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Cosmic Encounter Duel

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Cosmic Encounter Duel
MSRP $
39.95
Fantasy Flight Games

A standalone two player game in the Cosmic Encounter Universe.

Challenge your closest frenemy to the fast-paced hilarity of Cosmic Encounter Duel! The Cosmic Citizenship Council has announced it will allow two new alien species into their ranks, but they forgot to make two copies of the filing form, meaning only one species can join! Now, the two candidates must battle for control of a minimum of five planets to prove that they truly deserve the right to become a Certified Civilization.

In Cosmic Encounter Duel, you will go head-to-head with your opponent, racing to win control of five planets. Colorful ships, hidden tactics, and your alien’s unique abilities might tip the odds in your favor, but beware! Tricks and traps abound, and you never know what destiny has in store!


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Gary Sax's Avatar
Gary Sax replied the topic: #306091 13 Jan 2020 14:44
Honestly, I think this could work.
Vysetron's Avatar
Vysetron replied the topic: #306093 13 Jan 2020 14:55
I'm just confused. What's even left besides the aliens and aesthetics?

Just gotta wait for a rulebook I guess.
Jackwraith's Avatar
Jackwraith replied the topic: #306096 13 Jan 2020 15:06
In principle, it's the same thing as CE, since each race has a different power and you're using 20 ships to try to control/have colonies on 5 planets. So, yeah, it could work. At the very least, it's not Arkham Star Horror Wars, so there's that.
ubarose's Avatar
ubarose replied the topic: #306097 13 Jan 2020 15:12

Jackwraith wrote: In principle, it's the same thing as CE, since each race has a different power and you're using 20 ships to try to control/have colonies on 5 planets. So, yeah, it could work. At the very least, it's not Arkham Star Horror Wars, so there's that.


OMG. Coffee spit.
quozl's Avatar
quozl replied the topic: #306099 13 Jan 2020 15:17
Is Frank Branham the designer?
Ah_Pook's Avatar
Ah_Pook replied the topic: #306100 13 Jan 2020 15:18
Wait now I want to play Arkham Star Horror Wars though...
Jackwraith's Avatar
Jackwraith replied the topic: #306103 13 Jan 2020 15:45

Ah_Pook wrote: Wait now I want to play Arkham Star Horror Wars though...


We were just talking about "space" games, right?

"In the shadow of the asteroid belt, there is only silence... and the lurking threat of Space! Protoplasm! It's both the most horrifying slime in existence AND the most valuable resource! On Earth, it only shows up in abandoned wells in New England. But out here... in the vastness of the viable vacuum... there are so many colors..."
"As one of several competing waste mining companies, you'll have to figure out how to beat your opponents to the effluent dumps left behind by the original miners getting the really valuable stuff. Those dumps mixed with the strange, fish-shaped minerals in this part of the belt, becoming an energy source of unimaginable power... that no one has really figured out how to use yet. But that doesn't matter! It only matters that you're serving the mast- uh, bosses to make money on whatever you can. In the darkness. With the occasional whisper."
"In space, no one can hear you scream... except when you scream 'IA! IA!'"
Erik Twice's Avatar
Erik Twice replied the topic: #306106 13 Jan 2020 17:24
As far as I know, this has been being worked on for years, probably more than a decade. I'm told several of the people involved are Cosmic Encounter regulars who also collaborated in Cosmic Eons. So I think it might be an interesting game. I don't expect a 10 out of 10 but it seems worth trying out.
san il defanso's Avatar
san il defanso replied the topic: #306111 13 Jan 2020 20:46
This sounds awesome, but then this is probably the easiest game to pitch to me yet created. So take that how you will.
pgocosmic's Avatar
pgocosmic replied the topic: #306189 15 Jan 2020 10:48
A dive into the decades long history of Cosmic Encounter reveals the existence of a two player game tacked into the rules of many CE versions. You can see it all the way back to our homespun UNIVERSE game that we created in 1972.

In truth, the 2-player iterations were often pretty lame. Even so we persisted in the belief that Cosmic Encounter had a two player version buried within. The reality that two players can have fun playing was driven home when I spent countless hours taking select aliens and playing 2-player games with my then young grand daughters. Realizing that even though these games were not ready for primetime they still led to hilarious encounters between two aliens with powers that play off one another with surprising outcomes.

At its heart Cosmic is a face-off between two aliens. Over the decades all sorts of tapestries have been draped over that fundamental framework. But the because the core of the interaction is still "one on one" it invites the creation of a two player game.

Here's an analogy. Basketball is a team sport with five players on each team requiring intricate teamwork, shifting rapidly between offense and defense. Sometimes offense is stalling, playing keep away while the clock ticks. Sometimes its moving at breakneck speed. Sometimes defense deliberately fouls to stop the clock. Sometimes a free throw is deliberately missed to get another chance for 2 points on a layup. And on and on. So heres the question.

Does that mean a game of One on One between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson is not fun for the players or the audience?

COSMIC DUEL
ubarose's Avatar
ubarose replied the topic: #306193 15 Jan 2020 11:14
Thank you @pgocosmic. How closely did the original team work with Kevin Wilson on this?
Sagrilarus's Avatar
Sagrilarus replied the topic: #306197 15 Jan 2020 11:22
Hang on -- Asmodee North America just tweeted that they're discontinuing it.
pgocosmic's Avatar
pgocosmic replied the topic: #306199 15 Jan 2020 11:23
Kevin has not been with FFG for some years now and he was not involved with Cosmic Dune. Here are the credits:
Game Design and Development: Frank Brooks with Bill Eberle, Greg Olotka, and Peter Olotka
Technical Writing: Adam Baker
Producer: Molly Glover
Editing: Robert McCowan
Proofreading: Carol Darnell
Board Game Manager: James Kni en
Graphic Design: Sebastian Koziner with Chris Beck, Caitlin Ginther, and Evan Simonet
Graphic Design Coordinator: Joseph D. Olson
Graphic Design Manager: Christopher Hosch
Cover Art: Djib
Interior Art: Djib, Umberto Mognetti, Vinod Rams, and Regis Torres
Art Direction: Crystal Chang
Managing Art Director: Tony Bradt
QA Coordination: Andrew Janeba and Zach Tewalthomas
Production Management: Justin Anger and Jason Glawe
Visual Creative Director: Brian Schomburg
Senior Project Manager: John Franz-Wichlacz
VP of Product Development: Chris Gerber
Executive Game Designer: Nate French
Head of Studio: Andrew Navaro
Special thanks to Ethan Cox
e Universe of Cosmic Encounter Created by Bill Eberle, Greg Olotka, and Peter Olotka
Gary Sax's Avatar
Gary Sax replied the topic: #306205 15 Jan 2020 11:40
Thanks for the info!
ubarose's Avatar
ubarose replied the topic: #306209 15 Jan 2020 11:57
Thank you. I received incorrect information. I will correct it.