Cosmic Encounter

Players take on distinct alien civilizations, each with a unique special power that can alter or override the rules. The goal is to colonize five foreign worlds by issuing and resolving challenges against other players, recruiting allies to influence outcomes, and managing tokens and cards that affect combat and diplomacy. Game play proceeds in phases with clear timing icons for powers, flares, and edicts; players use one-shot flares, play reinforcement and lucre cards, and resolve encounters that combine base forces, spent resources, and negotiated alliances. Optional expansions add moons, additional powers, more players, and new card types to vary strategic and chaotic interactions.

Players: 3–6 best 5
Playing time: 60 min
Complexity: 2.6 / 5