In Cosmic Encounter, you play the leader of a colonization effort whose ships are traveling throughout the Cosmos to prove their worthiness for Cosmic leadership. You will use force,cunning, and diplomacy to win success for your unique form of alien intelligence. The winner(s) will be the first player(s) to have FIVE COLONIES on any planets outside his or her home system. Additionally, each player is a race that has the ability to bend or break certain rules in the game.

This is an updated version of the original Cosmic Encounter (1977).

Major differences between this version and the Eon version:

• Terminology was changed for many components and rules: Compromise to Negotiate; Consolation to Compensation; Edicts to Artifacts, etc.
• Both the Eon version and Mayfair Games' version used tokens to represent players' forces. Avalon Hill changed them to plastic ships, and changed the system pieces as well, and the Hyperspace Cone became a Ship carrier.
• Mayfair's version used cardback art similar to Eon's, so the two could theoretically be combined. Avalon Hill used all new art on the cards, and the stock is much thinner.

Microbadges

Components:

• Gameboard: 4 Planet Systems, The Warp
• 80 Ships (20 x 4 colors)
• 12 Order Disks
• Deck (54 cards):
  1. 46 Encounter Cards:
     • Attack 30(1)
     • Attack 20(2)
     • Attack 18(1)
     • Attack 15(2)
     • Attack 14(2)
     • Attack 12(4)
     • Attack 10(6)
     • Attack 8(8)
     • Attack 6(8)
     • Attack 4(2)
     • Negotiate(10)
  2. 8 Artifact Cards:
     • Cosmic Zap(2)
     • Emotion Control(1)
     • Force Field(1)
     • Mobius Tubes(2)
     • Plague(1)
     • Stellar Gas(1)

• 20 Alien Cards
• Mothership
• 4 Defender Carriers
• 4 Alien Card Holders
• Rulebook
• 2 Encounter Summary Cards