Welcome to

the Cosmos

Game Overview
In Cosmic Encounter, each player is the leader of an alien
race. The object of the game is to establish colonies in other
players planetary systems. Players take turns trying to establish colonies. The winner(s) are the first player(s) to have five
colonies on any planets outside his or her home system. A player
does not need to have colonies in all of the systems, just colonies
on five planets outside his or her home system. These colonies
may all be in one system or scattered over multiple systems.

Uncountable eons ago, at the dawn of a forgotten age, a race

evolved at the heart of a spiral galaxy. Later, they would come to
be known as the Precursors. They were the first intelligent life in
the universe, and they were alone.
Their technology was nothing short of miraculous, and it allowed
them to explore the universe as they sought out other sentient beings. However, their search was in vain.
Feeling the weight of their solitude, eventually the Precursors
sent out probes to thousands of inhabitable planets. Each probe
contained the seeds of life, with the hope that sentience would
eventually follow.

What is a Colony?
A colony is defined as one or more ships of the
same color on a planet. If a player has one ship on
a planet, he or she has a colony there. If a player
has two or more ships on the same planet, it still
only counts as one colony, composed of multiple
ships. A player may only have one colony on any
given planet. However, a planet may have more
than one colony, provided each colony is controlled by a different player. A colony that a player
owns in her or her home system is referred to as a
home colony, while a colony that a player owns in
any other players home system is called a foreign
colony. Establishing foreign colonies is the key to
winning the game.

After that, no one knows what happened to them. Perhaps they fell
victim to some unknown threat, or perhaps they simply evolved beyond this universe. In any event, by the time the probes children
began to master space travel, the Precursors were gone.
They left behind a mighty legacy, however. At the edge of each
solar system where they planted one of their seeds, the Precursors
left a cache of technology and a hyperspace gate. Through this gift,
their children could find and communicate with each other.
And so they began to do so. Although the younger races did not
completely understand the Precursors technology, they were able
to use it easily enough. Of course, without the guiding hand of the
elder race, the younger races soon fell to squabbling among themselves. Eventually this gave rise to the current age the Cosmic Age.
Cosmic Encounter is a game for three to five players (the
more players the better), playable in one to two hours. In Cosmic Encounter, players take on the role of various alien races
in a struggle for cosmic supremacy. The players must use force,
cunning, and diplomacy to ensure their victory. The winner(s)
will be the first player(s) to have five colonies on any planets outside his or her home system.

During a
Players Turn
On a players turn, he or she becomes the offense. The offense
encounters another player (the defense, determined by drawing from the destiny deck) on a planet by moving a group of
his or her ships through the hyperspace gate to that planet. The
offense and defense invite allies to their side and then, after
alliances are declared, play an encounter card facedown. The

Component
Overview

encounter cards are revealed, and the combination of ships,

encounter cards, and other effects determines the outcome of
the encounter. The offense and its allies may establish a colony
on the planet, they may lose their ships to the warp, or some
other outcome may result. Although both players can see how
many ships each side has in the encounter, neither side knows
which card the other side will play or what other effects may be
brought to bear on the outcome.

The following sections briefly describe and identify the components of Cosmic Encounter.

The Warp

If a player loses the first encounter, that players turn ends and
play passes to the left. If a player wins the first encounter, that
player has the option to have a second encounter. Regardless
of the second encounters outcome, the players turn then ends
and play passes to the left.

This board is the center of the playing area. Defeated ships go here
while waiting to be freed.
The Warp

Alien Powers and

Rules Conflicts

Player
Colony Markers

Each player has an alien power that allows him or her to break
certain game rules. In any case where game rules conflict with
an alien power, the power takes precedence.

These markers are placed on the

track around the warp to record
the players progress towards winning the game.

Components

Player Colony Markers

Hyperspace Gate

This Rulebook
1 Warp
5 Player Colony Markers
1 Hyperspace Gate
25 Player Planets (5 per player)
100 Plastic Ships (20 per player)
50 Alien Sheets
20 Destiny Cards
72 Cosmic Cards
50 Flare Cards
20 Tech Cards
42 Cosmic Tokens
7 Grudge Tokens
1 Genesis Planet
1 Lunar Cannon Token
1 Prometheus Token
1 Alternate Filch Flare

The hyperspace gate is used during

encounters to clearly show
where and how an encounter is
taking place.
Hyperspace Gate

Player Planets
Each player receives five player
planets in that players
color. These five planets
make up the players
home system.

Player Planets

Plastic Ships
Each player receives 20 plastic ships in that players color. The
ships are designed to stack on top of each other in order to save
space while playing.

Destiny Cards
These cards are used to determine a players opponent during his or her encounters. See Destiny on page 7 for further
details.

Alien Sheets
Each of these sheets illustrates a different alien being and
describes its unique power.
5

DESTIN

YELLOW

Have an enc
the yellow ounter with
pla
or her hom yer in his
e system.
However,
if
yellow pla you are the
yer, either:
A) Have
an encoun
ter
with any
oth
your hom er player in
e system or,
B) Discar
d this card
and draw
again.
Y

DESTIN

Cosmic Cards
Cosmic cards come in three varieties:

Encounter Cards

These consist of attacks, negotiates, and the morph card, and

are used to resolve encounters. See Reveal on page 9 for
further details.
40

ENCOUNTER

ENCOUNTER

ENCOUNTER

ATTACK

NEGOTIATE

MORPH

Opposed by Attack:
Higher total (ships +
card) wins.

Opposed by Attack
Loses, but collects
compensation.

Duplicates opponents
encounter card when
revealed.

Opposed by Negotiate:
Wins, but opponent
collects compensation.

Opposed by Negotiate
Players have one minute to
make a deal or lose three
ships to the warp.

40

1. Name: This is the aliens name.

2. Power: This text explains the aliens special power.
The word use in bold italics indicates when a power
may be canceled with a Cosmic Zap.
3. History: This is the aliens history. It has no effect on
gameplay.
4. Short Power Description: An abbreviated explanation of the aliens power for the other players to read.
5. Skill Level: The recommended skill level of the players when using this alien. Green is beginner, yellow is
intermediate, and red is expert.
6. Player Prerequisite: This text explains which role
(offense, defense, main player, ally, etc.) the player
must be filling to use the aliens power.
7. Optional/Mandatory: This text states whether using
the aliens power is optional or mandatory.
8. Timing Strip: The orange part of this strip shows in
which phase(s) the aliens power is used.

40

ENCOUNTER

ENCOUNTER

Attack

Negotiate

Morph

Reinforcement Cards
These can be used to turn the tide of an encounter. See Reinforcement Cards on page 13 for a complete description.

+5

REINFO

RCEM

ENT

+5

Adds to eith
Play after er sides total.
encounter
cards
are reveale
d.
Main

Player
or All
y Only
Start Turn
Regroup
Destiny
Alliance
Launch
Planning
Reveal
Resolution
ENT

RCEM

REINFO

+5

ENCOUNTER

Cosmic Tokens

Artifact Cards
These have a variety of effects. See Artifact Cards on page 13
for a complete description.

These tokens are used by certain aliens (such as the Warrior or

the Tick-Tock) to keep track of certain alien-specific statistics
over the course of the game.

ARTIFA

CT

COSMIC
ZAP
Stops Pow
er. Play this
at any tim
e to cancel card
use of any
one
aliens pow
including
er,
your own.
Tha
power ma
y not be use t
during the
d again
current enc
ounter.

Start Turn

Grudge Tokens

As An

Alliance

y Pla
yer
Regroup
Destiny
Launch
Planning
Reveal
Resolution
CT

ARTIFA

These tokens are used by the Grudge to keep track of players

being affecting by the Grudges power, and their use is explained on the Grudges sheet.

Flare Cards
Flare cards are mixed into the cosmic deck at the start of the
game. Like artifacts, flare cards have various effects. Unlike artifacts, flares are returned to a players hand after being played.
In addition, each flare card is keyed to a specific alien and has
a different effect when played by that alien. See Flare Cards
on page 13 for a complete description.

Other Tokens

CLONE

KEEPS O

ENCOUNT

WN

(If You

Wild

ER

CARD

are No

t the

Clone)
You do not
artifact youhave to discard
any
play. Ins
may reta
tead you
in it
during a and play it aga
in
later enc
ounter.
As Any
Player

These tokens are used with the Tech cards when playing the
optional Technology variant of the game. The use of each is
explained on the corresponding Tech card.

Any Phase

Super

(If You

are the

Clone)
You may
to double choose to receive
up
the norma
of com
l amoun
opponent pensation, if you t
r
has sufci
ent cards.
Main Pla
yer On

ly

Resolution

Tech Cards
Tech cards represent significant technologies that can be
researched by a player when using the optional Technology
variant of the game. Tech cards are described in more detail on
page 14.

Lunar Cannon
Genesis Planet

Alternate Filch
Flare

TECH

COLLAP
SI
HULLS UM

Save Ship.
this tech stayOnce completed,
it is in pla s in play. While
y,
encounter when you lose an
as
or less, one the defense by 5
remain on of your ships may
the planet
of going to
instead
ship coexist the warp. Your
that establis s with any ships
the planet h a colony on
dur
the encoun ing
ter.

Start Turn
Alliance

Regroup
Planning

This is the classic version of the Filch flare card and

has been included for players that prefer it in its
original, somewhat controversial, form. Players
should only use one version of the Filch flare,
returning the other to the box.

Defen

se On

ly

Destiny
Reveal

Prometheus Token

Launch
Resolution

Take

ppon ILCH
ent
sU

sO

Cla

ssic

(If Yo

Wil

sed

Edit

Sup

Any Pha

(If Yo

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u ar
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may
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enco lch an
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invo ter card y other pl
lved
in th whether ayer s us
e enco
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yo
As An
unte u were
y Pl
r or no
ayer
t.
Reveal

ion

Car

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You
eN d
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ot th
the w ay chea
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t an
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deck p (to co d take yo
lo
are noor discar nies) or ur ship
the ac t entitledd pile, ev cards fro s from
and t, you lo to them en when m the
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ip
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You
the w in
do
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Setup

experienced players, the yellow alert aliens can

add desired variety. As for the red alert aliens, they
cause significant changes to the game, and unusual
strategies are called for against them. Red alert aliens
are best used when playing with expert players.

To prepare a game of Cosmic Encounter, carefully follow

these steps.

5. Prepare Flares: The flares dealt to each player are then

taken and added to the cosmic deck. If there are fewer than
five players, extra flares are randomly added to bring the
total in the deck to 10 flares. Shuffle the deck.

1. Set Up Warp and Planets: Place the warp in the center of

the play area. Each player then chooses a player color and
takes the five player planets of that color, arranging the planets however he or she likes. Each player places their player
colony marker next to the warp by the space marked 0.

Note: Players just learning Cosmic Encounter

may wish to play without flares for their first few
games, until they have a stronger grasp of the basic
flow of the game.

2. Place Ships: Each player takes the 20 ships of his or her

color and places four of them on each of his or her planets
in a stack.

Note: There are two different versions of the Filch

flare card included the new version and the classic
version. Players may use either Filch flare, although
they should use only one version during a game.

3. Prepare Destiny Deck: Look through the destiny deck

and remove any cards that refer to player colors not being
used. Shuffle the deck.
4. Choose Aliens: Shuffle the flare cards and deal two to each
player. The player takes the alien sheets corresponding to
the two flares and looks at them in secret, choosing one of
the two aliens to play during this game. The chosen alien is
placed facedown in front of the player, while the other alien
sheet is returned to the box.

6. Deal Hands: Each player is then dealt a hand of eight cards

from the cosmic deck, and the remainder of the deck is
placed near the center of the playing area. Players may look
at their cards, but may not show them to other players.
7. Select First Player: Draw from the destiny deck until a
player color is drawn. That player becomes the first player.
Shuffle the drawn card back into the destiny deck and the
game is ready to begin.

Note: The aliens are rated by recommended player

skill level, shown by the alert lamps in the upper
corners of the alien sheet and the flare cards. If
playing with beginners, the green alert aliens
are most suitable. If playing with moderately

The Turn

If a Color is Drawn
If the drawn card shows a player color, it
indicates the planet system where the offense
must have an encounter. For example, if the
red player draws a green destiny card, the red
player must have an encounter in the green
system. The green player is the defense for
this encounter.

Starting with the first player and continuing to the left, each
player takes his or her turn in order. A players turn consists of
one or two encounters. The first encounter is guaranteed, but
the player may only have a second encounter if he or she wins
the first encounter (or successfully makes a deal during the encounter). Each encounter is comprised of seven phases, which
are described in the following sections.

DESTINY

YELLOW
Have an encoun
the yellow pla ter with
yer in his
or her home
system.
However, if you
yellow player, are the
either:
A) Have an
encounter
with any oth
er pla
your home syst yer in
em or,
B) Discard this
card
and draw aga
in.
DESTINY

If a player draws his or her own color, the

Sample Color
player may either draw again (until the player draws a card that doesnt show his or her own Destiny Card
color) or the player may attempt to drive a foreign colony off
of one of his or her home planets. In this case, the player whose
colony is being driven off becomes the defense (see Driving
Out Foreign Colonies on page 12).

Starting the Turn

The player whose turn it is (the offense) first checks his or her
hand to make sure it contains at least one encounter card. If
it does not, the player reveals any cards remaining in hand,
discards them, then draws a new hand of eight cards. This is
the only time during the offenses turn that he or she may get a
new hand of cards in this fashion. Should the offense run out
of encounter cards later on, his or her turn ends (see Drawing
New Cards on page 13).

When drawing his or her own color, if a player has a home

planet with no ships on it at all (enemy or otherwise), then he
or she may aim the hyperspace gate at that planet to automatically re-establish a colony there with up to four ships from
other colonies. Doing so counts as a successful encounter.

Phases of an Encounter

Note: Some of the destiny cards showing

a player color are marked with a hazard
warning. This has no effect on game play
and will be used in a future expansion.

If a Wild is Drawn
If the drawn card is a wild, the offense may
have an encounter with any player of his or her
choice. For this encounter, the chosen player is
the defense. The encounter must take place in
the chosen players home system.

1. Regroup
Throughout the game, ships will go to the warp when encounters are lost. At the start of an encounter, one of the offenses
ships is retrieved from the warp and placed in one of his or her
colonies (home or otherwise). If a player has no colonies, the
retrieved ship is placed directly in the hyperspace gate.

If a Special is Drawn
If the drawn card is a special, it will explain
the conditions of the encounter. The player
indicated by the destiny card is the defense for
the encounter, and the card indicates where
the encounter must take place. For purposes
of game effects (such as the Shadows execute
ability), specials are treated as though the
card showed the player color of the player
designated as the defense.

2. Destiny
The offense then draws the top card of the
destiny deck. The destiny deck contains
colors, wilds, and specials. If there is only
one card left in the deck, do not draw
it. Instead shuffle the final card and the
destiny discard pile together to form a
new destiny deck and draw from the
Destiny Card Back
new deck.

DESTINY

WILD
Have an encoun
any other pla ter with
yer of your
choice in his
or her home
system.

DESTINY

1. Regroup
2. Destiny
3. Launch
4. Alliance
5. Planning
6. Reveal
7. Resolution

Sample Wild
Destiny Card
DESTINY

SPECIAL
Have an encoun
the player wh ter with
o has the
most foreign
col
(other than you onies
). In
the event of
a tie, break
the tie to you
r left.
The encounter
tak
place in the oth es
er
players hom
e system

DESTINY

Sample Special
Destiny Card

Can Macron Attack

Clones Colony in
Zombies System?

Defending with Nothing?

Even though a player may no longer have a colony
on one of his or her home planets, that player
must still defend it. This can result in some unusual encounters.

No, not normally. Drawing a special, a wild, or

another players color only allows the offense to
attack another player in that players home system. Drawing the offenses own color only allows
the offense to attack another players colony in the
offenses home system. Barring special abilities,
there is no way for the offense to attack another
players colony when it is located in a third players
home system.

For example, assume Filch and Parasite each have

two ships on one of Macrons planets. Macron
has no ships on the planet those ships have
already been sent to the warp by the other two
in a dastardly attack. So, when Clone has an
encounter with Macron in Macrons home system,
Clone can aim the hyperspace gate at that planet
and face zero defending ships. Although Filch
and Parasite are present on the planet, it is still
Macrons planet, and Macron is the defense. Of
course, since Macron has nothing to lose in the
encounter, its quite possible for Clone to gain an
easy colony. However, Filch and Parasite arent
defending the planet, so their colonies are safe
as well (see the Bystanders sidebar below for
further details).

3. Launch
The offense takes the hyperspace gate and points it at one
planet in the system indicated by the drawn destiny card.
The offense then takes one to four ships from any of his or her
colonies, stacks them, and places them on the wide end of the
hyperspace gate. The offense may take ships from his or her
home colonies or foreign colonies. Ships may all be taken from
the same colony or from different colonies. A player should be
careful not to remove all of the ships from a colony, however,
as he or she will lose the colony by doing so (see Stripping a
Planet of Ships on page 13).
The defense may not add or subtract ships from the targeted
planet. Note that, in a home system, the defense may not
have any ships on the targeted planet, in which case he or she
defends the planet with zero ships.

Bystanders
Colonies on the defenses planet which are not
part of that home system (that is, they are not the
color of the home system) do not count towards
the defensive total and are not affected by the
outcome. They are simply bystanders. When a
player is attempting to drive a foreign colony from
his or her home system, only one players colony
can be chosen to be the defense in the encounter.
All others are ignored.

Main Players
The offense and defense are also known as the
main players.

4. Alliance
When do I Draw
New Cards?

Next, the offense and defense ask for allies to help them. This
happens as described below.

Note that players do not get to draw a new card

at the end of an encounter, the end of the turn,
or even when they run out of cards. A player only
draws a new hand of eight cards when he or she
next needs to use an encounter card and has none.
This is either at the start of the players turn or
when the player is the defense during the Planning Phase. This is explained in further detail on
page 13. Just remember that typically a player
must use all encounter cards in his or her hand
before he or she gets new ones. Players should
look for the best situation to use a card. The key
to Cosmic Encounter is to find ways to make
the best use of each card in a players hand. Players will find that cards that seem weak in one
situation will be useful in another.

First, the offense announces which players he or she wishes to

have as allies. The offense may not invite the defense as an ally.
These players should not respond to the offenses invitation yet.
Next, the defense invites allies. He or she may invite any players (except the offense) to be allies, even those already invited
by the offense.
Once allies are invited, players other than the offense and
defense choose sides. Starting with the player to the left of
the offense and continuing clockwise, each player accepts or
declines invitations to ally. A player may only ally with either
the offense or the defense not both. A player may choose to
ally with neither side.
If a player allies with the offense, the allying player places one
to four of his or her ships (taken from any colonies) on the
hyperspace gate. A player allied with the offense is referred to
as an offensive ally.

6. Reveal

If a player allies with the defense, the allying player places one
to four of his or her ships (taken from any colonies) next to,
but not on, the targeted planet. A player allied with the defense
is referred to as a defensive ally.

The offense and defense turn their cards faceup simultaneously

and a winner is determined.

Only after a player has allied with a side (or declined all invitations) and committed ships does the next player accept or
decline an invitation.

If Both Players
Reveal Attack
Cards

5. Planning

Each main player adds the

number on the card he or she
revealed to the number of ships
on his or her side. If you are the
offense, you add your card value
to the number of your ships on
the hyperspace gate plus any allied
ships on the hyperspace gate. If
you are the defense, you add
your card value to the number
of your ships on the planet
involved in the encounter
plus the number of allied
ships next to the planet.
The player with the
higher total wins, with
ties going to the defense.

The offense and the defense now each select an encounter card
from their hand (an attack, negotiate, or morph) and place it
facedown in front of themselves. If the defense has no encounter cards in hand, he or she may reveal any remaining cards
in hand, discard them, and then draw a new eight-card hand
before selecting a card during this phase. If the offense has no
encounter cards in hand, his or her turn ends immediately, as
described under Drawing New Cards on page 13.

Example: The Zombie (green) is the offense and has drawn a

destiny card instructing him to attack the Clone (red). He places
four ships in the hyperspace gate and points it at one of the Clones
planets that contains two defending Clone ships. The Zombie asks
both the Oracle (yellow) and the Sorcerer (blue) to be offensive
allies. The Clone asks only the Oracle to be a defensive ally. The
Oracle (to the left of the Zombie) has two offers. She chooses to ally
with the Clone and places two ships next to Clones planet, but not
on it (bringing the total to four). The Sorcerer allies with the Zombie, adding two ships to the hyperspace gate (bringing the total to
six). Both the Zombie and Clone play encounter cards facedown,
then reveal them. The Zombie plays an attack card with a value
of 10. Added to the ships on his side, he has a total attack value of
16. The Clone is defending with four total ships but plays a card
with an attack value of 15, bringing his total to 19. The Clone
wins, keeping the Zombie off his planet.

If One Player Reveals an

Attack Card and the Other
Reveals a Negotiate Card
The player who played the negotiate card loses the encounter
automatically. However, the losing player will get to claim
compensation by taking cards from the belligerent opponents
hand. See Compensation on page 11.

If Both Players Reveal

Negotiate Cards
An attempt is made to reach a deal. Attacks have been put
aside in favor of diplomacy. All allies on both sides return their
ships to any of their colonies. They get nothing. The main
players have one minute to make a deal. At this point, they can
negotiate a mutually agreeable deal or play hardball and try to
negotiate a sweet deal their opponent cant refuse. The negotiating players should be careful, however, since failing to make
a deal sends three of their ships to the warp each.
In a deal, a player may trade cards and/or allow his or her
opponent to establish one colony on any one planet where the
player already has a colony. In this way each main player may
gain a new colony and/or new cards. Any of a players ships that
are not in the warp can be used to establish this colony. Cards
must come from the players hands, not from the deck. Any
ships remaining in the hyperspace gate after the deal return to
any of the offenses colonies. Allies are never included in a deal.
If no agreement is reached within one minute, the deal fails.
The players cannot agree to do nothing as a deal either a card
or a base must change hands for a deal to be successful.
Example: The Anti-Matter and the Clone are the main players
in an encounter. Both play negotiate cards facedown. When they
are revealed, the players now have one minute to reach a deal.
The Clone wants a colony (she is behind in colonies) and agrees to
give the Anti-Matter her three lowest cards in return for a colony
(the Anti-Matter likes low cards due to his alien power). The
Anti-Matter agrees to this and the deal is done. The Clone gains
a colony and places two ships on it. The Anti-Matter gets three
attack cards with values of 4, 6, and 8.

If Either Player Reveals

the Morph Card
The morph card becomes an exact duplicate of the opponents
encounter card when revealed. For instance, if the players opponent reveals a negotiate, the morph card becomes a negotiate. If the players opponent reveals an attack 20, the morph

10

If a Deal was Made

card becomes an attack 20. Resolve the encounter normally

as though both sides played the duplicated card. Once the encounter is resolved, the morph card returns to normal.

The terms of the deal are carried out as agreed upon. If this
was the offenses first encounter, he or she may have a second
encounter.

Note: There is only one morph card in the game, so it

is impossible for two players to use one simultaneously.
Were it possible, both players would lose the
encounter, sending all ships involved to the warp.

If a Deal Failed
The main players each lose three of their ships of their choice
to the warp. If this was the offenses first encounter, there is no
second encounter, and play passes to the left.

Resolution

Compensation

Once the outcome of the encounter has been determined, it is

time to resolve the encounters effects.

If the Offense Won

All the ships on the hyperspace gate (the offenses ships plus
any allies ships) are placed on the planet, thus establishing
(or possibly reinforcing) a colony for the offense and each
offensive ally. Each player establishing a colony advances his
or her player colony marker by one space around the warp.
The defenses ships on the planet plus any defensive allies
ships defending the planet go to the warp.
Other ships on the planet do not go to the warp. They were
bystanders and not involved in the encounter.
If this was the offenses first encounter for the turn, he or
she may have a second encounter.

If the Defense Won

When one player plays a negotiate and his opponent plays an

attack card, the player who played the negotiate card gets to
collect compensation. That player must randomly take one
card for each ship he or she lost to the warp (not counting any
allies ships they go to the warp without compensation) from
his or her opponents hand. If the players opponent doesnt
have enough cards to provide full compensation, the player
takes the opponents entire hand of cards.

After Resolving
the Encounter
Once the effects of the encounter are resolved, discard the
revealed encounter cards to the discard pile. If the offense won
the encounter (or successfully made a deal) and this was his or
her first encounter, the offense may have a second encounter.
Otherwise, play passes to the left.

The ships forming the already established colonies on the

defending planet stay there.
All the ships on the hyperspace gate (the offenses plus any
allies ships) go to the warp.
Defensive allies return their allying ships to any of their
colonies (even if they are different from where they came
from). Defensive allies do not get to land on the planet they
just helped defend.
Defensive allies also get a special bonus called defender
rewards: For each ship a defensive ally contributed to the
defense, that player must draw a card from the deck or take
one of his or her ships from the warp. Move ships from the
warp to any of the players colonies of his or her choice.
The player may combine the options, for example, drawing
two cards and moving two ships from the warp (provided
that the player had committed four ships to the successful
defense that turn).
If this was the offenses first encounter, he or she may not
have a second encounter, and play passes to the left.

11

Compensation
vs. Rewards
Compensation is the term for cards a player gets
to steal from his or her opponent after losing an
encounter by playing a negotiate vs. the opponents attack card.
Rewards, on the other hand, are ships retrieved
from the warp or cards a player gets to draw from
the deck as a reward for sending ships to help the
defense successfully win an encounter.
The two terms are often confused, so be careful
not to get them mixed up.

Shared Wins

Timing
Conflicts

It is possible, through alliances and successful negotiations, to

have more than one player gain five colonies at the same time.
In this case, the players share a win.

The timing strip along the bottom of each alien sheet and all
non-encounter cards generally states when the components
game effect may be used. However, if there is still a timing
conflict (when two players invoke contradictory special effects
simultaneously) between powers, artifacts, and other game
items and effects, resolution takes place in the following order:

Losing Alien
Powers
When three or more of a players home colonies are eliminated,
the player loses his or her alien power and turns his or her alien
sheet facedown. The loss of the power occurs immediately, and
a player cannot use it one last time. If a player draws his or
her own color from the destiny deck (or a special card designating him or her as the defense), the player may attempt to
re-establish a colony in his or her home system. If the player
regains his or her power by having a colony on at least three
home planets, turn that players alien sheet faceup once more.

Zapping Powers
Occasionally, a game effect (such as the Cosmic Zap artifact)
is said to zap a power. This can only happen when the power is
used as described on its alien sheet. The effect of that powers
use is then canceled and that power may not be used again
until the end of the current encounter.
Some parts of some alien powers (such as
Warriors ability to add tokens to its alien
sheet and Zombies ability to free ships as
part of a deal) do not require the power
to be used in order to occur, and
therefore cannot be zapped.

1. The offense.
2. The defense.
3. Players who are not the main players, starting with the
player to the left of the offense and proceeding clockwise.

Driving Out
Foreign
Colonies
If a player draws his or her own color from the destiny deck (or
a special card that designates him or her as the defense), the
player may try to eliminate a foreign colony in his or her home
system. This type of encounter is similar to those described
above, except the offense points the hyperspace gate at another
players colony in his or her own planet system. The offense
chooses which players colony is the target. That player becomes the defense for that encounter. Remember that all ships
of one color on any planet make up only one colony. All other
colonies on the planet are bystanders.
Note: If there is a planet in a players home system
with no ships on it, aiming the hyperspace gate at
that planet allows the player to automatically reestablish a colony on that planet with up to four
ships from any of his or her colonies. Doing so
counts as a successful encounter.

Home Planets
Without
Colonies
As stated earlier, if a player has no colony on a home planet
that he or she is defending, the player defends the planet normally except that his or her ship count is zero.

12

Stripping
a Planet
of Ships

Artifact Cards

As soon as a player removes the last of his or her ships from any
planet, that player no longer has a colony on that planet. Any
ships involved in the encounter cannot return to that planet.
Ships retrieved from the warp cannot return to that planet.
That player has no colony there. If a player has no ships left on
one of his or her home planets, he or she must still defend it
(with zero ships). If a situation arises where a player must relocate
ships but he or she has no colonies anywhere on the board, those
ships go to the warp.

Drawing
New Cards
If the offense has no encounter cards (attacks, negotiates, or
morphs) at the start of his or her turn, the offense must play (if
possible) or discard any non-encounter cards, draw eight new
cards, and continue his or her turn.
If the offense runs out of encounter cards later during his or
her turn and needs to play one, the offenses turn ends immediately. (This might happen for several reasons, including
paying compensation after an encounter, an alien power, or a
card effect.) If this happens, the offense returns any of his or
her ships on the hyperspace gate to his or her colonies. Allies
also return their ships to any of their colonies.
If the defense has no encounter cards when he or she is
required to play a card in an encounter (normally during the
Planning Phase), the defense must play (if possible) or discard
any non-encounter cards, draw eight new cards, and play
one of them in the encounter. If the defense doesnt draw any
encounter cards in the new hand, this process is repeated as
many times as necessary.

Card Types
Sometimes game effects, such as the Plague artifact, refer
to card types. The different card types are: attack, negotiate,
morph, reinforcement, flare, and artifact.

Artifacts are devices created by the Precursors and left behind for possible use by their children. These powerful items
allow players to further alter the outcome of encounters and
the game. Artifact cards are clearly marked. They cannot be
played as encounter cards but may be played at other times. All
artifact cards are discarded after they have been played. Each
artifact card tells you when and how it may be played.

Reinforcement
Cards
Reinforcements allow players to tip the scales of an encounter
after encounter cards have been revealed. Reinforcements cannot be played as encounter cards. Instead, during the Reveal
Phase, after encounter cards are revealed, the offense, defense,
and any allies may play reinforcement cards on either side of
the encounter (this does not necessarily have to be their own
side). The reinforcement card adds to that sides total for the
encounter. Players may continue playing reinforcements in
response to other reinforcements until all players pass. Once all
players have passed on the opportunity to play further reinforcements, the encounter is resolved with the new totals.

Flare Cards
Flares are powerful and unique devices built by each alien to
radically change the outcome of encounters. Flares cannot be
played as encounter cards, but may be played at other times.
Flare cards are returned to the players hand after being played
instead of being discarded. A flare cannot be used more than
once per encounter, and a player may use no more than one flare
per encounter.
Normally, when a player plays a flare, the wild flare effect on
the card is used. However, if a player plays his or her aliens
own flare (such as the Zombie playing the Zombie flare), the
super flare effect on the card must be used. A player cannot
normally use the wild flare effect on his or her own flare. The
exception to this is when a player loses his or her power or has
it zapped (see page 12). Without an alien power, a player no
longer has access to the super flare effect of his or her alien.
The player may only use the wild flare effect on his or her flare
until he or she regains access to the alien power.

13

Variants
This section contains several rule variants that players may
enjoy using.

Four Planets
In order to play a shorter game (recommended when playing
with fewer players), players may wish to use this variant. During setup, each player only receives four player planets instead
of five. In addition, only 16 ships are used for each player, with
four ships being placed on each planet as normal. Finally, the
players only need to have four foreign colonies to win instead
of five, and only need two home colonies to maintain use of
their alien power instead of three.

Alien Interactions
There are many ways for the different alien powers to interact, and sometimes players will need to
carefully examine the powers involved to determine this interaction. As an example, imagine an
encounter between the Oracle and the Sorcerer.
Looking at their alien sheets, it can be seen that
although both powers occur in the same phase,
the Oracles power to foresee takes place before
the Oracle selects a card, while the Sorcerers
power of magic takes place after both players have
selected a card. So, the Oracles power is used
first, forcing the Sorcerer to play his encounter
card faceup. The Oracle then looks at that card
and selects her encounter card, playing it facedown. Now that both encounter cards have been
selected, the Sorcerers power may be used. If the
Sorcerer wishes, he may switch encounter cards
with the Oracle before revealing the Oracles card.
Of course, the Oracle knew that before he played
his card, so does the Sorceerer choose the card in
front of him or not?
So, if an alien interaction seems like it doesnt
work, take a moment to carefully work through
the powers involved, and in almost all cases, the
interaction should become clear.

Note: If using this variant with the Technology

variant, remove all cards with a research number of
8 or more from the tech deck before play. These cards
are not used with the Four Planets variant.

Hidden Powers
In this variant, players leave their alien sheets facedown after
selecting them at the start of the game. While a players alien
sheet remains facedown, its power cannot be used. A player
may turn his or her alien sheet faceup at any time in order to
use it. Once turned faceup, the players alien sheet remains
faceup for the rest of the game.

Rotating Powers
In this variant, the offense draws a new alien sheet at the start
of his or her turn. The offense may then choose to keep either
the old or new alien sheet, discarding the other. If the hidden
powers variant is being used, new powers enter play facedown.

Freewheeling
Flares
In this variant, players may use as many flares as they wish
during each encounter, although each flare may still only be
used once per encounter. This variant is recommended only
for more experienced players who are comfortable with the additional complexity this introduces to the game.

Technology
Tech cards represent revolutionary technologies that players
can research during the game. Each tech card has an effect and
a research number on it, which represents how long it takes to
develop the technology.

Setup
If players decide to play with this variant, shuffle the technology deck and deal two tech cards to each player after completing the normal game setup. Each player then looks at his or
her two tech cards, selects one, and discards the other, faceup,
next to the technology deck. The selected tech card is placed
facedown in front of the player, and is not considered part of
his or her hand.

14

The player returns the researching ships to any of his or her

colonies, as before, but the tech card is discarded, faceup, next
to the technology deck instead of being used.

Note: If using this variant with the Four Planets

variant, remove all cards with a research number of 8
or more from the tech deck before play. These cards
are not used with the Four Planets variant.

Note that technology cards may have many different effects.

Some of them are discarded after being used, while others
remain in play for the rest of the game once completed.

Using Technology
At the start of any players Regroup Phase, before the offense
retrieves a ship from the warp, each player may research their
tech card, complete their tech card, or do nothing.

Getting New Tech Cards

Researching a Tech Card

To research a tech card, the player takes one of his or her ships
from any of the players colonies and moves it on top of his or
her tech card. The ship is now researching that tech card. Once
a ship is researching a tech card, it cannot be removed from
that tech card until the tech card is completed.

Completing a Tech Card

To complete a tech card, the player turns the tech card faceup.
If there are a number of ships researching the tech equal to
or greater than the tech cards research number, the tech is
completed. The player returns the researching ships to any of
his or her colonies. The completed tech card remains in play
and may now be used. If the number of ships on the tech card
is lower than its research number, the tech card is abandoned.

If a player is eligible to have a second encounter during his or

her turn, he or she may give up the opportunity to have a second encounter and instead obtain a new tech card. The player
draws a number of tech cards equal to his or her current foreign colonies plus one, selects one, and discards the others. The
selected tech card is placed facedown in front of the player and
must be researched before it can be completed, just as before.
There is no limit to the number of tech cards a player can have
facedown in front of him or her, but a player may only research
or complete one tech card during each Regroup Phase. If the
tech deck runs out, shuffle the tech discard pile to make a new
tech deck.
Note: The Machine may give up its second or later
encounter to obtain a new tech card, but doing so
ends its turn, regardless of its alien power.

Losing Researching Ships

Ships researching a tech card are considered to be in that
players home system, but may not participate in any encounters. Players may not aim the hyperspace gate at a tech card,
but ships can be lost from a tech card in other ways (such as
the Shadows power).

15

Reference

Credits

A Players Turn

Game Design: Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter

Olotka, and Bill Norton
Game Development: Kevin Wilson
New Alien Design: Cedric Chin, Benjamin
Corliss, Alan Emerich, Brandon Freels, Ken
Hubbard, Gerald Katz, Eric M. Lang, Jack
Reda, Duke Ritenhouse, Matt Stone, and
Kevin Wilson
Editing: Sam Stewart
Graphic Design: Sabe Lewellen, Andrew Navaro,
and Brian Schomburg
Additional Graphic Design: WiL Springer
Art Direction: Zo Robinson
Alien Art: Felicia Cano, Ryan Barger, and
Andrew Navaro
Additional Illustrations: Andrew Navaro
Plastic Ship Design: WiL Springer
Lead Playtester: Mike Zebrowski
Playtesters: Mark Alvater, Jan Louis Argilagos,
John Arnold, Troie Baker, Bryan Bornmueller,
Matthew B. Carey, Todd Etter, Corey Finkle,
Darci Fosnaugh, Rob Fosnaugh, J.R. Godwin,
Mark Hartman, Aaron Hauptmann, Carl
Hotchkiss, Esther Hotchkiss, Eric Howard, Jeff
Kahan, Daniel Karp, June King, Eric M. Lang,
Joseph Lang, Sabe Lewellen, Monte Lewis,
Thyme Ludwig, Mark Mitchell, Rick Nauertz,
Steven Odhner, Jack Reda, Duke Ritenhouse,
Nate Sandall, John Skogerboe, Jason Allen Lee
Smith, Jason Steinhurst, Jordan Stroup, Pam
VanMuijen, and Kevin Wood
Special Thanks: Jack Reda, Duke Ritenhouse,
Steve Jackson, and Team XYZZY
Production Manager: Gabe Laulunen
Executive Developer: Jeff Tidball
Publisher: Christian T. Petersen

The offense (the active player) has one encounter

with another player. If the offense wins that encounter or successfully makes a deal, the offense
may have a second encounter with another player.
Afterwards, play passes to the left.

Phases of an Encounter
1. Regroup: The offense retrieves one ship from
the warp.
2. Destiny: The offense draws a destiny card to
determine the defense and target system.
3. Launch: The offense aims the hyperspace gate
at one of the defenses colonies in the target
system and places up to four ships in the gate.
4. Alliance: The offense invites allies, then the
defense invites allies. Starting to the left of the
offense and continuing clockwise, allies join sides
and send up to four ships each to help their side.
5. Planning: The offense and the defense each select an encounter card and play them facedown.
6. Reveal: The offense and the defence turn their
encounter cards faceup and add up their totals.
7. Resolution: Players determine the winner of
the encounter and resolve any effects from the
encounter.

Timing Conflicts
When timing conflicts occur, resolve effects in the
following order:
1. The offense.
2. The defense.
3. Players who are not the main players, starting
with the player to the left of the offense and
proceeding clockwise.

2008 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

No part of this product may be reproduced without specific permission. Cosmic Encounter published under license
from Eon Products, Inc. Fantasy Flight Games, and the
FFG logo are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.
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