Occasionally we feature a post from our friends at The Malted Meeple. Their Game of the Month series highlights one of the many games in their libraries at Ravenwood Castle and The Malted Meeple. They briefly describe the game, how to play it, and why they like it.

Game: Cosmic Encounter 

This month’s Game of the Month is really out of this world! October’s Game of the Month is a Malted Meeple staff favorite, Cosmic Encounter. With the new expansion Cosmic Eons on the horizon, this is the perfect time to feature this game as our game of the month!

In Cosmic Encounter, players take on the role of a leader of a powerful alien race, dreaming of cosmic domination.  But the other players and their alien races have their own dreams of galactic conquest! Who will be the first to spread their influence outside their home colonies and win the game?

A game of Cosmic Encounter begins with each player choosing a color to represent their alien race. Players form their home colonies by taking their five planets and placing their ships on top of each of their planets. The Destiny Deck, Warp, Hyperspace Gate, and Cosmic Deck are placed within reach of the players. The players are given two flare cards which will help them randomly select their alien powers. The flare cards are then shuffled into the Cosmic Deck. The ultimate goal of Cosmic Encounter is to establish five colonies outside your home system. The methods you chose are up to you.  Warfare, negotiation, and subterfuge are all viable options!

In Cosmic Encounter, a player’s turn is broken into several phases. During a player’s turn, they will become the offensive player and will have to encounter one of their opponents. This opponent is referred to as the defensive player. When ships are lost they are placed in the Warp. During the Regroup Phase, the player retrieves one ship from the Warp and may place it on any of his colonies. Next, the Destiny Phase begins when the player draws a Destiny Card to determine the defensive player. The offensive player begins the Launch Phase by taking the Hyperspace Gate and pointing it at one planet belonging to the defensive player. The offensive and defensive players may then invite any of the other players to join them during the Alliance Phase. These players may then choose to join either the offense or defense, or to abstain.

There’s more to read about Cosmic Encounter game play and expansions on the Meeple Moments blog.