Long answer: Cosmic Encounter (CE) is hard to describe. It's a board game, it's a
card game, it's a power game, it's a beuracratic game, and yet
at the same time it is none of these things.
It's not a role-playing-game, though ever single RPG'er that I've
taught CE to has loved it.
It is initially a simple game, but then the players are given
powers that let them bend, change or break the rules. It was
the inspiration for Richard Garfield's famous game 'Magic: The
Gathering,' but unlike M:TG, you only need to buy it once.
Well, sort of. CE has been published by a number of gaming
companies in a number of countries, and geeks like me like
to get them all.
In 2020 I finally managed to make it to the
"Galactic" Championship
and made it to the finals, where sadly the game was thrown
by a kingmaker. That's a story for another time.
It's fun, basically. That's it.