Build a galactic empire...

In the depths of space, the alien races of the Cosmos vie with each other for control of the universe. Alliances form and shift from moment to moment, while cataclysmic battles send starships screaming into the warp.

This classic game of alien politics returns from the warp once more!

In Cosmic Encounter, each player becomes the leader of one of dozens of alien races, each with its own unique power. On a player's turn, he or she becomes the offense. The offense encounters another player on a planet by moving a group of his or her ships through the hyperspace gate to that planet. Both sides can invite allies and play cards to try and tip the encounter in their favor.

The object of the game is to establish colonies in other players' planetary systems. The winner(s) are the first player(s) to have five colonies on any planets outside his or her home system. These colonies may all be in one system or scattered over multiple systems. The players must use force, cunning, and diplomacy to ensure their victory. And, because alliances are a key part of the game, multiple players can win together!

POPULAR REVIEW BY K.DAVID LADAGE

When Fantasy Flight Games first announced that they were going to be putting out a new edition of Cosmic Encounter, I was excited, but very, very nervous. This is a game I love. I cannot even begin to explain to you how much fun my friends and I would have playing this game, seeing how each alien ability interacted with one another, or seeing how you can sneak in a move nobody was expecting... it is a wonderful game. I did not want the legacy of that game to be tarnished.

I wrote to Fantasy Flight and begged that they be careful when dealing with this game. I explained what this game meant to me and how much I wanted to see a new printing with updated components, but I did not want anyone to muck with the game itself too much.

To my surprise, I received a response. They explained that the team working on Cosmic Encounter was just as enamoured with the game as I was, and that they were indeed being very careful.

I was still excited. I was still nervous. But I awaited the results impatiently as wondered what was to become of one of my favorite games.

AN IMPROVEMENT IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY
The team that was working on Cosmic Encounter was successful. The managed to capture the game in a way that I did not think was even possible. The rules were cleaned up. Things that needed clarification were clarified. The abilities were laid out in a way that eliminated some of the strange ambiguities that could exist in the older editions.

And man, was the production value ramped up to 11!

— Gone is the puzzle-board (which was prone to damage where the pieces came together); it is replaced with a separate warp space and a set of planet tiles for each player that make so much sense that one has to wonder why this was not thought of a long time ago!

— Gone are the small cardstock tokens; they are replaced with beautiful stackable miniature spaceships in vivid colors that make the game far more visually exciting!

— And speaking of color! Gone is the color issue where two shades of blue are used that made using the cards (and some other elements) much more difficult than it needed to be! The color in this game (when it comes to every single element of the production) is striking, vibrant, and clear. I have to hand it to them for paying attention to this kind of thing.

— And so on... from the art direction to the editing, there is nothing not to love about this new edition.

Everything Fantasy Flight did to this game was done with a gentle and caring hand. It was a core game and a couple of expansions in that we had just about everything the Mayfair edition (and expansions) and to offer. Since that time, they have continued to add new ideas to the game (e.g., the combat dials). And with each new addition, I find myself more and more excited. Nervousness left the field a long, long time ago.

CONCLUSION
I still have my copy of Cosmic Encounter, More Cosmic Encounter, and Simply Cosmic from Mayfair. I am not getting rid of them anytime soon. But I see no reason to pull them out and play with them these days. If I am going to play Cosmic Encounter, I am going to play the definitive edition, and that would be the Fantasy Flight version.

I highly recommend this game to anyone. It is a rather simple core game with a lot of things attached to it... but each system makes sense. If you understand the basics, none of the additions will intimidate you. Granted, I would not throw everything and the kitchen sink at a new player all at once, but it will not take many games before they are begging to see what other possibilities exist within the game.

Review Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2391510/cosmic-encounter-improving-upon-near-perfection