2019Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka
- Videos
- 83
- Creators
- 33
2 - 6 players120 - 180 minVery heavy weight

1991Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, Peter Olotka
Mostly playthroughs. Cosmic Encounter is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 1 reviews and 5 recorded sessions.
From BoardGameGeek
Players represent alien races that are seeking to spread themselves onto five foreign worlds. To accomplish this, they make challenges against other players and enlist the aid of interested parties. But alien powers, which are unique to each race, give players ways to bend or outright break some rule in the game. This is an updated version of the original Eon Cosmic Encounter (1977). Major differences between this version and the Eon version: Flares in the Mayfair version are "use once and discard", as opposed to Eon's version, which lets players keep them in their hands and reuse them. Mayfair introduced phase / timing icons on all Powers, Flares, and Edicts to clearly indicate when each could be used. Mayfair introduced new Edicts, and several new Alien Powers with corresponding Flares. Moons (in the More Cosmic Encounter expansion) have text written on their backs (instead of only a number which you used to refer to a separate list). Moons were also divided into four categories: Full Moons have a major effect on the game; Half Moons are more moderate in their effects; Quarter Moons have a minor effect; Cheese Moons introduce silliness to the game. Lucre (also in the More Cosmic Encounter expansion) was revamped with additional uses, and players were required to spend it to affect their challenge totals. Mayfair introduced a new card: Reinforcements (also in the More Cosmic Encounter expansion). Expanded by: More Cosmic Encounter Cosmic Supreme (allows 2 more players) Re-implements: Eon's Cosmic Encounter (1977) Re-implemented by: Simply Cosmic, Mayfair's simplified version (which can be added to allow 4 more players)
Cosmic Encounter has 6 videos from 2 creators: 1 review and 5 playthroughs. They date from 2023 to May 2025.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Cosmic Encounter 1991 Mayfair edition" by SpeedwayTag. To see it played, watch "How Complicated Can Cosmic Encounter Get? [4]" by Boarderline Games, one of 5 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Dune, Cosmic Encounter, Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy and Dune, also by Bill Eberle.
2019Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka
2 - 6 players120 - 180 minVery heavy weight
2008Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, Peter Olotka, Kevin Wilson
3 - 5 players60 - 120 minMedium weight
2021Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka, Greg Olotka, Jack Reda
2 - 4 players20 - 60 minMedium weight
1979Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka
2 - 6 players60 - 180 minHeavy weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Players represent alien races that are seeking to spread themselves onto five foreign worlds. To accomplish this, they make challenges against other players and enlist the aid of interested parties. But alien powers, which are unique to each race, give players ways to bend or outright break some rule in the game. This is an updated version of the original Eon Cosmic Encounter (1977). Major differences between this version and the Eon version: Flares in the Mayfair version are "use once and discard", as opposed to Eon's version, which lets players keep them in their hands and reuse them. Mayfair introduced phase / timing icons on all Powers, Flares, and Edicts to clearly indicate when each could be used. Mayfair introduced new Edicts, and several new Alien Powers with corresponding Flares. Moons (in the More Cosmic Encounter expansion) have text written on their backs (instead of only a number which you used to refer to a separate list). Moons were also divided into four categories: Full Moons have a major effect on the game; Half Moons are more moderate in their effects; Quarter Moons have a minor effect; Cheese Moons introduce silliness to the game. Lucre (also in the More Cosmic Encounter expansion) was revamped with additional uses, and players were required to spend it to affect their challenge totals. Mayfair introduced a new card: Reinforcements (also in the More Cosmic Encounter expansion). Expanded by: More Cosmic Encounter Cosmic Supreme (allows 2 more players) Re-implements: Eon's Cosmic Encounter (1977) Re-implemented by: Simply Cosmic, Mayfair's simplified version (which can be added to allow 4 more players)
Designers
Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Bill Norton, Peter Olotka
Artist
Gerald O'Malley
Publisher
Hexagames (I)
Categories
Mechanics