I love the Mayfair version. Still a great game.

It looks like all I need to have the same game is the Core and Cosmic Incursion. Is that right?

Of course we're still missing the moons.

Thank you,

Hi Ken,

Glad you enjoy the game. However, we consider the Mayfair version of Cosmic Encounter to be flawed. The alien art is washed out and tepid. The components are uninspiring. Mayfair always thought that Cosmic Encounter aliens should be "balanced". Trying to balance Cosmic aliens is evidence that one doesn't even remotely understand the game. The Cosmic Encounter game system is designed to have wildly different aliens that draw their powers from every conceivable source. Sometimes players will find situations where one alien will totally dominate, but in another game that same alien will be very diminished. Its the combination of aliens that determine the relative strengths of all. Even the aliens that seem to be unstoppable have a weak underbelly in certain scenarios.

Furthermore, after we (Eon Products) licensed Cosmic Encounter to Mayfair, they stopped paying royalties and but continued to sell the game for years even did a reprint and even made two more versions, Simply Cosmic and More Cosmic with no royalty forthcoming. The sales volume was fairly low and Eon did not have cash on hand so it was not economically feasible to take legal action.

The Fantasy Flight edition of Cosmic is a fantastic design and superior to the Mayfair in every respect. There are now six expansions: Cosmic Incursion, Cosmic Conflict, Cosmic Alliance, Cosmic Storm, Cosmic Dominion and Cosmic Eons. They are not compatible with the Mayfair game.

Time to come over from the dark side!

Regards,

Peter Olotka

a Cosmic Encounter Designer

Peter, thank you for responding so quickly. I have been playing CE for some time and own both the Eon and Mayfair versions. The reviews I have seen do seem to say the Fantasy Flight Version is a great version. The art and components are very well done in this new version.

As for balance I did notice that some, two or three at most, Alien Powers in one of the versions I own seem far too powerful and seldom made for an enjoyable game of the others. We simply took those aliens out and continued to play. We seldom have fun when we know by the draw, before the game is played, who will most likely win.

As for the new version I'm looking forward to getting it. You wouldn't know it from my X-Wing purchases but I'm not and endless expansion fan. Rather I prefer to buy a game once and play it. If it is well written it should be complete and ready to play when released. This, from what I've read, is true about Fantasy Flight's new core version of Cosmic Encounter. It appears to be a fun game to play, and play over again with friends. This is why I'm looking forward to upgrade/update what I own.

Keeping in mind my reluctance to buy endless expansion, I want to have keep the feel for the game I've played so much when deciding what to purchase?

• The core CE seems great. It is limited to 5 players and I really enjoyed Kickers
• Cosmic Incursion extends the game to 6 players and includes Kickers.
• This is what I've considered purchasing

• The other expansions I've considered are Cosmic Conflict and Cosmic Alliance. Between these we could have up to eight people and the ability to play teams seems like a lot of fun.
• If I do purchase other expansions these seem to add the most without adding too many new complex mechanics to the game.

P,S, it is great being about to actually talk to the game designer. Thank you for a great game. I won't say how many years I have been enjoying it. I still have my Eon original copy. Whoo Hoo!

Thank you,

As for balance I did notice that some, two or three at most, Alien Powers in one of the versions I own seem far too powerful and seldom made for an enjoyable game of the others. We simply took those aliens out and continued to play. We seldom have fun when we know by the draw, before the game is played, who will most likely win.

No one can win in CE if all other players gang up on him/her, at least in my experience.