All of your questions about Cosmic Encounter are answered in the latest FAQ. How certain alien powers interact, timing, the full answer on Zombie all contained within among others. Rules were indeed made to be broken, now find out how to break them correctly.
Cosmic Encounter FAQ (pdf, 831 kb)
Cosmic Encounter puts you inc harge of an alien race. Each flavor of alien is racing to be the first to conquer enemy colonies, and establish themselves as the dominant species for eons to come. Every faction has a unique power, and no two games are ever the same.