{"id":51,"date":"2016-04-04T17:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T17:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/?p=51"},"modified":"2016-04-04T17:00:30","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T17:00:30","slug":"game-analysis-cosmic-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/game-analysis-cosmic-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Analysis: Cosmic Encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cosmic Encounter<\/em> is my favorite game of all time, and I\u2019m having trouble understanding why.<\/p>\n

With most excellent games, you can easily point to something incredible about their design \u2013\u00a0Codenames\u2019 <\/em>simplicity and replayability, the Legacy<\/em> games\u2019 storytelling \u2013 but Cosmic Encounter<\/em> is built from a lot of components that simply shouldn\u2019t work. There\u2019s a heavy chance element, Mario Karting (everyone ganging up on the player in first THIS IS THE NEW TERM I CALL IT) and kingmaking are serious problems, and some of the species are way more powerful than others.<\/p>\n

Even weirder, Cosmic<\/em> doesn\u2019t succeed in spite of these issues, it succeeds because of these issues. I feel like if precautions were put in to make the gameplay more \u201cstrategic\u201d or \u201cbalanced\u201d, you wouldn\u2019t have Cosmic Encounter<\/em> anymore, you\u2019d have a watery Euro that you\u2019d forget about five minutes after you left the table.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s get right to the point: What makes Cosmic Encounter<\/em> so good???<\/p>\n

Note: The rest of this article assumes that you vaguely know how to play <\/em>Cosmic Encounter. If you don\u2019t, Fantasy Flight has a rulebook here<\/a>, and also you should really play, it\u2019s a fantastic game!!! Hit me up on Twitter and I\u2019ll bring over my copy.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Political<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Cosmic Encounter<\/em> is a game of very short-term politics. Unlike Game of Thrones<\/em> or Diplomacy<\/em>, where your alliances are expected to last for at least three or four rounds, the political situation in Cosmic<\/em> will shift every single turn, both through foreign colony numbers and through the whims of the Destiny deck. This makes backstabbing a lot less serious, and having the ally who helped you win last turn suddenly become your mortal enemy is something to laugh about. It\u2019s memorable, but not painful.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, the smartest game design decision in Cosmic<\/em> is the idea that multiple players can win at the same time. Games with heavy player interaction and the ability to see that one player is about to win frequently end up with everyone else piling on the player in first place. Munchkin<\/em> uses single-player victories in a political game similar to Cosmic<\/em>, but since everyone has a reason to take down someone at level 9, the game slows to a crawl.<\/p>\n

Because of the way alliances work, instead of \u201call against one\u201d, games can quickly turn into \u201cThe We\u2019re About To Win Empire against the We Only Have Two Colonies Rebellion\u201d, which then continue to shift as the scrappy underdogs crawl up and destroy their opponent\u2019s foreign colonies. Of course, if someone feels like they\u2019re up for it, they can easily refuse to ally and go for an \u201call against one\u201d solo victory, but that\u2019s by choice and not necessity. Every game ends differently, depending on the alien species and setup. Which brings us to\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Different Every Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

The thing people most often mention when they talk about Cosmic<\/em> is its dozens of alien species, each of which has an interesting power that busts the loose framework of the game in two. I love these, and I could go on forever talking about my favorite powers (Human, Leviathan, Pentaform, Lunatic, Claw, etc.), but Cosmic<\/em>\u2019s variability goes beyond whatever 4-6 aliens have a galactic slap fight. Variability is built into the system at a level that goes far beyond modern designs.<\/p>\n

Because the game\u2019s end isn\u2019t something inevitable, it could take a long time for anyone to clinch victory, or someone could rocket ahead two or three colonies on their turn in a come-from-behind win. Card variety and hand sizes make it so even if two aliens have an ally-free encounter three times, each match will end differently. And of course, not only are the alien powers themselves game-changing, but so is the way they interact with each other. A Healer (stops ships from dying) in a game with a Zombie (can\u2019t die) and Fungus (absorbs dead ships) will operate very differently than one in a game with a Masochist (desperately wants all their ships to die).<\/p>\n

This, of course, means that some games aren\u2019t going to be fun: They\u2019ll be ponderously slow grindfests, or a couple of players will utterly crush everyone else. It isn\u2019t ideal, but if I were given the choice between a game where, if I played 10 times, I would kind of enjoy all 10 games, and a game where 5 times are good, 3 are terrible, and 2 are pulse-poundingly amazing, I\u2019d pick that latter every time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Really, Really Social<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think what truly makes Cosmic<\/em> Encounter<\/em> my favorite game is that everyone gets to participate constantly. Other games \u2013\u00a0Race For The Galaxy<\/em> for example \u2013 have also experimented with simultaenous play and low downtime, but in Cosmic<\/em>, everyone means something to each other, no matter how few cards or colonies they have. Even someone barely participating in an encounter can change its course through their alien power or a well-timed Artifact.<\/p>\n

I play a lot of games, but Cosmic<\/em> is one of the few where, even when it isn\u2019t their turn, every player is engaged and talking. If we simplify and say that the point of board games is to give people a combined social experience, it\u2019s hard to come up with any game that better accomplishes this goal.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve become convinced that the games I need to design aren\u2019t \u201celegant\u201d or \u201cstrategic\u201d, but truly unique experiences on their own. When someone gets up from this kind of game, they don\u2019t quietly shuffle the experience into their mental file drawer \u2013\u00a0it sticks with them. It makes them smile for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

Cosmic Encounter<\/em> is something unique and amazing. After a game, I don\u2019t say to myself \u201cI played a board game\u201d; I say \u201cI played a game of Cosmic Encounter\u201d. The aliens and their interactions will remain with me for a long time. More than anything, it\u2019s this kind of experience I want to create and this kind of game that will inform my design.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cosmic Encounter is my favorite game of all time, and I\u2019m having trouble understanding why. With most excellent games, you can easily point to something incredible about their design \u2013\u00a0Codenames\u2019 simplicity and replayability, the Legacy games\u2019 storytelling \u2013 but Cosmic Encounter is built from a lot of components that simply shouldn\u2019t work. There\u2019s a heavy chance element, Mario Karting (everyone ganging up on the player in first THIS IS THE NEW TERM I CALL IT) and kingmaking are serious problems, and some of the species are way more powerful than others. Even weirder, Cosmic doesn\u2019t succeed in spite of these issues, it succeeds because of these issues. I feel like if precautions were put in to make the gameplay more \u201cstrategic\u201d or \u201cbalanced\u201d, you wouldn\u2019t have Cosmic Encounter anymore, you\u2019d have a watery Euro that you\u2019d forget about five minutes after you left the table. So let\u2019s get right to the point: What makes Cosmic Encounter so good??? Note: The rest of this article assumes that you vaguely know how to play Cosmic Encounter. If you don\u2019t, Fantasy Flight has a rulebook here, and also you should really play, it\u2019s a fantastic game!!! Hit me up on Twitter and I\u2019ll bring over my copy. It\u2019s Political \u00a0Cosmic Encounter is a game of very short-term politics. Unlike Game of Thrones or Diplomacy, where your alliances are expected to last for at least three or four rounds, the political situation in Cosmic will shift every single turn, both through foreign colony numbers and through the whims of the Destiny deck. This makes backstabbing a lot less serious, and having the ally who helped you win last turn suddenly become your mortal enemy is something to laugh about. It\u2019s memorable, but not painful. In my opinion, the smartest game design decision in Cosmic is the idea that multiple players can win at the same time. Games with heavy player interaction and the ability to see that one player is about to win frequently end up with everyone else piling on the player in first place. Munchkin uses single-player victories in a political game similar to Cosmic, but since everyone has a reason to take down someone at level 9, the game slows to a crawl. Because of the way alliances work, instead of \u201call against one\u201d, games can quickly turn into \u201cThe We\u2019re About To Win Empire against the We Only Have Two Colonies Rebellion\u201d, which then continue to shift as the scrappy underdogs crawl up and destroy their opponent\u2019s foreign colonies. Of course, if someone feels like they\u2019re up for it, they can easily refuse to ally and go for an \u201call against one\u201d solo victory, but that\u2019s by choice and not necessity. Every game ends differently, depending on the alien species and setup. Which brings us to\u2026 It\u2019s Different Every Game The thing people most often mention when they talk about Cosmic is its dozens of alien species, each of which has an interesting power that busts the loose framework of the game in two. I love these, and I could go on forever talking about my favorite powers (Human, Leviathan, Pentaform, Lunatic, Claw, etc.), but Cosmic\u2019s variability goes beyond whatever 4-6 aliens have a galactic slap fight. Variability is built into the system at a level that goes far beyond modern designs. Because the game\u2019s end isn\u2019t something inevitable, it could take a long time for anyone to clinch victory, or someone could rocket ahead two or three colonies on their turn in a come-from-behind win. Card variety and hand sizes make it so even if two aliens have an ally-free encounter three times, each match will end differently. And of course, not only are the alien powers themselves game-changing, but so is the way they interact with each other. A Healer (stops ships from dying) in a game with a Zombie (can\u2019t die) and Fungus (absorbs dead ships) will operate very differently than one in a game with a Masochist (desperately wants all their ships to die). This, of course, means that some games aren\u2019t going to be fun: They\u2019ll be ponderously slow grindfests, or a couple of players will utterly crush everyone else. It isn\u2019t ideal, but if I were given the choice between a game where, if I played 10 times, I would kind of enjoy all 10 games, and a game where 5 times are good, 3 are terrible, and 2 are pulse-poundingly amazing, I\u2019d pick that latter every time. It\u2019s Really, Really Social I think what truly makes Cosmic Encounter my favorite game is that everyone gets to participate constantly. Other games \u2013\u00a0Race For The Galaxy for example \u2013 have also experimented with simultaenous play and low downtime, but in Cosmic, everyone means something to each other, no matter how few cards or colonies they have. Even someone barely participating in an encounter can change its course through their alien power or a well-timed Artifact. I play a lot of games, but Cosmic is one of the few where, even when it isn\u2019t their turn, every player is engaged and talking. If we simplify and say that the point of board games is to give people a combined social experience, it\u2019s hard to come up with any game that better accomplishes this goal. Conclusion Lately, I\u2019ve become convinced that the games I need to design aren\u2019t \u201celegant\u201d or \u201cstrategic\u201d, but truly unique experiences on their own. When someone gets up from this kind of game, they don\u2019t quietly shuffle the experience into their mental file drawer \u2013\u00a0it sticks with them. It makes them smile for the rest of the day. Cosmic Encounter is something unique and amazing. After a game, I don\u2019t say to myself \u201cI played a board game\u201d; I say \u201cI played a game of Cosmic Encounter\u201d. The aliens and their interactions will remain with me for a long time. More than anything, it\u2019s this kind of experience I want to create and this kind of game that will inform my design.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52,"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.phantomknightgames.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}