Behold! The invasion begins!!

No, this is not a Monsterpocalypse review. I can’t make a good review because I have not played it, I probably won’t play it. I don’t subscribe to any collectible games. This is a about the return that ancient, and very awesome classic, Cosmic Encounters. 

Cosmic Encounters holds a special place for me. Probably because it was my first “true” game I ever played. By true I am eliminating all Parker Bradley games. My father had the first edition of Cosmic Encounter, and taught my brother and I how to play. Now, my father owns the last edition that came out about ten year ago. Why? Because my brother and I lost all the pieces, and so we got it for him for Christmas a while back.

Now the newest edition has been released, by the game company I respect, Fantasy Flight Games. This release took me by surprise. Not because it came out, but because it came out sooner than I thought. I had only just heard two months ago that they were making it, so I figured it would be early next year.

So I’m in my game store two days ago, and a guy has a game in his hand, and reaches out and grabs the game I wanted to look at.  So, I do what any person who has worked in games stores long enough would do, I look over his shoulder. The game was called Titan. Had cool art on the front. He sees I’m looking, and I say “looks cool!” He says back in the day his friends in college (in the 80′s) had the original game, but he never got to play it. He eventually put it back down, and I went over to pick it up. Didn’t look like my cup o’ tea. But the game next to it, which was the game he also had in his hand, was Cosmic Encounters. I reached out and snatched it up, and looked it over. Nothing more revealed than what has been revealed on the internet, but the fact that it is out was enough to excited me. Finally. I showed my wife. I plan on buying it.

Now the question is, why buy it? What is so special about Cosmic Encounters? Hundred’s of Alien Races. Well, not hundreds in this edition. the first edition had booster packs that boosted the number up that high. There are dozens in this one. So, at the beginning of the game, you draw one of many races, thus, the game is never the same. Ever. You races has a special ability, such as the new, and listed in the website, “Cogs.” In which, the avoidance of battles gives them “victory points” when they get seven, the universe has ended,and they win. Or how about the Macron, who gets to count each ship as four. The best one to draw is about as Cheezy-beardy-insultingly-broken race called the Zombies. Rather than having to pull your dead out of purgatory, the zombie simply gets all those that die and adds them to his rank, period! I think my dad beat me once while I played that race. What a cheezeball army!

Your goal to win is to take over the majority of the other planets not held by you. You have four or five planets to control originally, and each of the other payers also have that many. Kill them, knock them out, and conquer, or, compromise. This was the first time I ever learned of this word as a kid. In cosmic encounters, you don’t throw dice, you bet strengths. You play cards in hopes that your is better. What really sucks is when someone else throws down a compromise against your high number, and ties everything up. 

In closing, go buy this game. (Waves two fingers towards you in a horizontal sweep) “This is the game you are looking for.” 

Play it, and tell me what you think.

Cheers!