The Long View: Cosmic Encounter
20 October 2012
3 Comments
The Long View
For this episode of The Long View, I’m joined by none other than Tom Vasel of the Dice Tower as we discuss one of his favorite games, Cosmic Encounter. Tom and I try to determine what makes this game such a compelling, unique experience, and why it still feels so new and fresh over thirty years after its initial release in 1977.
Thanks, as always, to 2d6.org for their generous hosting and support of The Long view, and thanks as well to our sponsor www.gamesurplus.com, your premium source for all of your gaming needs. Thanks for listening!
~ Geof Gambill
The Long View: Cosmic Encounter
Geof Gambill
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Nice talk about my favorite game guys!
This game is excellent for all the reasons you mentioned – but especially for the opportunity to always win. No matter how far behind you are, you will never give up
We usually play four people, and we play with tech, hazard, reward and with two hidden powers.
I wouldn’t change anything with the game, per say, but I have a couple of complaints:
First a minor one; one of the hazard cards – the one which removes planets from the game every time a hazard symbol is drawn, can really brake the game if it comes early, because it’s so difficult to remove (two other cards). We did however house rule that if it comes as one of the 5 first hazards, it gets shuffled back into the deck.
My other beef is a bigger problem; The rulebook. Well I’d rather say the inconsistency of the text on cards, especially when I feel they are trying to say the same thing. This often brings us into an debate (and goggling the web) about what happens first. Can I do this before that happens, is this to late?
For instance an rather typical question (in my group any hew): when are you allowed to move the lunar canon? Can you wait until the offense has launched? Don’t you never find your self in situations where you are just not sure what is allowed and what’s not Tom?
Thanks, Daniel
Isn’t card management a big part of the strategy of the game? Saving your 40 card for near the end of the game, for instance. This wasn’t brought up too much.
I enjoyed the podcast!
Thanks for listening Jason. Yes, I would agree that hand management can be an important aspect of the game. When to throw the 40, and when to throw the negotiate card can be crucial decisions. I have no idea why this did not come up more, but it may be that the alien powers so often have an effect on the values of the cards played, or change the outcome so drastically, not to mention flares, alliances and reinforcement cards that can also effect the outcomes of conflicts quite often, that this reduces the feel of the importance of the hand management. I agree with you it is still there, but it is not as obvious as in other games where hand management is more of a key. Thanks for the comment.
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