Hi, I ran across something when playing cosmic. During the Alliance phase, do i always have to ask for somone to be on my side? When I was playing with a couple of friends, my friend beside me went to launch at another's home planet. I, with 4 coloneys already in the game, could make this possible win by becoming allied with the offense friend. He knows this too. So does he always have to ask everyone (and me) if they are going to help him? It's clear that you could skip the question to avoid the other from winning the game, but not quite sure.

...I know, i spelled Alliance wrong. \_/

In the alliance phase, the following steps occur:

1. The offensive main player MAY ask any number of players to ally with him. This could mean asking no one, asking everyone, asking one player, or asking any number of players.

2. The defensive main player now may ask any number of players to ally with him, as well. This can include any of the same players the offensive player invited, if he wishes.

3. Starting to the left of the attacking player, each player who is not a main player is given the chance to accept one invitation, if he so chooses (and assuming he has been invited), then commits 1 to 4 ships to the side he chose to join.

That's not a quote from the rules, just my own paraphrasing from memory. Anyway, you can invite any number of players you want. You do not have to invite anyone. Alliance phase is never "skipped" though, as the other player can still invite if he wants to.

The rules simply states (paraphrased) that the offense "announces" which players he or she wishes to have as allies. I believe with this wording it is valid to announce that the offense could announce that they wish to invite no players as allies.

That is how it is played in every other edition of the game, and there is no wording to indicate otherwise.

That's good to know. I haven't had the opportunity to play the other versions or read their rulebooks.

Not only are allies optional, but one of the biggest mistakes new players make is to ask for help too often!

If it is your turn & you ask for offensive allies and win, everyone got a base. How did that help you get closer to winning? It didn't. Everyone got the same help you did.

If you are defending & ask for help and win you keep your planet & everyone else gets cards? How did that help you get closer to winning? It didn't. You stayed the same and all your allies got cards. They actually did better than you did!!

Allies are for when you need help to win or if you are afraid if they don't join you they will join the other side and help the other side win. The difference between a good Cosmic player and a great one is knowing when to go it alone.

Jhamin said:

Quoted for truth!!

It is a real balancing act, figuring out how many allies to invite. In a game with 5+ players, it's often suicidal not to invite anyone if you think your opponent will invite everyone. The key is inviting just enough that the allies are roughly split between offense and defense. It's not too hard to overcome a 4-ship differential due to alliances, but it's nearly impossible to overcome a 12- or 16-ship one.

Not to mention having to figure out whom to invite, who will benefit the least from joining you, and who you believe would actually accept the invitation in the first place. I've got the four-player game down pat from years of the Avalon Hill game and Cosmic Encounter Online, but the 5+ player game still makes my head spin with the possibilities.

And now we're adding a 7th player. Will the madness never stop? I like the ability to go it alone, but if I have to worry about a 20-ship swing every encounter, I may have to rethink things.

Thats why we need the force field!