Another recent set of combos played was all about the aliens that are used to being in charge.
DICTATOR [base] Controls Destiny Deck
EMPEROR [CE] Demands Tribute
GENERAL [CA] Draws Cards for Allies
OLIGARCH [CE] Gets Richer as Others Get Poorer
TYRANT [CS] Claims Other Players’ Ships
USURPER [CD] Makes Allies Play Encounter Cards
For additional players, consider adding in:
NANNY [CE] Motivates
SHERIFF [CE] Upholds The Law
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Cosmic Combos (part 1)
Over the last year, I've been able to set up some Cosmic Combos.
These are games where the aliens have been pre-selected to be in the same game.
Here are a few of the combos we've played, and some commentary.
8- Angler
We only ended up doing the six player mix, which includes Winner. However, if we'd gone to eight players, we decided that Loser was the obvious next alien to add in, and for giggles, Angler as the eighth player (who better to join a poker game than someone who prefers Go Fish?).
This was a very interesting mix of aliens to have in one game. Deuce and Tripler created high totals a lot, but the combination of Joker and Gambler also made for some hilarious interactions. Gambler would "bluff" that his card was whatever Joker declared to be wild (especially when they were allied, but also late in the game when all Joker had left were his high value tokens and was facing off against Gambler).
Ace, of course was the scapegoat alien, never invited as the offensive ally (and also rarely invited to defense either). He got his one colony, but lost it a few turns later.
Winner was on everyone's radar, but he managed to get the 40 and gain his fourth colony as defense, right before his turn. Winner and Deuce shared the win with Joker, Tripler, and Gambler at three colonies, and Ace at none.
These are games where the aliens have been pre-selected to be in the same game.
Here are a few of the combos we've played, and some commentary.
POKER FACE
1- Ace
2- Deuce
3- Tripler
4- Joker
5- Gambler
6- Winner
7- Loser8- Angler
We only ended up doing the six player mix, which includes Winner. However, if we'd gone to eight players, we decided that Loser was the obvious next alien to add in, and for giggles, Angler as the eighth player (who better to join a poker game than someone who prefers Go Fish?).
This was a very interesting mix of aliens to have in one game. Deuce and Tripler created high totals a lot, but the combination of Joker and Gambler also made for some hilarious interactions. Gambler would "bluff" that his card was whatever Joker declared to be wild (especially when they were allied, but also late in the game when all Joker had left were his high value tokens and was facing off against Gambler).
Ace, of course was the scapegoat alien, never invited as the offensive ally (and also rarely invited to defense either). He got his one colony, but lost it a few turns later.
Winner was on everyone's radar, but he managed to get the 40 and gain his fourth colony as defense, right before his turn. Winner and Deuce shared the win with Joker, Tripler, and Gambler at three colonies, and Ace at none.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Cosmic Dominion in the Hyperspace Gate
The fifth expansion for CE has been announced, and will be available in a few months or so.
Cosmic Dominion is being touted as the "Fan Expansion", because it is largely composed of fan-designed content (aliens, cards, and more). It was also officially designed by three fans: Jefferson Krogh, Bill Martinson, and yours truly. The three of us shepherded the submissions, fine-tuned them, and quibbled vigorously over every detail.
The set will come with 30 aliens (the most of any FFG expansion for CE), and includes a few of the classic Eon aliens that had yet been unpublished in this edition. Some of the classic aliens (like Aristocrat) are largely unchanged, but a few have been re-imagined (most notably some of the remaining lucre aliens).
Having worked on the set, I can say that I am extremely pleased with how it's turned out, and it may be my new favorite expansion. Cosmic Incursion (the first expansion) was the old favorite, mostly because it contained my idea for the Reward Deck. But Cosmic Dominion has its own Reward Deck as well- with some new concepts, and some really amped-up versions of cards found in the original Reward Deck.
Cosmic appeals to a pretty wide range of fans- some like the straight-forward mechanics and effects, and some enjoy the wackier content. Dominion was designed to appeal to the whole spectrum of fan preferences. That said, there will be a few aliens that many fans will just shy away from (something that is probably true of any of the expansions). But I sincerely believe just about every fan of CE will love most of what's in the box.
I'll talk more about specific content soon.
Cosmic Dominion is being touted as the "Fan Expansion", because it is largely composed of fan-designed content (aliens, cards, and more). It was also officially designed by three fans: Jefferson Krogh, Bill Martinson, and yours truly. The three of us shepherded the submissions, fine-tuned them, and quibbled vigorously over every detail.
The set will come with 30 aliens (the most of any FFG expansion for CE), and includes a few of the classic Eon aliens that had yet been unpublished in this edition. Some of the classic aliens (like Aristocrat) are largely unchanged, but a few have been re-imagined (most notably some of the remaining lucre aliens).
Having worked on the set, I can say that I am extremely pleased with how it's turned out, and it may be my new favorite expansion. Cosmic Incursion (the first expansion) was the old favorite, mostly because it contained my idea for the Reward Deck. But Cosmic Dominion has its own Reward Deck as well- with some new concepts, and some really amped-up versions of cards found in the original Reward Deck.
Cosmic appeals to a pretty wide range of fans- some like the straight-forward mechanics and effects, and some enjoy the wackier content. Dominion was designed to appeal to the whole spectrum of fan preferences. That said, there will be a few aliens that many fans will just shy away from (something that is probably true of any of the expansions). But I sincerely believe just about every fan of CE will love most of what's in the box.
I'll talk more about specific content soon.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Cosmic Storm of Cousins
Cosmic Encounter's fourth expansion from Fantasy Flight Games is imminent. Unlike the previous three expansions, this one does not add a new player color, but does add five more aliens. Out of the 25 aliens included, FFG has previewed ten of them, and the reception has been mixed. Here's my initial thoughts on these first ten.
Brute
This is probably the most powerful alien previewed. As a main player or ally, he can single out a player on the opposing side by kicking that player's ships out of the encounter unless Brute can look at his or her hand and take a card. It's a Mind's mean cousin. I would have edited the alien to take a card at random from a player for each ship in the encounter, if that player didn't leave the encounter altogether.
Bulwark
This alien is essentially Zombie's cousin. Instead of losing no aliens (like Zombie), Bulwark only loses one. I guess the one-up over Zombie is collecting that one card in compensation. On it's own, this is a relatively decent alien, but looking at the entire collection of aliens for CE, it doesn't bring anything new.
Converter
This one is a kissing cousin to Reborn, at least in that it's the opposite effects. One can draw cards instead of raising ships, the other can discard cards when raising ships. One can discard cards instead of losing ships, and the other can draws card when losing ships. I don't want to think about having both at the same time. Still, it's definitely a good alien to have.
Dervish
This cousin to Trader gets to force everyone to swap hands clockwise or counterclockwise. The upside is that you can potentially give your ally a better hand for winning an encounter (though it depends on where you're sitting). You also lose your other good cards. This might have made for a better Hazard effect.
Grumpus
This geezer forces players to lose a ship from the colony he just vacated (including if you just defeated him). This means players will have to attack him with at least 2 ships apiece, which I don't think it useful for Grumpus. It also means he can slightly weaken players that force him off of a foreign colony (something that I don't think will happen often, if at all). This makes Grumpus a cousin to Guerrilla. I don't see many people choosing this alien, when given a choice. I would have made Grumpus penalize a player on every planet in the system where he lost his colony (or better yet, from every colony). That would have given Grumpus some oomph.
Mouth
This alien is a third cousin to Filch (and probably a lot better). Mouth gets to grab all of his opponents' discarded cards, putting them on his sheet. When there's five or more, he gets to add one to his hand, and the rest are removed from the game. It's more original than a lot of the other aliens in Storm so far, and does seem like it could make for interesting outcomes.
Neighbor
The weaker cousin to Xenophile. Neighbor gets to add his ships in the same system as the encounter to his total. This is great on defense, but the opportunities to add more then 4 (ever) are few and far between. Letting Neighbor count the ships of his ally in the encounter might have been a beefier choice.
Outlaw
This one is pretty much the only alien not recognizably related to an existing alien. While having yet another "add cards to your hand" alien is uninspiring, I do like the dynamic of players being hesitant to ally against Outlaw. Those are the players he draws from.
Sloth
This alien gets to ally last. I can see that being slightly useful, once in awhile. Sure, the first players to ally usually set the tone. If they both ally with the offense, chances are the remaining players will do likewise. Sloth can wait and see. He can also decide to send no ships at all, making him a cousin of Amoeba. Sloth might have been given the option to ally with both sides (if invited), or to even leave his Sloth token in the gate until the next encounter (though this would make him Parasite's cousin).
Tide
Tide and his allies get to draw cards for winning, and Tide's opponents must discard cards of their choice if they win instead. Drawing cards with your team makes Tide a cousin to Animal and General. Forcing the other side to discard is new, though more often than not Tide may be letting those players prune the less useful cards from their hands. Occasionally, they will have to toss something good, especially if Tide has been winning a lot as a main player (and adding the tokens that determine the number of cards drawn/discarded).
Brute
This is probably the most powerful alien previewed. As a main player or ally, he can single out a player on the opposing side by kicking that player's ships out of the encounter unless Brute can look at his or her hand and take a card. It's a Mind's mean cousin. I would have edited the alien to take a card at random from a player for each ship in the encounter, if that player didn't leave the encounter altogether.
Bulwark
This alien is essentially Zombie's cousin. Instead of losing no aliens (like Zombie), Bulwark only loses one. I guess the one-up over Zombie is collecting that one card in compensation. On it's own, this is a relatively decent alien, but looking at the entire collection of aliens for CE, it doesn't bring anything new.
Converter
This one is a kissing cousin to Reborn, at least in that it's the opposite effects. One can draw cards instead of raising ships, the other can discard cards when raising ships. One can discard cards instead of losing ships, and the other can draws card when losing ships. I don't want to think about having both at the same time. Still, it's definitely a good alien to have.
Dervish
This cousin to Trader gets to force everyone to swap hands clockwise or counterclockwise. The upside is that you can potentially give your ally a better hand for winning an encounter (though it depends on where you're sitting). You also lose your other good cards. This might have made for a better Hazard effect.
Grumpus
This geezer forces players to lose a ship from the colony he just vacated (including if you just defeated him). This means players will have to attack him with at least 2 ships apiece, which I don't think it useful for Grumpus. It also means he can slightly weaken players that force him off of a foreign colony (something that I don't think will happen often, if at all). This makes Grumpus a cousin to Guerrilla. I don't see many people choosing this alien, when given a choice. I would have made Grumpus penalize a player on every planet in the system where he lost his colony (or better yet, from every colony). That would have given Grumpus some oomph.
Mouth
This alien is a third cousin to Filch (and probably a lot better). Mouth gets to grab all of his opponents' discarded cards, putting them on his sheet. When there's five or more, he gets to add one to his hand, and the rest are removed from the game. It's more original than a lot of the other aliens in Storm so far, and does seem like it could make for interesting outcomes.
Neighbor
The weaker cousin to Xenophile. Neighbor gets to add his ships in the same system as the encounter to his total. This is great on defense, but the opportunities to add more then 4 (ever) are few and far between. Letting Neighbor count the ships of his ally in the encounter might have been a beefier choice.
Outlaw
This one is pretty much the only alien not recognizably related to an existing alien. While having yet another "add cards to your hand" alien is uninspiring, I do like the dynamic of players being hesitant to ally against Outlaw. Those are the players he draws from.
Sloth
This alien gets to ally last. I can see that being slightly useful, once in awhile. Sure, the first players to ally usually set the tone. If they both ally with the offense, chances are the remaining players will do likewise. Sloth can wait and see. He can also decide to send no ships at all, making him a cousin of Amoeba. Sloth might have been given the option to ally with both sides (if invited), or to even leave his Sloth token in the gate until the next encounter (though this would make him Parasite's cousin).
Tide
Tide and his allies get to draw cards for winning, and Tide's opponents must discard cards of their choice if they win instead. Drawing cards with your team makes Tide a cousin to Animal and General. Forcing the other side to discard is new, though more often than not Tide may be letting those players prune the less useful cards from their hands. Occasionally, they will have to toss something good, especially if Tide has been winning a lot as a main player (and adding the tokens that determine the number of cards drawn/discarded).
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Hazard Icons
The FFG version of Cosmic has always included a subtle marking on 1 destiny card for each color. The rules made clear this was for the Hazard expansion to be released. Hazards are here, as part of Cosmic Conflict, the latest expansion.
However, there are other possible uses for that Hazard icon.
One I'm calling Hazard Aliens works like this:
Each player receives two aliens at start up. One is chosen as their Primary alien, which they reveal at the beginning of the game.
The second alien is the Hazard alien.
Whenever Destiny reveals a Hazard icon, players MAY switch to their Hazard alien. If they do so, it must be during the Destiny phase. At the end of the Resolution phase, players that switched to a Hazard alien must then switch back.
Players must consider that they may not always be a main player during a Hazard encounter. Aliens with Game Setup text should not be used as Hazard aliens. When you switch, your Primary alien is suspended. So, for example, if you are Macron, your ships are now worth only 1; if you are Fungus, the ships in your stack do not add; if you are Filth, everyone needs to watch out for what happens when you switch back.
Other variants for the Hazard symbol destiny cards we've been using so far:
-Offense may draw a card rather than retrieve a ship during regroup.
-Offense draws a Hazard and doesn't reveal it (even if it's his or her second encounter). That Hazard may be played immediately, or on ANY other encounter (even superseding another Hazard).
-Offense draws two Hazards (only if it's a second encounter) and gets to pick which one to play (the other is discarded).
-Only offense may research Tech.
More great ideas are part of this discussion: BoardGameGeek.
However, there are other possible uses for that Hazard icon.
One I'm calling Hazard Aliens works like this:
Each player receives two aliens at start up. One is chosen as their Primary alien, which they reveal at the beginning of the game.
The second alien is the Hazard alien.
Whenever Destiny reveals a Hazard icon, players MAY switch to their Hazard alien. If they do so, it must be during the Destiny phase. At the end of the Resolution phase, players that switched to a Hazard alien must then switch back.
Players must consider that they may not always be a main player during a Hazard encounter. Aliens with Game Setup text should not be used as Hazard aliens. When you switch, your Primary alien is suspended. So, for example, if you are Macron, your ships are now worth only 1; if you are Fungus, the ships in your stack do not add; if you are Filth, everyone needs to watch out for what happens when you switch back.
Other variants for the Hazard symbol destiny cards we've been using so far:
-Offense may draw a card rather than retrieve a ship during regroup.
-Offense draws a Hazard and doesn't reveal it (even if it's his or her second encounter). That Hazard may be played immediately, or on ANY other encounter (even superseding another Hazard).
-Offense draws two Hazards (only if it's a second encounter) and gets to pick which one to play (the other is discarded).
-Only offense may research Tech.
More great ideas are part of this discussion: BoardGameGeek.
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