Negotiation cards are a powerful piece of the hand management decision space! And many of the aliens really build off of them but those may be more common in the expansions.
Still one of the most pleasant classics of board games. Played it yesterday and just as sweet as I remember. Being able to "wipe out" players is fine. Nobody is ever wiped out. It's pretty irrelevant TBH. If you pick a race that is disgusting for everyone you will be dealt with if people get the shot. Some are just crazily insane and annoying for everyone and everyone love seeing their power taken away. You're still in the game and can get your planets back later. I've won countless times without my alien ability and it's not that important when all things come around. Fun to use your ability, sure, but ask yourself why you picked a race that everyone absolutely hate and putting a target on your back then ask yourself why you got dealt with instead. Negotiation cards suck? MY DUDE NO! hahahaha! It's the fastest best way to guarantee a colony, ask your opponent if they want to play one, everyone want to get rid of them. Or save them to dunk someone with a strong hand to make them be forced to discard it and lose encounter cards, or - yeah - take their cards. They're boring if you get a lot of them perhaps, but playing with 4+ players this shouldn't be too much of an issue either.
I was so wanting to buy Alien Fate of Nostromo. I reckon my kids would love it. However, I saw Cosmic Encounters become available to purchase again (42nd Edition). I couldn't pass it up. I haven't played it yet but the reason I bought it was that it looks like it's a real player interaction game. I love games that are super nerdy with combos and symbols and points...(Race for the Galaxy) but most people struggle with these games. I've found the games that get the most hits and fun are ones where people actually engage with each other. Not Alone is a perfect example of this. So, I can't wait to bring this to the table. Just by reading the rules I can see how this could be fun. Games could be swingy. Players might get teamed up on. But I think that's half the fun. Because you just play again (doing the shorter version of only 4 planets). It's a game, not to be taken too seriously. Games are about the people you play with, after all.
fate of Nostromo is piss easy to play. £20 just get it, and the more players its actually more difficult, player interaction is good and it doesn't take long to lose.......i mean win ;)
Play it with 4 players or more. Each player gets 3 powers (which they keep hidden until they first use them). Mayhem. Utter. Lots of super flares and crazy reversals happening as powers interact. Got once to the point where a player actually didn't win because of jumping straight from 4 to 6 bases on foreign planets. However rulebook says you win with 5 bases :-p I've never had a dull (or totally imbalanced) experience playing this - which is the highest praise any game can receive.
It is weird, but I always go to other reviews for the games I want to play, and go to you for the games I think my family would want to play. It is safe to say this game bombed with the family and I. They compared the experience to the likes of Dune, a game that is notorious for my family trashing on. I get why this game is so beloved, it is truly chaotic and rather funny, but know your audience first. I should have known this game would go poorly with my group, no matter how hard I wanted to make it work. I'm not having fun if my group is not having fun, so bottom line this game is just collecting dust on my shelf. As for the negotiate cards, it comes down to chicken for my family. I make an offer, they make an offer, if they align, great. If they don't then wait till the time runs out and see if someone gives in or lose some ships. No real agency is felt in negotiating, as things are to random anyhow, so what is the point?
As for the game feeling dated, we see people half your age who play it for the first time and are shocked when they find out afterwards that it’s 40 years old.
Well I liked your video, and found it very useful. I'm kind of shocked at the crap that was thrown your way in the comments of this one. Anyway, thanks - very belatedly - for yet another good video!
Sadly Cosmic Encounters doesn't make it to my table often enough. It's a fun game but it's not really the wife's favourite. I really enjoyed your review and input and I wish you had more. Plus your accent reminds me of Bullet Tooth Tony from Snatch and that is definitely not a bad thing. Heave to and get more reviews made mate.
There’s quite a few reviews on the channel mate...check out the playlists. Thanks for the Vinnie Jones reference, but I’m pretty sure he’s from London not Pompey 😉👍
@@BoardGameBollocks Haha so I see, I can't wait to dig into them. Hopefully no offense was taken as none was meant. Thanks for providing the great content. Cheers!
Could you let us know which are the game which are perfectly ballanced? Because in almost every game there is some luck, and all sorts of dependability. For example your top 4 game is Memmoir 44, which has luck in cards AND dice at the same time, which makes it almost all luck.
No. Memoir let’s you choose one of many card from the display that best suits the action you need to make. This emulates the ‘fog of war’ quite effectively and thus is quite thematic. I don’t mind random chance so long as there’s a mechanic to mitigate it whether that be skill or otherwise - that’s ‘the game’ in many cases. Castles of Burgundy achieves this with the workers you can buy. Just one example of how luck of a dice roll for example can be a suitable mechanic. In cosmic encounter, you draw a random card form the destiny deck and then are left to fight with a random draw. There’s little scope to mitigate the random draws. I get that this is part of the game but this is more a symptom of it being designed in 1977 more than anything else.
@@BoardGameBollocks Yes Castles of Burgundy has workers for mitigation. What is the mechanic in Memmoir 44 to mitigate bad roll? Also in Memmoir 44 you have 4 or 5 cards, out from the whole deck, and if you have only cards to move yout left flank, you simly can not use our other soldiers, and this is not thematic. In the next turn you have have cards to move all of your soldiers. This is luck, the dice roll is also luck. Once I rolled 3 dice and killed 3 tanks ... and right there the game was decited simply by one lucky roll. It is not a problem to say that you do not like a game, the problem is when you give exact reason, which does not make sence compared you your top lits. Since Memmoir 44 is more modern, tell us HOW do you mitigade bad card draw AND bad dice roll in it?
You mitigate the roll by choosing the card that’s best suited to what you want to achieve. Obviously there’s occasions when that card isn’t present but as I’ve already said that emulates the fog of war pretty well for a light war game.
@@BoardGameBollocks I am impressed how you can work with boardgames and still say such nonsense! Mitigation of luck is not to - get lucky to have the best card. It is to be able to improve your roll in such a way so it does not lose you the game, or for the roll not to be able to win you the game instantly. Also for simulation of war - it is not realistic for 3 soldiers to kill 3 tanks in a battle with one shot (roll) Any way my idea was for you to see that you do not have actual citeria but are biased. And you like and do not like games simply because of taste and not because of mehamisms - while you are trying to explain why you do not like a mehanism in cosmic, which is present even more in your 4th most loved game. At least after this comments I understand wy you have so litle subs.
Cosmic Encounter (Directed at Cosmic Encounter comment) If you’re the official home for all things Cosmic Encounter, why not provide constructive criticism instead of being negative. This is one person’s view and review on the subject. He provides both positives and negatives. You’re here to spread negativity. Spread the love, not the hate. 🤷🏽♂️
Isn't the negotiate card a good card to use if you think you are going to lose? Think of it as. Hey I'm going to lose anyway. Might as well get some cards out of it from my opponent. That's how I always saw it.
I have watched this game being played a number of times and I don't get the appeal, at all. I have been playing games for about 50 years and I never even heard of this game until a few years ago.
that was a huge hit. But I guess it was never considered as a "classic game' because it depends uterly ofnthe gamers themselves. With some people it turns to be a frantic game, with other players more into game mechanics and such, it can e cold and boring.. It was not a family game neither , proably because it was a wee bit too agressive, and was not distributed by a major game compagny (like 'the island' by parker i think, which is alsi nasty) the first edition was very ugly.. it didn t help
I like negotiation cards the most ! I am using them to take away good cards from my opponents and prepare my final battlle
Negotiation cards are a powerful piece of the hand management decision space! And many of the aliens really build off of them but those may be more common in the expansions.
Still one of the most pleasant classics of board games. Played it yesterday and just as sweet as I remember.
Being able to "wipe out" players is fine. Nobody is ever wiped out. It's pretty irrelevant TBH. If you pick a race that is disgusting for everyone you will be dealt with if people get the shot. Some are just crazily insane and annoying for everyone and everyone love seeing their power taken away.
You're still in the game and can get your planets back later. I've won countless times without my alien ability and it's not that important when all things come around.
Fun to use your ability, sure, but ask yourself why you picked a race that everyone absolutely hate and putting a target on your back then ask yourself why you got dealt with instead.
Negotiation cards suck? MY DUDE NO! hahahaha! It's the fastest best way to guarantee a colony, ask your opponent if they want to play one, everyone want to get rid of them. Or save them to dunk someone with a strong hand to make them be forced to discard it and lose encounter cards, or - yeah - take their cards. They're boring if you get a lot of them perhaps, but playing with 4+ players this shouldn't be too much of an issue either.
I was so wanting to buy Alien Fate of Nostromo. I reckon my kids would love it. However, I saw Cosmic Encounters become available to purchase again (42nd Edition). I couldn't pass it up. I haven't played it yet but the reason I bought it was that it looks like it's a real player interaction game. I love games that are super nerdy with combos and symbols and points...(Race for the Galaxy) but most people struggle with these games.
I've found the games that get the most hits and fun are ones where people actually engage with each other. Not Alone is a perfect example of this. So, I can't wait to bring this to the table.
Just by reading the rules I can see how this could be fun. Games could be swingy. Players might get teamed up on. But I think that's half the fun. Because you just play again (doing the shorter version of only 4 planets). It's a game, not to be taken too seriously. Games are about the people you play with, after all.
fate of Nostromo is piss easy to play. £20 just get it, and the more players its actually more difficult, player interaction is good and it doesn't take long to lose.......i mean win ;)
Play it with 4 players or more. Each player gets 3 powers (which they keep hidden until they first use them).
Mayhem.
Utter.
Lots of super flares and crazy reversals happening as powers interact.
Got once to the point where a player actually didn't win because of jumping straight from 4 to 6 bases on foreign planets. However rulebook says you win with 5 bases :-p
I've never had a dull (or totally imbalanced) experience playing this - which is the highest praise any game can receive.
Will try that mate. Nice one 👍🏻
Thanks for the run through, the channel is great, good work. Just bought this for my girlfriend's birthday.
Good gift...if you win 😉
It is weird, but I always go to other reviews for the games I want to play, and go to you for the games I think my family would want to play. It is safe to say this game bombed with the family and I. They compared the experience to the likes of Dune, a game that is notorious for my family trashing on. I get why this game is so beloved, it is truly chaotic and rather funny, but know your audience first. I should have known this game would go poorly with my group, no matter how hard I wanted to make it work. I'm not having fun if my group is not having fun, so bottom line this game is just collecting dust on my shelf. As for the negotiate cards, it comes down to chicken for my family. I make an offer, they make an offer, if they align, great. If they don't then wait till the time runs out and see if someone gives in or lose some ships. No real agency is felt in negotiating, as things are to random anyhow, so what is the point?
As for the game feeling dated, we see people half your age who play it for the first time and are shocked when they find out afterwards that it’s 40 years old.
That’s nice...enjoy your day 😉
Well I liked your video, and found it very useful. I'm kind of shocked at the crap that was thrown your way in the comments of this one. Anyway, thanks - very belatedly - for yet another good video!
Nothing shocks me these days. I’m harder than them anyway so anytime they want to have a pop I’m ready 🤜🏻👀
Sadly Cosmic Encounters doesn't make it to my table often enough. It's a fun game but it's not really the wife's favourite. I really enjoyed your review and input and I wish you had more. Plus your accent reminds me of Bullet Tooth Tony from Snatch and that is definitely not a bad thing. Heave to and get more reviews made mate.
There’s quite a few reviews on the channel mate...check out the playlists. Thanks for the Vinnie Jones reference, but I’m pretty sure he’s from London not Pompey 😉👍
@@BoardGameBollocks Haha so I see, I can't wait to dig into them. Hopefully no offense was taken as none was meant. Thanks for providing the great content. Cheers!
Without destiny cards than players could easily gang up on one player.
Thought that was the aim of the game???
I agree
Could you let us know which are the game which are perfectly ballanced? Because in almost every game there is some luck, and all sorts of dependability.
For example your top 4 game is Memmoir 44, which has luck in cards AND dice at the same time, which makes it almost all luck.
No. Memoir let’s you choose one of many card from the display that best suits the action you need to make. This emulates the ‘fog of war’ quite effectively and thus is quite thematic.
I don’t mind random chance so long as there’s a mechanic to mitigate it whether that be skill or otherwise - that’s ‘the game’ in many cases. Castles of Burgundy achieves this with the workers you can buy. Just one example of how luck of a dice roll for example can be a suitable mechanic.
In cosmic encounter, you draw a random card form the destiny deck and then are left to fight with a random draw. There’s little scope to mitigate the random draws. I get that this is part of the game but this is more a symptom of it being designed in 1977 more than anything else.
@@BoardGameBollocks Yes Castles of Burgundy has workers for mitigation.
What is the mechanic in Memmoir 44 to mitigate bad roll?
Also in Memmoir 44 you have 4 or 5 cards, out from the whole deck, and if you have only cards to move yout left flank, you simly can not use our other soldiers, and this is not thematic.
In the next turn you have have cards to move all of your soldiers.
This is luck, the dice roll is also luck.
Once I rolled 3 dice and killed 3 tanks ... and right there the game was decited simply by one lucky roll.
It is not a problem to say that you do not like a game, the problem is when you give exact reason, which does not make sence compared you your top lits.
Since Memmoir 44 is more modern, tell us HOW do you mitigade bad card draw AND bad dice roll in it?
You mitigate the roll by choosing the card that’s best suited to what you want to achieve. Obviously there’s occasions when that card isn’t present but as I’ve already said that emulates the fog of war pretty well for a light war game.
@@BoardGameBollocks I am impressed how you can work with boardgames and still say such nonsense!
Mitigation of luck is not to - get lucky to have the best card. It is to be able to improve your roll in such a way so it does not lose you the game, or for the roll not to be able to win you the game instantly.
Also for simulation of war - it is not realistic for 3 soldiers to kill 3 tanks in a battle with one shot (roll)
Any way my idea was for you to see that you do not have actual citeria but are biased. And you like and do not like games simply because of taste and not because of mehamisms - while you are trying to explain why you do not like a mehanism in cosmic, which is present even more in your 4th most loved game.
At least after this comments I understand wy you have so litle subs.
If you think Negotiation cards are “tacked on or fake” you don’t understand Cosmic Encounter at all.
Love you too...
BoardGames4K you did a fairly negative and ill informed review. Expect Cosmic Encounter fans to defend the game.
Hardly ill informed when I played it first in 1986 and continued to play it to this day. Go back to school mate.
Cosmic Encounter (Directed at Cosmic Encounter comment) If you’re the official home for all things Cosmic Encounter, why not provide constructive criticism instead of being negative. This is one person’s view and review on the subject. He provides both positives and negatives. You’re here to spread negativity. Spread the love, not the hate. 🤷🏽♂️
Isn't the negotiate card a good card to use if you think you are going to lose? Think of it as. Hey I'm going to lose anyway. Might as well get some cards out of it from my opponent. That's how I always saw it.
Nice video dude, keep it up
Cheers mate. I got loads of grief over this one. 😉
I have watched this game being played a number of times and I don't get the appeal, at all. I have been playing games for about 50 years and I never even heard of this game until a few years ago.
First made in 1977 mate...it was massive in the 80s so I’m surprised you’ve not come across it.
Maybe give it a go to see what all the fuss is about?
that was a huge hit. But I guess it was never considered as a "classic game' because it depends uterly ofnthe gamers themselves. With some people it turns to be a frantic game, with other players more into game mechanics and such, it can e cold and boring.. It was not a family game neither , proably because it was a wee bit too agressive, and was not distributed by a major game compagny (like 'the island' by parker i think, which is alsi nasty) the first edition was very ugly.. it didn t help