Cosmic Encounter Duel Review with Tom Vasel

[@oranjb]

Next - Cosmic Encounter Solo 😜

[@Julebstube]

Cosmic Lander. Just land on 5 planets without crashing!

[@ThatDamnYouth]

I understand Tom's review coming from the perspective of loving the original cosmic encounter. I've never played the original cosmic encounter so having the ability to play duel with my SO is a great alternative. If you're like me and can't normally get 4+ player games to the table this is a fun alternative, just a chill game of chaos. What Tom mentions about not having much control is true, it would be nice to have some more influence over the game, but it's still an enjoyable time. I really hope this gets expansions that add some different mechanics (and aliens) as it has a lot of potential.

[@npckse8508]

Expansions, if they come, could add more nuance to what is on offer, but as a chaotic experience, this is a fun 2 player game. If you are a super competitive player this could be frustrating

[@zack6012]

I agree, this game definitely has it's shortcomings. I got this with my girlfriend who is not the biggest strategist and I love thinking games. I think this offers something for us both. I can still try to think and strategize while my gf doesn't feel completely dominated. I like winning, but I also don't like winning all the time and driving my opponents away for future games. I also don't want to just hand the game over and purposefully play bad. Might still be to early to tell, but the game is random enough to keep both players on an equal playing field, but not too random to where the game feels like a coin flip. So if you have a polarized duo like us then this is probably a fun game I could see 2 people both playing a very strategic game get very frustrated with all the randomness. then at the same time 2 very casual people becoming too overwhelmed with all the reading and mechanics. I'm kind of there enforcing all the rules and mechanics for my gf who forgets. she still has a chance to win with the randomness, but it's still generally in your best interest to win the duel. There was one I wanted to lose to get the bonus, but if I lost she controlled 5 planets.

[@westquote]

​@@zack6012This is why I enjoyed playing with my kid. I could still have fun strategizing but the element of luck meant they got to win plenty.

[@SkyP1e]

I purchased CE duel because for 30 or 40 years Cosmic Encounter had been my all time favorite game (Some other recent games finally knocked it off the pedestal, Cthulhu Wars for example) but you can't always find enough players. With CE duel you can scratch that itch with only two players. No it's no replacement for full scale Cosmic Encounter but it's better than nothing. I give the game an A+.

[@williamgarcia-medina9989]

Every time Tom says “envoy”, I’m thinking about Altered Carbon.

[@JoshConsalvo1]

I have a lot of thoughts regarding CE and CE: Duel. First off, I think it's unfair to simply hope that this is "2-player Cosmic" because, while it's easy to look at 7 Wonders Duel as simply "2 Player 7W" this is just not that. This is an off shoot, stand alone game set in the Cosmic universe. I think when you come at it with this frame of mind, it changes the approach. The tactics as components are awful, but the mechanism is interesting enough as you deduce your opponents remaining tactics and do some "rock, paper, scissors" out-thinking. Also, we need to acknowledge that the color of the ships here is FAR SUPERIOR to the "blue" translucent ships of the most recent edition of CE. The 42nd edition of CE was honestly....underwhelming. So in all facets of production, CE:Duel really shines. Maybe I'm just an overzealous Cosmic super fan, but I really think that since my wife and I can't get CE to the table all the time, Duel captures the Cosmic essence, while providing a tense back and forth game for two.

[@AWarrenJohnson]

Hey Tom, I just got my copy a few days ago and was looking through the rules this evening, and got the impression that the strange tokens (which I also did not like that much, as I ended up bending the Loser token, and a few of the other ones when assembling) were a kind of work around for the negotiation cards. Haven't tried it yet, but I am hoping to get my wife playing, to buy into regular Cosmic Encounter a little more. :)

[@Ecole-du-jeu]

Thanks Tom you successfully put words on my feelings!

[@TheEpinema]

The problem is, once you name something with the same title as something else, whether you think it is fair or not, it is going to be compared, and that is on them. You can sometimes mitigate it by titling it something else and adding a sub title i.e. A game in the 'Cosmic Encounter universe.' 7 Wonders Duel worked because they implemented an interesting method to replace traditional card drafting mechanics.

[@Therisktaker3]

Though I respect Tom’s review of the game I believe the bias because it is not cosmic encounter hurts the review. I know for some people you cannot review the game without comparing it to the original cosmic, but people like me who have not played cosmic would have appreciated a review based on the game alone. Maybe it would have been the same, but it is hard to tell based on this review. I almost think that games like this should be reviewed by multiple people Miami dice style to get different perspectives and remove one persons bias. Those are my 2 cents. Thanks.

[@npckse8508]

Best bet is to watch one of the numerous play throughs on youtube and see the game in action. I have watched a few that were entertaining like the Lighten Up Initiative had a nice one

[@Therisktaker3]

Hengst 2404 of course that is typically what I do anyways, but not everyone takes the time to do so and his opinion carries a lot of weight in the industry. I typically don’t have an issue with his or anyone’s opinions and you have to take them sometimes with a grain of salt, but if he didn’t mention it once he mentioned it quite often that compared to cosmic encounter and that it just doesn’t work for him. What if the game was called cosmic duel instead and had no affiliation with cosmic encounter would it have been seen in the same light. That’s all.

[@npckse8508]

@@Therisktaker3 I agree with your overall point, that likely Toms love of the main game makes this version a tough seel

[@AthexTube]

I really like the look of this game, but not sure if I am interested in the 2 player version of cosmic encounter.

[@JoshConsalvo1]

I would caution calling this a “two player version of cosmic” I see it as a spin off set in the same universe.

[@AthexTube]

@@JoshConsalvo1 Yeah I guess your point is this is more akin to 7 wonders duel being a 2 player spin off version of 7 wonders.

[@STOpandthink]

What is the game in the background in a white box; name starts with "AB" (may be "ABO")?

[@STOpandthink]

Oh, it's "ABOVE": kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2TCpISQqKqWl9k

[@nothing3376]

Please start using the chapter feature on KZbin

[@josephcovell]

I enjoyed the game. The tactics have to be used wisely but they dont always make or break a duel.

[@boomaloom]

I think they can add a little negotiation in by having a card driven army that you have to work with your opponent to drive off every so often. Won't be as much negotiation as Cosmic, but could give a taste of it into this game.

[@DamienMcKinnon]

Good review, however I disagree that you have no control and you're just along for the ride in this game. After watching your playthrough with Roy I realize that you don't fully understand the nuances of the ship selection & tactics yet. For instance you played the 42 Attack card and didn't protect your ships with a shield tactic! That was a complete waste - you had the planet in the bag and blew it. There are so many ways to bluff and outplay your opponent in this game too, especially since it might not always be the case you want to win a planet - quite often a loss is more beneficial to get hold of loser advantages. Or maybe that's what you want your opponent to think so they play a recover tactic instead of a blast or shield - allowing you to play a single ship along with a high blast and a crappy attack card (since it won't come to that point).

[@mychalanaya8163]

10000% agree with this. I’ve played the game about ten times now, and you clearly learn over time that you can exert a lot of control over the ebb and flow of the game by thinking ahead. A lot of strategy comes from anticipating your opponent’s tactics and then swooping in the next duel with your strong tactics while theirs are exhausted, or getting your opponent to run low on available ships. Sure, sometimes a refresh card comes out where your opponent controls the perfect planet to regroup, but it’s no more chaotic than regular CE.

[@joeytwo-wolves7212]

I have to agree with you. After playing this game with my gf and loving it, we've found the tactics to be what we look forward to in the gameplay. Its what the game is based on. Really off the mark on this one Tom. However the tokens are kinda cheap. Im sure there will be a fix fromm FFG soon.

[@CaptainMunro]

For me Duel is a great game to play when I want to play CE but we're only two people. Yes big CE is better and more fun, but that is like saying basketball with a complete team is more fun than playing with two. So in that regard Duel is everything I wanted it to be.

[@daleprather3026]

I wish this could have been reviewed fairly without any expectations of it being full CE. What would you have thought of the game of you had no prior expectations. Maybe if they had given it a western theme and titled it Cowboys and Bandits.

[@ajw5388]

I think this game’s target audience is essentially my wife and I. We love Cosmic but we can’t seem to assemble a table full of people who enjoy the game enough to make it a great experience. This game at least allows us to get a taste of the wacky powers and silly card play of the original game without needing to find more players. Obviously the game is only a small piece of what the original Cosmic can offer, but we still had fun with it and I think a few good expansions could really get Duel closer to that original experience.

[@andyscout]

Based on your review, now I'm thinking my friend might like Duel. He doesn't like Cosmic not cuz of the zannyness, but because of the wheeling and dealing. He hates that he can be ganged up on (probably because he has a reputation for winning out of nowhere so we sometimes do gang up on him).

[@KabukiKid]

Yeah... I was skeptical of this one for the same reasons Tom mentioned. Negotiation is the heart of Cosmic, so when I saw a two-player version was coming, I wondered what could it bring that would make it still work and be great? I'm still curious to try this, but I am definitely not psyched for it like I am when a new Cosmic Encounter expansion comes out. ;-) The original is also a game I rate a 10 on BGG. I want to play it at all times... even in my sleep! ;-)

[@AndyVandercoy]

I love cosmic encounter and yeah this is just a different filler experience imo too. I will say I purchased this for my friend and I because we love that zany aspect and do somehow get shut so much out of negotiations and get ganged up on and also we rarely get that full 6 player experience except for the holidays so for us this will work to keep some fun and theming while waiting for the holidays and at least one of use will win haha essentially that's how we win when we have rarely in the og. Think it deserves a seal of approval

[@chrishaak185]

Hi Tom, you mentioned the standee tokens are terrible and boring. Could you not play with them without impacting the game too much?

[@jessadams6836]

Just bought the OG Cosmic Encounter and I love it because of the negotiation and it's hilarious. I understand why you have loved it for so long. Great Review of this one. Probably wont be interested in it.

[@junkyardrat83]

42!

[@DiegoDeschain]

I never played the og CE (never released in my country), so I went into this game expecting it to be fun and not having any expactations formed by the original game. That said, I liked it very much, I love variable player powers, the art is insanely good and full of personality and the component quality just overall is pretty great, my only nitpick being here the same Tom has, the tactics tokens are just too fiddly and cumbersome for my taste, but here I mean the pratical part, not mechanically. In fact I very much disagree with Tom here, I think if anywhere else, this is the part where mechanically you have more agency on the game, which makes it odd that he criticizes the lack of agency and dislikes the mechanic that gives you the most of. Anyway, I like the game, it's a bit chaotic, but I like it, if it wasn't so chaotic I wouldn't have had such great experiences with it already. I'm particularly fond of a game where I had the BDSM alien and was about to win by not having ships to send, when my wife pulled it towards her at the last possible minute, making me just regularly lose the game instead. I mean, I had a great time even if I lost, and I think that says something about the game. :) PS: rules can be a bit unclear sometimes regarding some timing stuff etc, but nothing that ruins the game. Also, at my first play I was kinda worried I wasn't gonna like it that much, but it only grew on me play after play and now I love it, so I highly recommend giving more than a few tries before just settling on not liking the game.

[@TheKartana]

My issue with this game is that Cosmic Encounter is controlled chaos in a box, whereas this one is just chaos.

[@Phildiculous]

If Tom is to be believed, then yes. In my games of Duel, the chaos did not feel as pervasive as Tom claims.

[@npckse8508]

@@Phildiculous I think my library needed a game like this that is designed to be a fun and crazy experience

[@ajw5388]

Phil D I agree, this is a fun mix of strategy and chaos. Might be frustrating for someone who wants to “figure out” the game and win every time, but if you can appreciate some unpredictability it’s a fun time.

[@mychalanaya8163]

What felt like pure chaos in game 1, didn’t by game 5. There is a LOT of strategic timing and taking advantage of tour opponent’s position that you can capitalize on to win. Watching the playthrough Tom did, it was clear he does not understand the strategy of the ship dials and tactics.

[@markusschmidt9260]

4:49 of Life, the Universe and everything?

[@minvictor]

Personally, dont' t mind the negotiation... Think I'll dive into this one for the sake of CRAZY!

[@joserafaelbellonava2319]

This game looks great!

[@ExBeeOne]

In a nutshell: 13:43 The game looks to be an 7/10. This review was a 10/10.

[@FalkFlak]

I see how negotiation is a huge part of Cosmic Encounter (CE) but as I almost never experience negotiation actually WORKING at the table in the context of a game, I don't think CE is really much more than pure chaos.

[@npckse8508]

Perhaps negotiation is more for group specific experiences? My games have been chaotic and more along the lines of "who's with me?" followed by "sure, why not"

[@FalkFlak]

definitely! I know players who think negotiation doesn't work gameplay-wise because you "try to win" anyway. These are the people who just at the beginning of the game state "btw. I'm going to lie in this game". Then there are players who just don't try to negotiate because they think they'd have nothing to offer. I can see both perspectives. Usually its quite transparent what's the best strategy for your opponent to win and he knows what's helping you so there is no reason whatsoever to cooperate. For example, we played settlers of Catan so much, that everyone knew the value of each Ressource exactly. So at some point we had fixed prices and never negotiated beyond that. Teaming up against a stronger player is the only thing that works (because it's a necessity).

[@dnaseb9214]

I dont see the appeal of cosmic encounter......Ive tried it, seen people play it....they all just gang up on 1 guy after another until 1 guy remains

[@Valcurdra]

Next up, the new version of Crokinole without flicking! I remember the press release for CE duel, a conceptually pointless brief from day one, was never going to work.

[@DamienMcKinnon]

It does though... Do you base all your decisions on one person?

[@Krystianus76]

Thx for rev. Always Toms rev are great

[@kevinshoemaker2393]

I dunno, man. I don't feel the negotiating has ever taken off for me in the original Cosmic Encounter. That game always comes down to who has the better cards. No amount of bluffing or negotiating will get you the win if you draw crappy, low number cards the entire game and you don't have some amazing alien power. I'm willing to say that I just haven't found a group of people yet who makes the game work, but I've played roughly a dozen 6+ player games with different combinations of ~30 people, some friends some strangers, and I've never had a game take off. It always came down to who played the higher cards in battles. And any game that requires you to work to make it fun or find the right group of people to have it work just doesn't do it for me.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

Some people do not like negotiation in games. It requires a certain skill set, and a certain personality. However, in the situation that you described, where someone has an overpowered alien with an abusive power, or access to killer cards, the negotiations are simple: Alert everyone that that person is going to win, and that you need to work together to stop that from happening. I often pick less powerful aliens when I play Cosmic because I don't want to get ganged up on. Your argument for having the right people for the right games is spot on though.

[@wowIsa]

Sounds like Cosmic Encounters just got an 11 out of 10 :P

[@maxducoudray]

I can tell Tom is smart because he discerns that Innovation and Cosmic Encounter are not random but this is. Many don't see the difference. 10/10 review.

[@SPACEB0YZER0]

Cosmic encounter is just ok, was super hyped, bought it and played it and it was just meh and it felt very outdated so I was disappointed. I plan to give it another try eventually but was wondering how they could do a duel version of the game.

[@DarkPaladin1130]

Those tokens is keeping me from buying the game. HATE THEM. Hate.

[@MisterAbysmul]

Watched some playthroughs and love Cosmic... this is a pass for me, and those standees push it close to a hard pass.

[@mariaasuncionsanchez4293]

Sorry but Cosmic Ecounters really is pure chaos. I doubt those negotiation skills, it may be that people dont know what to expect of the game and you do. But playing CE is just playing random things happen.

[@andresfelipehiguera785]

Didn't like this game.

[@GrandElemental]

I'm a huge fan of Cosmic Encounter and this game takes away all the fun out of CE's design and adds a bunch more randomness. And of course, CE's appeal is the negotiation, not the card play, and it's missing from this game. Really mediocre "take that!" card game, some people are going to love it but I certainly didn't.

[@danwilliams6519]

Thank you for stating the goal of the game up front. Now if you could state your conclusion up front as well. It's not a mystery story.

[@lucypatton42]

It’s fairly common practice in reviews to have details of whatever is being reviewed (whether it’s a board game, a video game, a book, or whatever else) be first and the conclusion at the end, so I think you’re fighting an uphill battle here :) but you can always skip to the end to see his thoughts and then go back to see the gameplay details! In fact, with games I’m skeptical about, I often do that myself