Cosmic Express

About a year ago, a clever and amusing version of Dune came out called Dune Express (it uses a lot of dice and some simple components, and was the Golden Geek winner 2009 for Print & Play).

Now there's an "express" version of CE called Cosmic Express (also called Cosmic Dice) from Nathan Bryan.

The first version of Dune Express was decent, but what really made it come alive was a lot of upgraded fan-made components). Cosmic Express is also light on the production design, but if it does get jazzed up, it looks like a nice diversion. It takes at least 3 players, and if it's anything like real CE, 4 or 5 would be better (though if that's the case, you should all just break out the real CE and play that).

One of the best aspects of Cosmic Encounter is the variable player powers, and Cosmic Express does have that. Nathan has created power cards for over 50 aliens (those in the FFG's set, and a few new ones, like Conqueror and Psychic).

I never gave Dune Express a try, but I may have to take a look at the Cosmic version.