January 2014 Recap

Welcome to February!

January was a good month of gaming for me.  I got sick, so I missed one of my Friday night game nights, but I still managed to play a bunch of games.  I logged 33 game plays and got to play 3 games I've never played before.  I finally won my first Star Trek Attack Wing tournament in Hilmar, and I'm in the lead with 2 months to go in the Dominion War OP.

I released my annual Top Games list, this year marking my first Top 50. If you haven't taken a look at that, please do.  My sister also published her Top 25 which should give you a different opinion on things.

Just a quick list of what I actually played in January

4 Times

• Resistance: Avalon

3 Times

• Escape: Curse of the Temple
• King of Tokyo
• Love Letter
• Star Trek Attack Wing
• Tricks & Treats

2 Times

• Article 27
• Cosmic Encounter
• Takenoko

1 Time

• Eight Minute Empire
• Eminent Domain
• Forbidden Desert
• Hanabi
• Relic Runners
• Spaceopoly
• TransAmerica
• Zooloretto

Game Acquisitions
I received a copy of Tricks & Treats from the publisher, NAZCA Games.  It was an unexpected added bonus from the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund Auction.  I bought the first expansion for Escape, mostly to get the 6th player, but also for some added variety.

Closing Thoughts
I'm not sure where this blog is going to go over the next few months.  I've never wanted writing for this to be a chore.  I write when I have things to say and time to say them.  I still love boardgames, I love playing them with awesome people.  I've met a lot of amazing people through gaming.  All of that being said, I want to enjoy this too, and lately I haven't.  That's why I haven't posted a lot.  You can see that I'm playing a lot of the same games these days, and I can't really review the same games again.  There are some games I haven't reviewed that I should, like Love Letter and Escape.  I'll get to those at some point.

This is by no means goodbye, but it is a potential start to the end.  

My Top 50 Games (as of Jan. 1 2014) Part 5 10-1

Welcome back to my top 50 games list as of the start of 2014.  My top 10 has 6 of the same games as last year.  Even then, 4 games make their debut in my top 10.  I'd wager that there won't be another year with more than 4 new games in my top 10.  I played a lot of amazing games for the first time in 2013, and I think the amount of new games on this list reflects that.


#10 Article 27  New

Article 27 is a pure negotiation game.  Everyone is trying to get their way, but most of the time, no two players want exactly the same thing.  Each round is 5 minutes of chaotic negotiation, but oh my, what a fun 5 minutes.  I really enjoy Article 27 because the game plays quickly, but it packs a big punch in that timeframe.

#9 Star Wars: X-Wing  Down 4

X-Wing drops for a couple of reasons.  The main one is further down on this list, but the second is really the lack of support from FFG.  Production is constantly delayed, and they don't communicate with the fans.  Their tournament support is a bit lacking in comparison to another company.  The other big reason is that I want missions and/or a campaign.  Dogfights are fun in X-Wing, but they aren't everything that I want to experience in the game.  The game is still a lot of fun, but others are more fun.

#8 Incan Gold  Up 1


Incan Gold gets a bump because I played it a lot in 2013, and I really enjoyed every play of it.  It's a really fun push your luck game that I rarely win.  I usually run at the same time as someone else, run too early, or run far too late.  Still, the game is quick, and has a lot of laughs and good tension throughout.

#7 For Sale  Up 3

For Sale moves up because it's become a game I can play with anyone.  It's not a super deep game, but there are still important choices to make every turn.  It plays blazingly quick, around 20 minutes, which is the perfect filler for me.

#6 7 Wonders  Down 3


7 Wonders moved down simply because I'm playing it less.  The game is still a lot of fun, but I feel like I'm missing something when I play it.  There's still a lot to the game that I haven't delved into, so I need to get it back to the table for that.  It's a good design in my mind, with a lot of ways to win.  Adding in Leaders and Cities has given me a lot of variety, and I'd be happy with the game exactly as it is.  Of course, more wonders add variety, and another expansion might give me that little something I'm missing, so I'm not really sure.  Anyways, I enjoy 7 Wonders.  It's one of my go to games for a larger gaming crowd.

#5 King of Tokyo  New

King of Tokyo is a great dice chucking game.  I'm a sucker for any game where I get to roll lots of dice and use them to do something.  What better thing to do with your dice results than rampage Tokyo and attack the other monsters?  The game does suffer from player elimination, especially if you go out early, you can be waiting around for awhile.  Even then, KoT is a fun game to watch, so I don't mind that too much, but others might.

#4 Ticket to Ride Down 2

Ticket didn't really move down in my opinion, it's just that #2 and 3 jumped over it.  Ticket to Ride is a really fun, yet simple train game.  The game is fairly simple, with only 3 choices on each turn, but how players utilize those choices makes a huge difference in their game.

#3 Resistance: Avalon  New

I picked this up on a whim.  I played normal Resistance, and wasn't a big fan, but after watching a play through of this online, I thought it just might work.  Turns out I was right, and 50 plays in 2013 later, it's #3 on my list.  I mainly play it on Friday nights with a larger group, and we get really into the game.  We play at least 3 times every meeting, which has led to some discoveries of tells.  It has turned us all into better liars, which probably isn't the best thing in the world, but we've all promised to use those powers for good, not evil.

#2 Star Trek: Attack Wing  New


This is the aforementioned game that knocked X-Wing down.  Yes, the model quality is worse than X-Wing by a wide margin, but that pales to the enriched gameplay and missions that exist in the game. The tournament support has been fantastic, and more amazing things are coming this year.  I came into the game with a lot of skepticism, thinking it would essentially be X-Wing in Star Trek colors, but boy was I wrong.  The gameplay is so much deeper, with a lot more options in squad building and actual game play.

#1 Cosmic Encounter No Change

Cosmic holds on to the #1 spot, though it almost lost it to Star Trek.  Cosmic is a game I love every time I play it, and there is never a bad game of Cosmic.  I know it isn't a game for everyone, but for those people who enjoy a bit of chaos, and having to work together, but find the opportune moment to make a power play, this is the game for you.




What did I learn in 2013?
The biggest thing I learned is that there are great games coming out all the time.  My personal gaming tastes are changing all the time, and just about any game could find it's way onto my list.  My top 5 games have almost nothing in common as far as mechanics go.  I like them all for completely different reasons.  To me, that's a great testament to my desire for variety.  Stay tuned for this list next year.  I'm sure many things will change again.

Cosmic Alliance Review

Cosmic Alliance is the 3rd expansion to Cosmic Encounter.  The box contains a new color (white), and all the materials for an extra player, 20 new powers, extra cards for a large game, and rules to play teams.

I've had Alliance since early March, but I wanted to wait on a review until I had a chance to play teams.  Fortunately, I got that chance at the end of March when I visited Westmont.  I played with 6 players, 2 of whom had never played, and 1 who had only played twice and barely remembered anything, so essentially 3 new players.  Due to that, we decided to have the 3 who remembered the game pair up with the 3 newbies and formed teams that way.

I like the aspect that you always have your teammate as an ally.  It is a great way to introduce people to the game, and is now my method of choice for helping.  You may have to bend some rules and let a teammate see cards so they can explain things, but that just makes for a better team effort.
I give the team rules a big thumbs up.  It's a great way to teach the game, and a great way play with large groups.

Let me take a moment to talk about the extra cards.  Two words - Power Creep.  Another Attack 30 and a Reinforcement +8??? Those are just too good.  Might as well have another 40.  Also, all even values on the Attack card, further skewing things to even.  Where were the 17s, 19s, 15s, maybe even a 21.  The choices for cards here seem odd, and lacking creativity.  It's nice to have more cards for the main deck, but the community could have come up with a better set.

The new powers are fun.  People may complain about this power being too good, or this one being too weak, but you just have to go with it.  Cosmic is more about your hand and your ability to persuade others than the actual power you have.  It's simply called make the best of what you have.  Sure, the design team should come out with better powers, but once they're there either don't play with them or learn to play the power.  I like the challenge of figuring out how to play Observer well, or Hacker.  Each power has it's strengths and weaknesses, and the fun of Cosmic 200 games later is finding new ways to exploit a power's potential.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Horde, or as we like to call them, Cosmic Scrubbing Bubbles, or Duckies.

Until next time, have fun playing games.

Keystone Games

Many people enjoy playing board games, but the main question is how to start a collection of games.  Sure, it's "easy" to go out and buy 20 different games, but that costs a lot of money.  A lot of people are very careful with how they spend their money these days, so I want to take a look at games that give you a lot of bang-for-your-buck, and that give you a good variety of games.

The goal here is to give you some ideas for games that give you different play experiences, work for a good player range, and don't cost all that much money.  Consider this the starter set of games. It can be expanded, games can be interchanged, but these are good ones to start with, and games that will give you a good collection.

Now, not every category is relevant to every person, nor is this list comprehensive, but I feel it's a good place to start.

The Short Family Friendly Game
We need a game or two that is short enough to play while dinner is close to ready, or a game before bed on a weekday.  Some good suggestions: Incan Gold, Can't Stop, No Thanks!, High Society.
For this, I recommend Tiki Topple.  The production quality here is excellent, and the game plays in under 30 minutes, typically closer to 20 minutes, but can be made shorter or longer by changing the point total to win.  For more on Tiki Topple read my spiel on it in the  Top 42 list.

Party Game
Every gamer needs a good game they can pull out with a large group of people and have a good time playing.  It shouldn't be too long, and certainly not complex, but it should be something to get people talking.
Here, I offer a few suggestions.  Apples to Apples is a good one to get people talking.  Werewolf or Mafia is great with a group of people who know each other, also great for a large group.  Tumblin' Dice is a lot of fun, but it's rather expensive, so it loses out on the Bang-for-your-buck aspect.  Wits and Wagers works well for a more intellectual gathering.  All of that being said, if you have to own just one party game, Say Anything gives you the best bang for your buck.  It's ~$20, you can find it in most Targets and Toys 'R Us, as well as various online stores, and it was designed to get people talking about the questions.  It's a great way to get to know other people in a fun and creative way.

Co-operative game
I think that a lot of people view boardgames as only competitive endeavors, but there are dozens of games where players are required to work as a team in order to achieve victory.  I own several of these games, and I enjoy the ones I have for the most part, but the best one in terms of Bang-for-your-buck is Forbidden Island.  It's the cheapest co-op game I own, but it's also on the same level of fun as the rest.
Some other co-op games that would be good for a collection, Pandemic, Space Hulk:Death Angel the card game, Defenders of the Realm.

Team game/co-op with a Traitor
Sometimes you don't just want to work together as a team, winning and losing together, so here's a category for you.  For me, three games really stand out for this category: Shadows Over Camelot, Battlestar Galactica, and The Resistance.  This category boils down to what you want out of the traitor mechanic.  The Resistance is the shortest game, and you're trying to figure out who's against you, so they can't hurt your ability to win.  I don't own the Resistance, but it seems like a good time.  Shadows Over Camelot is a great theme implementation. The game boils down to finding the one traitor, if there even is one, and deciding when to win certain quests, and what can be lost.  Battlestar is pure theme, with some decent mechanics.  It's probably the most balanced of the games with traitors, but there's still a lot of luck. My advice would be to get The Resistance.  It has a good player range, and it's the cheapest game of the three here.

Dexterity Game
Here's a category where even the best strategy can be mitigated by how well you can do some physical task.  The best known game in this genre is either Crokinole or Pitch Car, but both of these get fairly expensive.  So let's take a look at some less expensive dexterity games.  Catacombs blends flicking with strategy, but even then it's a bit expensive.  Pitch Car Mini is another good option, still pricy, but feasible. Ultimately this category comes down to 2 games for me - Bisikle/Roadsters and Sorry Sliders/Sorry Sliders 2.  Roadsters has the better quality components, but Sorry Sliders 2 just seems more fun. There's a lot more you can do in terms of hazards and track arrangement with what comes in the box.
Therefore, the pick for dexterity game is Sorry Sliders 1 or 2.

Random Skills Game
This is for those games that involve some kind of skill that isn't normally seen in games, but that people use in life sometimes.  These typically aren't high strategy games, but they have their place on our gaming shelves.  Two games come to mind for me: Dixit and Aargh!Tect.  Dixit is a game about telling a concise story as a clue so that at least one, but not all, players can figure out which card is yours.  You also have to figure out other players' clues when you aren't giving them.  This isn't all that abnormal, but the story-telling aspect isn't seen often.  Aargh!Tect is unlike any other game I've ever seen.  There are two teams competing to arrange pieces to form the building that the manager has. The manager has to give directions to the builders, but the manager has an inflatable club, and can only use caveman language and certain motions. When players get it right they get 1 tap from the club, but when they get it wrong, it's 2 taps.
If cost wasn't an issue, Aargh!Tect would be my choice based on the experience alone.  You grow to fear the club coming down on you, but it's all in good fun.  Dixit is the cheaper option, and probably better for some groups, so it's really up to you.

2 Player Only Game
There are a lot of 2 player games on the market, and many of them are good games.  These aren't my forte  since I rarely play only 2 player games, but I have a few I like, and some others I know enough about to recommend.  I have four 2-player games that I play every so often: Memoir '44, Mr. Jack, 1960:The Making of the President, and Twilight Struggle.  All three games have good parts and drawbacks for me.  If you like political games, either 1960 or Twilight Struggle is a good call depending on if you want to focus on US Politics or Global Events of the Cold War.  Mr. Jack is good if you're looking for a deduction game, but it lacks great replayability in my mind.  Memoir '44 is a good WWII game with pretty good mechanics, and a ton of expansions.  From what I've heard, Lost Cities the card game is a great two-player game.  It's been described as a great couples game.  So even though I haven't played Lost Cities, I'm going to recommend it as the 2 player game to own.

Introduction Game
There are three big games when it comes to intro style games, and I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three.  Those three are of course Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride.  They're all good games, but if I had to pick one that works to teach people about hobby boardgames, I'd have to choose Ticket to Ride.  Your mileage may vary of course,  but the variety of Ticket maps gives players more options.

Advanced - non brain-burning Game
I suppose we can call this category the next step games.  There's a lot of games that could fit in here, but I'll give you a few of my favorites.  Small World and 7 Wonders both fit here.  Yes, I know a lot of people say 7 Wonders could be an intro game, but I really think it's a next level game.  Kingsburg would also be a good fit, though it has a fair amount of dice, it also has strategy.  Any of these games would work well depending on your predilections, but my choice here is Cosmic Encounter.

Brain Drain Game

Here's a category for those times when you want to sit down and play a game for 2+ hours and really get into it.  I know these kind of games aren't for everyone, but sometimes it's nice to have a complicated game to play.  I've personally only played one of these, Agricola, and I enjoyed it. So Agricola is my recommendation.  Personally, I'd rather play a variety of games than one brain-burner, but Agricola is still a good one to have around.  Some other games that fit the category here: Puerto Rico, Brass, Le Havre, Caylus, Twilight Imperium III. None of these games are cheap, but Agricola is reasonably priced and has a lot of replayability in the box.

Card Game

This isn't for your traditional deck of cards game, but rather for a game that is all, or essentially all cards.  This includes the better CCGs, like Magic and Pokemon, Living Card Games such as Call of Cthulhu, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, as well as deck-building games like Ascension, A Few Acres of Snow, Thunderstone, and my personal pick Dominion.  The base game is very reasonably priced, and has 3,268,760 differ possible card sets.  I'd say that's good variety.  

Dice Game

The last thing that every collection needs is a dice game.  There are many games that use dice, but this is for a game that makes dice the main or only portion of the game.  There are a lot of good games that are basically just dice, LCR and Liar's Dice come to mind; but the best dice game I've played is Roll Through the Ages. It's fairly inexpensive and has a lot of variety and strategies to it.

Recap

Here's the list of my recommendations

• Tiki Topple
• Say Anything
• Forbidden Island
• The Resistance: Avalon
• Sorry Sliders 1 or 2
• Dixit
• Lost Cities
• Ticket to Ride
• Cosmic Encounter
• Agricoa
• Dominion
• Roll Through the Ages 

If you wanted to start a game collection, or boil a collection down to 12 games, I think this list would give you a good variety of themes, styles, and player range (2-10).

Is this comprehensive? By no means.  I don't even own 3 of the games, though I've played 2 of them.  

I suppose my main point here is, when you're looking for new games, variety is key.  Expansions to what you own are great, and take up less shelf space, so that gives you more of the same type of play experience.

Sorry for the short novel on building a collection, but I feel it's a necessary thing to have.

Top 42 Final Part (3-1)

Well, not bad for a 3 week journey, especially compared to the 3 month journey that was the Dice Tower top 100.  It's been fun working through the list, and I hope to have fun doing it again next year.

For those who know me well, the top 3 are no surprise.  I will say that the top 2 are likely to be fixed for years to come, but Fleet Captains is the one I can see taking over #2, and maybe someday #1.
As always, my list is my own, and I know it doesn't appeal to everyone, but you should know my work well enough by now to know that I am fair in my assessments, and that these games are truly great ones which I fully believe I'll be playing in 5 years and longer.

#3 Ticket to Ride
For more details on Ticket, check out my review.  Ticket to Ride is a great family game.  It's my go-to game for my immediate and extended family, it gets played about every other time at my gaming family, and it's a lot of fun.  I love working out the best route, then reworking it as I get blocked off.  It can be frustrating at times, but winning or losing this doesn't really bother me, so long as we all had a good time.  I've played every official map in existence so far except for India, but that's going to happen soon.  I've even tried Dice and Alvin and Dexter.  The only thing I haven't played bearing the Ticket name is the card game, but what's the point in that?  Sure there's luck in Ticket, but the game is very strategic, and perfect for the time length.  Like I said in my review, I'm a sucker for trains, I had birthday parties at the train museum, I own a Lionel train set.  Ticket is a great fit with that theme, and a classic that every hobby gamer should either own or at least have the ability to play occasionally.

#2 Dominion

Here's a game I haven't talked about much on the blog.  I've spent more hours playing Dominion than just about all my other games combined.  Now, that has to do with playing on BSW and now Isotropic, and those sites account for ~3000 plays.  I'm also organizing a tournament online for friends, so if you're interested send me an e-mail at bitsofboardgames@gmail.com and let me know.  For those of you who don't know Dominion, it's a card game where all players start with a basic deck which they use to buy better money and action cards to help them buy better victory cards.  Some games are short, ~15 minutes, some are long ~1.5 hours (that's my longest, not a usual thing) but most games are fun.  The random set-up of possible action cards make the game different, and I like to think that 1 different card can change the way a specific game would play out.  Dominion started the whole "deck building" fad, and with the expansions still coming it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon.  It's a great blend of strategy and luck; luck from shuffling, strategy from purchases, but strategy usually wins out. I'm always happy to teach this online, just look for me on dominion.isotropic.org I play under the SN mathguy89.

#1 Cosmic Encounter

Big shock here for people who know me, or anyone who read the Cosmic review I wrote really early on.  For me, this is what a boardgame should be.  There's great player interaction, loads of variety, controlled chaos, the ability for players to mess with each other, and memorable games.  I can't deny that it takes awhile to learn Cosmic.  You'll spend the first game just learning all the phases and what everyone can actually do.  The next few you'll finally see the powers interact, and realize that you shouldn't invite everyone to ally all the time.  Then, one time, it will click.  You'll see the game come together, powers, flares, other variants, and it will make sense.  You may not win that game, you may take 50 games before you win one, but eventually you will realize that Cosmic isn't so much about winning as it is having a good time conquering the galaxy with friends and foes alike.

I'm currently in a forum game on BGG, and while it looks like I have no shot at winning, I'm still having fun and it was a great way to test out two new powers before they're printed.  This is the game I look forward to playing. This is the game I read news articles about to find any hint of new expansions.  This is the game I'm helping to develop the fan expansion set. For all those reasons, I can't put any game ahead of Cosmic, and I don't actually know of a game that could beat it when I really think long and hard.  Sure, I play other games more often, but I've had a Cosmic only game day multiple times, and that doesn't happen with other games.

Wrap-up
First, it was a lot of fun making this list.
Second, it was a lot of work making this list.
I hope you've enjoyed reading my explanations and little talks about why each game is where it is.  I can already tell that there's going to be movement next year, since I'm really just getting into the swing of my main gaming time.

Comment as to what you liked, what you didn't like, etc about this list.
Also feel free to post your own top 3-5 games as a comment here.

Replayability

One of the key factors I look for in a game is replayability, or the ability for the game to be interesting over repeated plays.  The subject is very subjective, because what defines interesting, and what defines repeated?  I have to address the matters in a personal way, so my biases will not only creep in, but this article will be oozing with personal bias.

First some definitions.  Interesting to me in a game means that the players have to figure out how to deal with each other's actions and figure out what to do in order to win.  Specifically, players can do something that gives them the element of surprise, or do something unexpected that makes others adapt.
Repeated: a desire to play more than one game within a short amount of time. I know this is still vague, so for me, with the knowledge that I play games about 3 times a month, usually for long game days on the weekends, sometimes more, sometimes less.  All of that is to say that playing a game about 10-15 times in a year is repeated.

If you take a look at my list of games played two main things stick out. First, there are a few games I have played a lot, and secondly, a lot of games I have played a few times.

Here's some of the play count list, without the game names

• 207, 189, 74, 45, 45, 37
• 32, 32, 28, 27, 23, 21

For those who know me well, it's no surprise that Cosmic Encounter and Dominion take spots 1 and 2, and there's a great reason for that; they are replayable games.  Those two are perhaps the best examples of near infinite variety. Assuming a 5 player game of Cosmic, there are currently 5,273,912,160 possibilities of alien power combinations.
And for Dominion as of the Hinterlands expansion and including the BGG promo cards (total of 157 cards) there are 6,790,908,493,212,710,000,000 which is 6 sextillion, 790 quintillion, 908 quadrillion, 493 trillion, 212 billion, 710 million possible set-ups to play, which can be doubled if you want to worry about a colony game, or no colonies.

Needless to say, neither of those numbers will ever be approached in my lifetime, yet alone in games I play.  Also, my apologizes to the non mathematically inclined, didn't mean to scare you with large numbers.  So why those two games as my top two played?  Well the answer is fairly straightforward. I like the way those games play in their simplicity (once you know what's going on), and then the things that give them variety make me want to try the different combinations.  I think the lack of changing features is an aspect of why the big name games don't do well in comparison.  There isn't a new challenge to figure out, or some new strategy to explore, it's all the same again and again.

Now, everything I've presented leads to the possibility of most games meeting the criteria.  At first I thought that might be a problem, but I realized that the great thing about hobby boardgames is that they are vastly replayable.  There are hundreds of games published each year, yet I'd wager only a fraction of them see even 10 plays.

There was a bit of an outcry over Risk Legacy, which has components for 15 game plays, and then the modifications are done.  At first this bothered me, and then I looked at how many games I had played more than 15 times.  For me, that answer is oddly enough, 15.  Now, I expect that to nearly double by the end of the year, but still, if you get 15 plays out of a $30-$40 game, that's not bad.  It comes down to $2-$3 per play for one person, which is fairly cheap entertainment.

Replayability seems to be at war with new games.  I love opening a game, learning the rules, figuring out new strategies; but I realized in writing this that the true measure of a game for me is how much I play it in the long run.  Carcassonne was the first game I ever owned, getting it back in 2007.  Back in those days I didn't log my plays, else it would be in the 15+ category, but it's a game I'm still playing today.  Same thing with Ticket to Ride, Cosmic Encounter and Pandemic, which are all games from my early days of gaming.  It may take awhile to get to 15 plays, but the good ones are worth the time.  It's also nice to play a game without having to reference the rulebook.

I hope this encourages you to pull an old favorite off the shelf and give it a play.  I did with Pandemic this past weekend, and though we lost miserably twice (getting 8/9 starting cities all in the red area is just plain rough), we were all glad we played it again.

Comment with the game you've played the most, or a few of them for an extra entry into the Say Anything Contest. And don't forget to enter the contest, you've got until the end of the month.
There's a link at the top of the page for all the details.

Gaming History pt 2

When I last left my history in gaming we were at Christmas 2007 and Ticket to Ride Marklin. (thats the German map for anyone wondering).  Enter January 2008 and my return to Westmont College.  One of my section mates brought back his Catan set and we started looking for anyone who knew or was willing to learn.  We found a couple of players, and eventually had a core group consisting of 4.  We played just about every weekend, sometimes twice for the next 4 months.  We mostly played Cities and Knights, but every once in awhile we'd add Seafarers in or just play the base game for a change.
After that I think we were all a bit burnt out on Catan, and even with a summer off, we still didn't play much in the years that followed.

That summer I ordered Ticket to Ride US for myself and that was the beginning of what my parents and friends continue to roll their eyes over.  Not that TtR was a bad game, in fact it is probably my sister's favorite game, and one of mine as well.  That next semester at school, so we're now in the fall of 2008 game play slowed down as school was more intense, but we managed games of Carc and Catan every so often.  Then I finally saw that FFG was reprinting Cosmic Encounter and things were never the same.

When I came back to school in January a friend of a friend came by my room and asked if I'd like to play Starfarers of Catan.  I had never heard of this, but he said it was similar to Catan and that I would enjoy it.  So I went with him, learned the game, and ended up winning my first time which didn't please this friend. That was the start of a beautiful friendship, because after that game I said "I have this game called Cosmic Encounter, would you like to learn sometime?" That next weekend I had a few people playing, and he came and watched.  When we were done, he asked if we could play another game with him in it this time.  We agreed, and he became a mainstay at the table which lead to 75 plays of the game and many happy and frustrating hours.  I gained much more than a friend through that, as his then girlfriend, now wife also played, as well as another couple.

Gaming to me is more than playing a game; it's about making lifelong friendships and having a good time with people that I might not have otherwise known had it not been for boardgames.

So to all the people I've met through games, thanks for all the great times, and sorry for the hat throws.


Plans for the future
I plan on introducing you to my "gaming family" at some point in the near future, and that will probably be the last of my history series.  I'll give more of my history with an individual game as I work through my reviews.  On that note, I plan to review 1 or 2 games a week, so stick with me as I work through those.  I have a review queue at this point, so I'll be posting the top 5 or so as a poll for you all to vote on, and I'll take the top one(s) and get those done first.

As always, I'm open to any comments, questions, snide remarks, etc.  Just comment below and I'll get back to you.

Cosmic Encounter Review

Components 

The components in this game are top notch. FFG puts out good quality in all of their games, and this is no exception. The stackable ships just scream for a power like Fungus, hopefully for the expansion. The one thing that I will say against the components is the Prometheus ship that is a tech. Tech is a variant after all, and as others have said I would much rather have high quality in other things, than an optional variant.

Components 9.5/10 

Game Mechanics 

The basics of this game are pretty simple. When it is your turn, you randomly draw a card from the destiny deck to determine who you have an encounter with. Once that it determined, you place ships into the "hyperspace gate," point at a planet in the defensive system, ask for allies, play cards, and determine which side has a higher total. Losing ships go to the warp and can be retrieved at the start of your turn. This goes on with players taking turns until one or more players has 5 foreign colonies. There isn't much innovative about the mechanics, but the alien powers are what makes it.
Mechanics 8/10 

Player Interaction 

For me, this is where the game shines. When encounters occur, players have the option of playing attack or negotiate cards. Some players will be more inclined to make deals, where a foreign colony can be traded for a foreign colony, thus aiding both players aim to achieve 5 foreign bases. Other players may choose to play attack cards, where the higher total wins. If the offense has the higher total, they gain the colony, and the defense loses it. Whatever route a player chooses, more likely a combination of both, makes the game interesting. Alliances can tip the battle to one side's favor, or help make things level. There are always risks and rewards for either choice.
Interaction 10/10 

The Twist 

The thing that gives this game replayability are alien powers. Each player will have the chance to break a game rule with their alien power. Some are as simple as not having to discard the card you use to attack with, while others can make the loser of a challenge win and the other way around. The Fantasy Flight version included 50 different alien powers, but other versions such as Eon or Mayfair have included upwards of 75. Point of that is that there are a lot of things that can be done with expansions.

Learning Curve 

While the basics of Cosmic Encounter are rather simple; alien powers complicate the game. Depending on the group and how many new players are there, it can take a few games to get the hang of it. The downside of most of the cards is that asking for help can reveal what you can do, and someone who knows the game can take advantage of it. The best thing I've done when teaching a new player is have someone who knows the game around to answer questions, and guide a player through tricky situations.
Learning Curve - Moderate-Long

Why I like this game 

I played 110 games in under 7 months, now over 200 games in 3 years, and have played multiple games on other versions; it can be replayed, over and over. It is rather difficult to be completely out of a game, though the occasional bad game will happen. It has a huge amount of player interaction which can be a bad thing, but it turns out to be a balancing factor. There's not a lot of luck in the game, but it's also not pure strategy. The game is very tactical, and knowing when to have allies, and when to go it alone can be a crucial thing. Ultimately people make the game. It is almost impossible to win a game with no help from any other player at the table.

Why I don't like this game

The randomness of the destiny deck means that who you fight is out of your control. Because of that, some players can form more permanent alliances, but that can be mitigated by the fact that they can fight each other at any point. Some of the add-ons in expansions complicate things, as does Tech in the base game.  

Overall Score 10/10 [on player interaction and the sheer number of possibilities in the game.]

Will you like this game? 

It's really hard for me to put it in a category.  It's unlike anything else I've ever played, so there isn't a way to compare it.  I've played with a bunch of people from ages 10-55 and it works. A disposition to science-fiction will help players enjoy the game, but it's not dripping with theme. It's not a great space combat game, it's more complicated than a play a card and see which one is higher, so if you're looking for either, this isn't a game for you. The various alien powers certainly are a love it or hate it aspect. The game thrives on player interaction, and there is some amount of luck.  If you like the ability to plan turns ahead, this probably isn't the game for you; but if you like thinking on your toes and adapting, you just might enjoy the challenge of Cosmic Encounter.

Final Thought

If you ever get a chance to play this game, give it a go. It's been around since 1977 in various forms, and a lot of people have enjoyed it. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, I'm always happy to help however I can.

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