate it? Do you still play it?
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
The Eon team were freaking wizards. Entertainment-mancers.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- hotseatgames
-
- Offline
- D12
-
- Posts: 7332
- Thank you received: 6652
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Erik Twice
-
- Offline
- D8
-
- Needs explosions
- Posts: 2300
- Thank you received: 2650
Hands down one of the best games ever made.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Jackwraith
-
- Offline
- Ninja
-
- Maim! Kill! Burn!
- Posts: 4467
- Thank you received: 5973
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Legomancer
-
- Offline
- D10
-
- Dave Lartigue
- Posts: 2944
- Thank you received: 3874
None of my current groups have this in regular rotation at all.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Posts: 8773
- Thank you received: 6758
NeonPeon wrote: Yup, one of my favorite games of all time and I've been playing it since the early 90s when I bought the Mayfair edition. It took a backseat to Magic for a while when I succumbed to that craze. Then I got back into CE via the online edition that was at first a very alpha-looking Java applet on cosmicencounter.com, which eventually was revamped into a nice Flash game. (Not sure of its current state.) Finally I got the FFG edition right when it came out (2008) and it still remains a favorite. I don't play it as much as I'd like, but I don't play anything as much as I'd like.
One of only a few games I've rated a "10" on BGG.
People who like MtG tend to like Cosmic and vise versa. MtG was strongly influenced by Cosmic. Richard Garfield has said something along the lines of MtG started with an attempt to distill the essence of Cosmic into a card game.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Erik Twice
-
- Offline
- D8
-
- Needs explosions
- Posts: 2300
- Thank you received: 2650
1) I didn't love the game at first. I liked it and I had fun but I didn't feel it was special, like I do know. It took some time and some practice for it to click.
2) The game is very fragile. I didn't notice this one for a long time but it's very easy for players to "ruin the game" by overinviting allies or "playing it wrong" in some ways. This is actually something all EON games have in common but Cosmic is so much friendlier and mainstream that it doesn't seem like it would be the case.
For example, the FFG "green/yellow/red" alien guide is a god-send. I ignored it a couple times and always regretted it. New players are attracted to powers like Seeker which they won't be able to play, for example. Wait until people know how to play before introducing the more complex aliens.
3) The core of the game is not intuitive to modern gamers. I think many people who dislike the game do so because they don't understand the cardplay. As in, they understand the powers, and the negotiation and the artifacts but they don't understand how they can beat people by playing cards with numbers facedown when the opponent may have a higher number. I tend to stress the importance of hand-management but I'm not fully happy with my explanation.
4) Don't play with six. Specially not with newbies. Five is probably the best. In general, the fewer players, the slower and more strategic the game becomes while the more players, the more "raw fun" and less strategic the game is.
I just played in a table where everyone was an expert and it really blew my mind. I knew I wasn't going to win, because I was not in control. They chose to invite me sometimes, but not others. They played their cards right. They risked some, but not too much. I knew I could get them once or twice and I did, but I knew I wasn't going to make it and I didn't. Loved that feeling.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Offense: "I invite everyone!"
Defense: "Yeah I invite everyone, too."
Repeat for every encounter...
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Posts: 1460
- Thank you received: 1206
tl:dr - When it rocks, it really rocks. When it flops, it flops hard.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
ubarose wrote:
NeonPeon wrote: Yup, one of my favorite games of all time and I've been playing it since the early 90s when I bought the Mayfair edition. It took a backseat to Magic for a while when I succumbed to that craze. Then I got back into CE via the online edition that was at first a very alpha-looking Java applet on cosmicencounter.com, which eventually was revamped into a nice Flash game. (Not sure of its current state.) Finally I got the FFG edition right when it came out (2008) and it still remains a favorite. I don't play it as much as I'd like, but I don't play anything as much as I'd like.
One of only a few games I've rated a "10" on BGG.
People who like MtG tend to like Cosmic and vise versa. MtG was strongly influenced by Cosmic. Richard Garfield has said something along the lines of MtG started with an attempt to distill the essence of Cosmic into a card game.
I'm a Cosmic Fan and dislike Magic. The interaction which causes chaos in Cosmic are the players and the powers, which I much prefer to Magic's card draw. I suppose Cosmic always keep the pivotal points of interest with what matters more: the players rather than the cards. The flares strike the right balance of chaos to a known deck rather than a whole stack of variables. And no flawed mana economy lol
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Forum
- /
- The Salon
- /
- Article Discussions
- /
- Flashback Friday - Cosmic Encounter - Love it or Hate It? Do you Still Play It?