Rules for Reverse Hexes
The following is a description of the basic rules for Cosmic Encounter using the Mayfair format.
Introduction
Cosmic Encounter is a highly social, science fiction game for two or more players. Three factors set this game apart from others: intense interaction among the players, different strategies for each player, and frequent surprises.
In Cosmic Encounter, each player represents a different race of alien beings seeking to gain control of the universe. As a Cosmic Encounter Player, you must try to defend your native planetary system while sending your forces through hyperspace to encounter alien beings from other worlds. You may make alliances with other players, sharing the risks in hopes of greater gains, or you may choose to go it alone. Aiding you in your hopes for cosmic supremacy is a special power which is unique to your race that may give you an edge. But beware, your opponents have powers of their own, making them equally dangerous and unpredictable.
Setup
Place the warp hex in the center of the table. You should now attach the planetary system hexes to the warp. Next, take the 20 tokens of each color and place four of these tokens on each of the five planets of the corresponding planetary system hex. A planet is one of the five colored circles in a planetary system hex. Each player now chooses a color to play.
Separate the Destiny Cards from the rest of the deck. If you are playing with fewer than four players, remove all Destiny Cards with the name of the colors that are not being played written on them. Shuffle the remaining Destiny Cards and place them face down as the destiny pile.
Shuffle the Alien Power Cards and give one at random to each player. After reading your Alien Power Card, stand it up behind your planetary system hex, with the picture facing the warp and the description facing you. Before play begins, you should describe to the other players what your Alien Power does.
The rest of the cards make up the Challenge Deck. Shuffle these cards and deal 7 cards to each player.
Cut the Destiny pile. The color that comes up determines who plays first. If a wild card, comet or instructional destiny comes up, cut the destiny pile again. Play proceeds clockwise around the warp.
Description of Alien Power Cards
Each player takes the role of an alien race determined to gain control of the universe. The Alien Power Card describes the unique power that each race possesses. Players can use the unique power of their race to break certain rules in the game. Exactly how and when the alien powers can be used is described on each of the Alien Power Cards. These powers may contradict existing rules. That's OK; the text of the Alien Power Card takes precedence over the rulebook.
Some powers are automatic and are triggered by specific situations. Other powers are optional allowing their player to decide when they should be used. Optional powers say "may" or "can" to indicate that their use is at the player's discretion.
How To Win
The object of the game is to establish bases on other players' planets, called external bases. A base consists of one or more of your tokens on a planet. You win by being the first player to have five bases outside your own planetary system. If two or more players gain a fifth external base simultaneously, then a joint win is declared for those players that have five external bases.
Overview of Play
A player's turn consists of two phases. These phases are called the pre-challenge phase and the challenge phase. The challenge phase may consist of either one or two challenges. A challenge consists of several stages which include retrieving tokens from the warp, determining your opponent, asking for allies, and playing Challenge Cards.
Description of Icons
To make it clear when the many different actions and powers may be used during the game, each is assigned one or more icons. These icons correspond to specific game phases or stages. These icons appear on Flare, Edict, and Alien Power Cards indicating when those cards or abilities can be used. These icons also are pictured in the Challenge Description section.
There are two icons found on some Alien Power, Edict, and Flare Cards that are not linked to a specific phase or stage of a challenge. The first icon, an infinity symbol, indicates that the card or power can be used at any time. The second one, showing a miniature planetary system hex, indicates that your power is used during the setup at the beginning of the game.
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The black space in the central hexagon is called the warp. Whenever tokens are lost, they are placed in the warp.
Tokens in the warp cannot be used in challenges. These tokens are out of the game until you retrieve them and return them to your bases.
A Player's Cards
You can have an unlimited number of cards in your hand You may not discard cards unless specifically required to.
Description of Flares and Edicts
Flares and Edicts are cards found in the Challenge Deck. They can be used by any player (not just the players involved in the challenge) unless otherwise specified. Flares and Edicts can be played anytime during the phase or stage represented by the icons on the card. They are played face up and take effect immediately. Discard Flares and Edicts after they are played.
Flares are cards that correspond to the Alien Powers found in the game. If you have a Flare Card that is different from your Alien Power or you have lost the use of your Alien Power, you can use the effect described under "Wild". If you have the Flare Card that corresponds to your Alien Power, you can use the effect described under "Super".
Edict cards are played like Flares, but do not correspond to an Alien Power. Each Edict card indicates when and how it can be played.
Description of the Pre-Challenge Phase
On your turn, you are the offensive main player. During the pre-challenge phase, all players may play any prechallenge phase cards that they want. Cards that say "at the start of a challenge" can be used during this phase. The icon for this phase is the same as the icon for Challenge Stage 10.
Then examine your hand. If you have one or more Challenge Cards (Attack or Compromise Cards), you begin the challenge phase. If you have no Challenge Cards in your hand, discard your hand, draw seven new cards and return to the beginning of the pre-challenge phase. You may not draw a new hand except during the pre-challenge phase, and if you run out of Challenge Cards prior to playing a Challenge Card in Challenge Stage 7, your turn ends immediately with all tokens on the hyperspace cone returning to their owners' bases, and play passing to the left.
Description of a Challenge
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Stage 1. Retrieve a token from the warp. |
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Stage 2. Determine who the offensive main player will be challenging. |
There are five types of destiny cards which can be drawn:
Regular Destiny Cards, Reverse Destiny Cards, Wild Destiny Cards, Instructional Destiny Cards, and Comets.
Regular Destiny Card
A Regular Destiny Card displays a single color. This color indicates both the player and the planetary system in which the offensive main player must make a challenge. For example, if you are pink, and you draw a tan Destiny Card, you must make a challenge against the tan player somewhere in the tan player's planetary system. You can either challenge a tan player's base directly, challenge an empty planet in the tan system, or challenge a planet that contains other players' tokens but none of tan's tokens. Tan would always be the defensive player, simply defending with zero tokens if there no tan tokens there. Other players' tokens on the planet are not at risk and are not involved in the challenge.
If you turn up your own color from the Destiny pile, you have a choice. You may turn over the next destiny card and ignore this one, you may attempt to regain a base in your own planetary system, or you may attempt to eliminate another player's base in your system where have a base. To regain once of your lost bases, you must challenge another player's base in your system where you do not have a base. If you chose to challenge a player in your system, announce who you are attacking, and that player becomes the defensive player.
If you draw your own color and one of your home planets has no tokens of any color on it, you can regain a base simply by placing one or more of your tokens on the planet. This counts as one of the two challenges for your turn and is considered a successful challenge. Go directly to Challenge Stage 10 at this point.
Reverse Destiny Card
The Reverse Destiny Card has a black picture of the hyperspace cone on it with the color of the player to be challenged on the outside. If this card is drawn, turn over the hyperspace cone so that the reverse side is up. This will reverse the rewards that allies receive for being involved in a challenge. Offensive allies will receive rewards as if they were defensive allies and defensive allies will receive rewards as if they were offensive allies. The main players will get the same benefits for winning as with the regular hyperspace cone.
Wild Destiny Card
Two of the Destiny Cards are Wild Destiny cards which contain all four colors and do not have the name of a color written on them. These cards allow the offensive main player to select any planetary system to attack, as if that color had appeared on the destiny card. There is a Regular and a Reverse Wild Destiny Card.
Instructional Destiny Card
An Instructional Destiny Card does not indicate a color to challenge but has instructions instead. The instructions tell you whom to challenge. If more than one player meets the conditions of the Instructional Destiny Card, then you may choose any player who meets the specified conditions to challenge in that player's planetary system.
Comet
Comets modify the rules of the coming challenge. Simply note the effect and draw another Destiny Card to determine who the offensive main player will challenge. If more than one Comet appears on the same challenge, use only the first Comet drawn, ignoring all others.
Defensive Main Player
If you have been chosen as the defensive main player, you must determine whether or not you have any Challenge Cards. If you have no Challenge Cards (either Attack or Compromise Cards), play any legal cards that you want, and then discard your hand and draw seven new cards. As the defensive main player, you continue to play, discard and draw a new hand until you have one or more Challenge Cards.
 | Stage 3. Place tokens on the hyperspace cone and select the planet to be challenged. |
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Stage 4. Offensive main player asks for allies. |
While it may seem as though you would always want allies, you may want to exclude one or more players or may want no allies at all. This is because allies stand to gain for their support. A winning offensive ally gains a base along with the winning offensive main player. You can specify which players you are inviting to become your allies. The players respond to this invitation in Challenge Stage 6, below.
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Stage 5. Defensive main player asks for allies. |
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Stage 6. Players accept or decline alliance invitations. |
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Stage 7. Main players play Challenge Cards face down. |
Only Attack and Compromise Challenge cards are played face down in a challenge. Edict, Flares and Reinforcements are never played face down during a challenge.
If you are the defensive main player and do not have a Challenge Card at the beginning of this stage, play any legal cards that you want, discard your hand, and draw seven new cards. Repeat this procedure until you have a Challenge Card.
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Stage 8. Reveal Challenge Cards simultaneously. resolve the challenge. and apply results. |
Situation A. Both Main Players Played Attack Cards
If both main players played Attack Cards, you each add the number on your Attack card to the number of tokens on your side (your own plus your allies'). The player with the higher total wins (in case of a tie, the Defending player wins). At this time, players may play Flares, Edicts and Reinforcements which may affect the results. The challenge is resolved and the winner determined only after all players have finished playing Flares, Edicts, and Reinforcements.
If you win as the offensive main player, move all tokens from the oval end of the cone to the planet, establishing a base for yourself and for each of your allies. Defensive tokens on the planet and defensive allies' tokens on the cone's ring go to the warp.
If you win as the defensive main player, keep your tokens (if any) on the planet. All the tokens on the oval end of the cone go to the warp. Defensive allies return their tokens from the cone to any of their bases. The defensive allies receive one card from the Challenge Deck or one token from the warp for each token committed to the challenge. The reward can be a combination of cards and tokens. Any tokens retrieved from the warp must be placed on one of the player's bases.
Reinforcement Cards
Reinforcement Cards add to one side's total in a challenge after cards are revealed and all other effects are computed. If both players play Attack cards, any player involved in the challenge can play Reinforcements to raise their own side's total or to raise the opposing side's total. Players can play any number of Reinforcements in a challenge.
Situation B. One Player Plays a Compromise Card and the Other Player Plays an Attack Card
If one player plays an Attack Card and the other player plays a Compromise Card, the player who played the Attack Card wins, with all the same effects as if both players had played Attack Cards. All of the losing side's tokens still go to the warp. If you played the Compromise Card and were willing to compromise you get consolation because your opponent attacked you while you attempted to deal.
As Consolation, draw one card from your opponent's hand for each of your tokens lost in the challenge, not counting your allies' tokens. (Zombie receives consolation for each Zombie token involved in the challenge). The allies get nothing. If your opponent does not have enough cards for full consolation, you get your opponent's entire hand.
Situation C. Both Players Play Compromise Cards
If both players play Compromise Cards, they have one minute to make a deal. All tokens on the cone return to their owner's bases before the deal is made.
You can give your opponent cards or a base as part of a deal. To give your opponent a base, you allow your opponent to move tokens to a planet where you already have a base, thus forming a new base for that player. You can never gain more than one base as part of a deal. Deals can also involve any number or type of cards. The deal can be for a specific card, such as a Warp Break, or a specific type of card, such as an Attack Card greater than 12.
In addition, deals can include promises to perform any action that a player can normally perform. These promises are not binding; you can refuse to perform the action.
In all deals, at least one player must receive something beyond the promise to perform an action. The deal need not be equitable; one player could gain nothing.
If the players cannot reach an agreement within one minute, each of the main players loses three tokens of their choice to the warp. The reverse cone has no effect on a deal, and allies are not affected by any deal.
Reverse Cone
When the reverse cone is face up, determine the winner of the challenge in the normal way. The main players get the same benefits for winning, but their allies' rewards are reversed. If the defensive main player wins, defensive allies get a base on the defensive main player's planet. If the offensive main player wins, offensive allies return their tokens to their bases and receive rewards of card or tokens from the warp for each token committed to the challenge. All losing allies still go to the warp.
Loss of an Alien Power
If you have fewer than three bases in your own planetary system, you can no longer use your Alien Power. If you lose the use of your Alien Power, you must turn your Alien Power Card face down and continue to play in the normal manner but cannot use your power, even if its use is otherwise automatic. If you later re-establish a base and thus have at least three bases in your own planetary system, you regain the use of your Alien Power, and may stand the card up.
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Stage 9. Discard the Challenge Cards and Reinforcements that were played |
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Stage 10. End of challenge. |
If you win an attack or successfully make a deal on the first challenge of your turn, you may choose to make a second challenge or you may pass. If you have no more Challenge Cards, you may not draw a new hand, you may not make a second challenge, and your turn ends. If you still have Challenge Cards and want to make a second challenge, you start the second challenge at Challenge Stage 1 and remove a token from the warp.
When you, as the offensive main player, lose your initial challenge, fail to make a deal, or complete your second challenge, your turn ends. The player to your left becomes the next offensive main player and that player's turn begins with the pre-challenge phase.
Timing Conflicts
In all cases of timing conflicts (when two players invoke contradictory special effects simultaneously) between Alien Powers, Flares, Edicts, or so on, resolution takes place as follows: Any players who are not main players go first, starting with the player to the left of the offensive main player and proceeding clockwise, then the offensive main player, and finally the defensive main player, if one exists at that time.