Cosmic Encounter FAQ
1034 questions players ask · Updated Nov 8, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup
- How many flare cards go into the cosmic deck at setup?
- Do both flares dealt to a player at setup go into the cosmic deck, including the one for the alien not chosen?
- When do players turn their alien sheets face up during setup?
- Can players use aliens of different colors in the same game?
- Can I play Cosmic Encounter with six, seven or eight players using the base game?
- Is the reward deck shuffled into the cosmic deck?
- What if two chosen aliens conflict under a "Do Not Use With" restriction?
- Can I use my alien power without the matching flare?
- Do I redraw my hand after an Essence alien is added mid-game?
- When an effect adds a new alien mid-game, do its flares come in too?
- When must a hidden alien power be revealed in the two-alien variant?
- Can Cosmic Dominion's Rewards deck be combined with Cosmic Incursion's Rewards deck?
Basic Concepts
- Can two players win together?
- Does the game end the instant someone gets a fifth colony, or can others still respond?
- Is a player eliminated when all their ships are in the warp or they have no colonies?
- Is there a limit to how many ships can sit on one planet or colony?
- Is there a maximum hand size?
- Who counts as a main player, and do allies count?
- Does a player with no ships in the warp count as having the fewest ships there?
- Is a player whose power is zapped or face down still counted as playing that alien?
- When exactly do I lose my alien power?
- Is Retreat treated as a Negotiate card?
- Are Attack, Negotiate, Morph and flare cards separate types for effects that check card type?
- Are discard piles and hand sizes public information?
- What happens when the cosmic deck and discard pile are both empty?
- When do I lose a flare from my hand?
- Does a successful deal count as a win for powers that say "when you win"?
- Does losing a foreign colony move my colony marker back?
- Does a fifth colony gained through a card or power win the game?
- Can a game of Cosmic Encounter end with no winner?
- What is the difference between a card being played and revealed?
- Who acts first when several players want to act at once, and can powers interrupt each other?
- Does "another player" on a card exclude yourself?
- Must I always keep at least five ships so I can still win?
- Do the two sides of a planet token matter?
- Can I freely move ships from one of my colonies to another?
- Does a card that says something is "treated as" another thing gain all of its rules?
- Does the Virus make a negative attack card worse?
- Is stacking ships mechanically important?
- Do you keep your alien power if you have lost a home colony but still have enough left?
- What happens if a mandatory alien power cannot be used, such as Deuce being reduced to one encounter card?
Turn Structure and Encounters
- Can I target a planet where I already have a colony?
- Can the offense start a second encounter with no encounter card in hand?
- When does the offense's turn end if it has no encounter cards?
- When does the defense draw a new hand if it has no encounter cards?
- Do I retrieve a ship in the Regroup phase of a second encounter?
- When do I draw a new hand if I run out of cards?
- Does a second encounter trigger start-of-turn effects again?
- In what order are ships and rewards resolved after an encounter?
- If the destiny card names another player's color, who do I encounter and where?
- How many ships can each side commit, and do other colonies' ships count?
- Can players negotiate or talk before ships are committed in Launch?
- Where does a ship retrieved during Regroup go if you have no colonies?
- What are the options when you draw your own color destiny card?
- Who defends when someone attacks an empty planet in your home system?
- Do you lose your home-planet power if your home planets have no ships on them?
- Can you reclaim an empty home planet with your own color destiny and bring allies?
- What happens if the offense has no ships to put in the hyperspace gate?
- When an effect says return ships to colonies, can I choose any colony, including foreign colonies, even if I have home colonies?
- Do you lose your alien power when you move your last home-colony ships to the gate?
- What happens to allies when their side wins, loses, or the encounter aborts?
- Is a game win immediate when a player reaches five foreign colonies?
- Can you attack a planet in a foreign home system where you already have a colony?
- Does an extra encounter granted by a power or flare begin with its own Regroup phase?
- Does a successful deal count as a successful encounter for Meek's second encounter?
- Can an interrupt that gives me a new encounter card let me take a second encounter after my hand was checked?
- Can a player keep their hand of cards hidden from the other players?
- Can you attack a foreign colony on your home planet when you draw your own color from the destiny deck?
- Can a player's Genius win by 20 cards at the start of a turn if another player wins by colonies in the same encounter?
- What does a Cosmic Quake discard?
- If your encounter card is Omnizapped, can you play another, and what if you are offense with none left?
- If you have no encounter card in the planning phase, what can you play?
- Does a power that says only 'after phase X' have an end point?
- Can Wild Fungus or Void be used after a successful deal, since a deal is not a win?
- Does a failed deal count as a loss, so that effects such as Wild Outlaw or Super Ace apply?
- Do you declare all your rewards before taking any of them?
- If a player forgets a mandatory power or a ship retrieval, can they fix it later?
- Can a Wild destiny attack a player's home planet where that player has no colony?
- Can you attack a planet in your own system where you already have ships?
- When attacking an occupied planet in your own home system, who chooses which colony defends?
- Can an ally send ships from any of its colonies, and what happens to ships sent to the defense?
- Does an Attack card that beats a Negotiate count as a win, so the offense can have a second encounter?
- Who wins when an encounter ends in a tie?
- After a Vacuum attack wins, can a player still play a flare to strip a colony before the game is won?
- When is a win checked, and does the game end mid-phase or at the end of the phase?
- Can the offense decline a second encounter when it has been earned?
- Can a fifth player join as an ally when both sides already have allies?
- When you attack the defender on your own planet and win, does the bystander lose a colony?
- Can an ally, or a player not in the encounter, play a Negotiate card?
- When both main players reveal Negotiates, where do allied ships return?
- Can defensive allies land on the planet they are defending?
- If you invite allies to a planet where they already have a colony, do they gain a new colony?
- Do you have to invite allies during the Alliance phase?
- If you draw your own color in Destiny and colonize an empty home planet automatically, can you have a second encounter?
- Can you move ships to an empty planet in your system as a free move whenever you like?
- Are encounter cards and kickers played face down simultaneously, or does one side go first?
- What are the ways to have an encounter with a foreign colony in a system other than your home?
- When a player chooses which ships to lose to the warp, can they use ships on the hyperspace gate or ships researching technology?
- Can allies discuss their cards with each other during an encounter?
- If the drawn player has no planets left in the system during Destiny, what happens?
- Does the defending main player receive defensive rewards?
- When a negotiation costs you three ships, must they be ships from the encounter?
- When your side loses a negotiated encounter, do allied ships count toward compensation?
- When is a played card discarded relative to its effect?
- If A and C wipe out B's last ships on a planet, can a later encounter still target that planet?
- Do you need five foreign colonies at the same time to win?
- Must a player show their hand to prove they have no encounter card?
- After reclaiming your home planet, can you later drive out another player's foreign colony on it?
- Is drawing your own color the only way to attack your own planet?
- Does a destiny card naming a player let you attack a foreign colony on a third player's planet?
- Can a player choose not to use a mandatory power, such as one gained through Precursor Seed?
- Does an alien power stay active if the player drops below the home colonies it needs?
- If an alien loses its power, do its tokens and stored components stay on its sheet?
- Can a player offer a colony on a planet where he has no colony in a deal?
- If you attack your own planet to remove a foreign colony and invite an ally who wins, does the ally gain a colony?
- Can Plague be played outside the Regroup phase?
- Can you attack a planet that a player has already lost, and what happens to other players' ships there?
- Can allied defenders return to a colony on the defensive planet after winning?
- When both players reveal Negotiate, where do the ships go and what happens if no deal is made?
- If a player's ship sits on a planet that is attacked and he does not ally, is it removed?
- Can allies play reinforcement cards to win when the main player has played a Negotiate card?
- Can the offense back out of an encounter after a destiny card orders an attack he expects to lose?
- In a five-planet game, do you still need three home planets after losing one to Omega Missile?
- Who wins an encounter when both sides have the same total?
- Do defensive allies still get rewards if the offense plays Negotiate and the defense wins?
- Must you take a ship out of the warp during regroup if you are able?
- After an encounter is won, are ships sent to the warp before rewards are collected?
- How many allies can join the offense or defense, and can every invited player accept?
- Can a Special Destiny card make you encounter a player in your own home system?
- If an ally has no ships left in the encounter, is it still an ally and does it get rewards?
- Can a player with no cards in hand still be invited as an ally?
- Does emptying a planet of all your ships cost you that colony?
- When do you move the colony marker on the colony track?
- How many ships can you use to establish a new colony in a successful negotiation?
- Can your invitation to ally come with a condition, such as bringing at least 3 ships?
- When two players' card effects conflict, who resolves first?
- Where can ships in the warp return to after being sent there?
- How can a Cosmic Quake occur?
- If the attacker plays a Negotiate, does the attacker automatically lose the encounter?
- If I run out of encounter cards, do I draw a full new hand of eight cards or just enough to get one encounter card?
- If you draw your own color again after deciding to draw another, can you change your mind?
- If you invite several players to ally and more than one accepts, must you take all of them?
- When your homeworld is attacked, must you defend with all ships on that planet?
- Do ships already on a defended planet count toward defense when an ally joins?
- Who wins a tie in an encounter when the Loser declares an upset?
- What happens to ships on a home planet when the offense wins a reclaim encounter?
- When attacking your own home planet, do ships already there join the encounter?
- Can a player with no colonies and only ships in the warp still attack?
- Why is the last Destiny card shuffled back into the discards instead of drawn?
- As a main player, must you play an encounter card even if it is a bad one?
- Is a planet swapped into another player's home system part of that home system, and can it be encountered?
- Does Macron's four-ship count apply outside an encounter, such as when Vacuum forces ship losses?
- What happens if a player has no colonies when their turn comes up?
- Does driving off a foreign colony on your home planet work like a normal encounter?
- Can a player lose a foreign colony to an invasion or eviction?
- If a player has lost his alien power, does he use the Wild side of his own flare, and does the flare go back to him?
- If you attack a player's foreign colony in a third system and win, do you establish a colony there?
- Can a player who has lost their alien power still use its Super flare?
- When defending, can you move ships from your other planets onto the planet under attack?
- Does Mobius Tubes free all ships in the warp, including other players' ships?
- If a power removes the last ship from a colony, does the player keep that colony?
- When you draw your own color and aim the gate at an empty home planet, do you go through the challenge phases?
- When retaking a home planet that has other players' colonies on it, must you defeat all of them?
- How is a tie broken on a Special Destiny card that says break the tie to your left?
- Does 'opponent' on a card text mean the opposing main player only, or also his allies?
- Can Plasma Thrusters move a ship to re-establish your empty home planet when another player attacks you there?
- Does losing your last encounter card to compensation void an encounter you already won?
- If the Seeker asks a question before the defense draws a new hand, must the defense draw first?
Alliances
- In what order are alliance invitations and commitments made?
- Can allies play encounter cards, and who answers first when Grudge invites?
- Where do defensive allies place their ships?
- Who may join an encounter as an ally?
- Can a player who is not in the encounter play a flare or artifact marked for any player?
- Can an ally play an artifact card?
- Can the attacker demand a minimum number of ships from allies?
- Can players talk to the main players and ask questions during the call for allies?
- How many compensation cards do you collect for ships lost to the warp?
- Can you offer allies cards or colonies to get them to join your side?
- How many ships can an ally send to help, and where can they come from?
Deals and Negotiation
- What can be exchanged in a deal?
- May I lie about what is in my hand during a negotiation?
- Are promises made during a deal, like joining a later encounter, binding?
- If a deal names cards, do I have to hand over exactly those cards?
- Who chooses the planet when a deal grants a colony?
- When are a deal's terms carried out, and can someone back out?
- Can a deal give two players a shared win?
- When a card is taken at random from a hand, may the taker choose by card back, and may the holder talk?
- Can a player end up encountering themselves, and does a deal with yourself work?
- Does the opponent collect compensation when Human wins with two negotiate cards?
- Can a deal specify which planet the new colony goes on and how many ships it gets?
- Can I offer a card I do not have in a deal?
- Can I say I will play a Negotiate and then not do it?
- Is it legal to lie about visible facts like the number of ships?
- If my only encounter card is a Negotiate, must I play it?
- If I bluff with a face-down Morph and the bluff is called, did I lie?
- Is taking compensation or rewards optional?
- Is the compensation collected before defensive ally rewards when the defense wins?
- Which ships can be used to establish a colony as part of a deal?
- When a negotiation is declared, do the offense's ships in the gate return to colonies before the deal?
- Can non-main players comment on or interrupt a deal being negotiated?
- When another player must take cards at random from your hand, can you suggest or describe which cards they should take?
- Are deals talked out before the Negotiate cards are revealed binding?
- Is a Negotiate deal successful if both players agree to do nothing?
- Can you offer cards during the alliance phase to get someone to ally with you?
- If the opponent runs out of cards before you collect all your compensation, do you collect the rest later?
- Must you give the cards you promised in a negotiated deal?
- Can a deal let the opponent take any planet where you have a colony, even outside the encounter?
- Must a player give the specific card promised in a deal?
- Is the one-minute time limit on negotiations strictly enforced?
- When negotiating a colony, can you put more than one ship on it?
- Can you promise a future action in a deal, such as giving your Super flare the next time you draw it?
- Can more than two players be part of one deal at the same time?
- Are deals binding, and can I require ships in return before inviting an ally?
- Do allies take part in a deal when both players reveal Negotiate cards?
- When a Negotiate fails, how many ships are lost to the Warp?
- Do Reward cards count as part of your hand when choosing compensation?
- If a Vacuum player loses a negotiate and wants to play his Super flare, is compensation collected before the flare?
- Does Oligarch's Warp Claim privilege change how many compensation cards are taken?
- Do ships lost to Gambler's bluff penalty count toward compensation?
- If you sacrifice a flagship to a Negotiate, does it count as a ship for compensation?
- When Skeptic makes extra ships lost from outside the encounter, does the loser get compensation for those ships too?
- When can a negotiation deal be made?
- Where do ships left in the hyperspace gate go when a deal fails?
- Can players agree beforehand to play Negotiate cards?
- Are negotiation offers public, and are the traded cards shown?
- Is a deal legal if the cards exchanged have little value?
- Must you take compensation when you lose a Negotiate encounter?
- If the opponent has too few cards for full compensation, does the owed player make them draw more?
- Can a player who is not in an encounter make a deal with one of its participants?
- Does a successful deal count as a loss for Reincarnator or Tick-Tock?
- Can players discuss which encounter card to play during planning?
Cards and Flares
- When does a Morph copy the other card, and does it change if that card is modified later?
- Does a Morph count as the card an effect calls for when it is in my hand or discarded?
- Can reinforcement cards be played when a main player revealed a Negotiate?
- When do two plays count as simultaneous under the timing rule?
- Which effects count as auto-wins or auto-losses?
- Who collects compensation, and how is it different from rewards?
- Does Zombie collect compensation when he plays a Negotiate and loses?
- Does a kicker multiply a card's value before or after effects like Tripler, Graviton or Morph?
- Does the offense have to commit a kicker before the defense?
- If a reward-deck card is placed face down, who must place their card first, and can it be changed?
- Do card plays stack like Magic, so any card can respond to any other?
- Is there a complete list of the exact order of every step in each phase?
- What if two auto-win effects apply in the same encounter?
- Can Chosen add a drawn Morph's value or swap in a Negotiate against Loser's upset?
- When a game effect changes an encounter card, does a 'when revealed' power see the changed card?
- If Cosmic Zap cancels a Super flare, can you still play that flare's Wild effect?
- Do you lose your flares when you must draw a new hand?
- When are reinforcement cards played?
- Can every player in an encounter, including allies, play a flare, or only the main players?
- Does an encounter card count as played for powers like The Claw that trigger on a played card?
- Can you play a flare during the Start Turn phase, and does it count toward your hand size?
- Can you play a flare at the start of Regroup before a ship is retrieved from the warp?
- Can you play your alien power and a Super Flare in the same encounter?
- Do 'whenever' flares like Wild Remora stay in effect for the rest of the encounter?
- Can I look at and play face-down flares on my alien sheet, and at what phase?
- When Plague makes you discard a card, does a Morph count as a card type you must discard?
- If the offense plays a kicker while the Magician is in play, is the kicker played before the Magician's swap applies?
- Can Quash be played after Super Oracle ends an encounter as if a deal had been made?
- When must Ionic Gas be played relative to collecting rewards and compensation?
- With the classic Wild Filch flare, must you be caught in the act to lose the cards?
- If an opponent's flare sets aside all your defense cards, do you lose the encounter automatically?
- Can you play cards to avoid losing them to compensation before compensation is taken?
- If Emotion Control turns an attack into a Negotiate while a Kicker is played, does the Kicker still apply to the failed deal?
- If I sacrifice ships to Wild Kamikaze and then reveal a Negotiate, does the total bonus affect whether a deal can happen?
- Does Kicker still multiply a card that Quark Battery swapped into the revealed encounter?
- Does an Intimidate card played against a non-Attack card become a Negotiate?
- Can Omni-Zap zap a Kicker, and does just played mean only the very last card played in the phase?
- Can you play Plague or another card at the start of turn or regroup if the other players move on quickly?
- If a Quash cancels a deal, can a Card Zap that was promised in the deal still be played?
- Can Reserve use his power more than once during one Reveal phase?
- Is there a limit on how many times an artifact or reinforcement can be played in one encounter?
- If Crystal changes a revealed Attack 08 into an Attack 64, does Wild Mirror copy 64 or 08?
- Can a power or flare that works in the Reveal phase be used after the encounter cards are turned face up?
- Can Filch take artifacts like Plague or Mobius Tubes, or only encounter cards?
- What value does a Reinforcement +X card have outside an encounter?
- Can you play a card in reaction to a Plague, such as an artifact you are about to lose?
- Can you play Kicker x0 on purpose to lose an encounter and avoid compensation?
- How does Calculator's Equalize work when negative attack cards are revealed?
- If Mirror, Tripler or another power changes an encounter card, does a Morph copy the original or the modified value?
- If a player plays Wild Bully during a negotiation, does the deal still have to be made?
- Can a player keep playing reinforcement cards after the other side has passed?
- If the opponent plays Morph against your Tripled attack card, does Morph copy the original value or the tripled value?
- If your flare is Card Zapped, can you play another flare in the same encounter?
- If a player uses a Super flare, should you stop it with a Card Zap or a Cosmic Zap?
- Can Emotion Control be played after reinforcements in the Reveal phase, and still allow a deal?
- If both main players' allies play Intimidate, who chooses first?
- If a Morph is opposed by Negotiate Betrayal, what happens to both cards?
- Can a Card Zap cancel a reinforcement played through Reserve's Negotiate?
- What happens when you negotiate, and what can a Negotiate outcome give?
- What happens when a Morph is played against a Retreat?
- What happens when both the offense and the defense play Morph?
- How many encounter cards can be played in one encounter?
- How many times can a Super flare be used in an encounter, and does the flare's modification apply more than once?
- Can you take a reward or artifact card as compensation when your Negotiate loses to an Attack?
- Do flares played in the Start Turn phase count against the one-flare-per-encounter limit?
- Can you change your encounter card after placing it, if the opponent has not revealed?
- Can you play a Kicker on top of an Intimidate card?
- What happens when an Intimidate card is played against another Intimidate card?
- Can cards be traded outside of a Negotiate?
- Does the Oracle Super Flare count as a successful encounter for the offense?
- Does Bully's Wild Flare replace the negotiation step when an opponent reveals a negotiate?
- Can an encounter total go below zero?
- Are flare cards discarded after use, or returned to hand?
- Can you Card Zap a flare after its effect has already resolved?
- In what order are the encounter cards discarded after an encounter?
- Can Emotion Control be played after flares, artifacts or reinforcements?
- If Anti-Matter's side plays a reinforcement, is it added to or subtracted from the total?
- Who plays reinforcements first, and in what order?
- Can identical cards be exchanged in a deal?
- When a power says to draw a card, such as Fido, Healer or Genius, can it draw from the Reward deck?
- Is there a limit on how many Artifact cards you can play in one turn?
- Can players play reinforcement cards one after another, or only in response to another player's reinforcement?
- Can Ionic Gas be played after compensation has already been collected?
- If a Reinforcement card is played, is it added before or after ships are multiplied?
- If Wild Machine makes a player draw a new hand, when does the flare return to his hand?
- Can Reinforcements or Human's power change the total when both players reveal Negotiate cards?
- Is Intimidate an encounter card, and what happens when the offense plays one?
- When are played artifacts discarded during an encounter?
- Can a player play more than one flare in the same encounter?
- Does the discard pile in a card effect include the Reward deck discard pile?
- Can you play a Reward card face down as your encounter card?
- When a flare is played from somewhere other than your hand, such as a hoard or an alien sheet, where does it return?
- Can you play an Artifact or Flare when you are not a main player or ally in the encounter?
- Can you play a reinforcement on your own attack just to empty your hand before a Negotiate compensation?
- Can you play flares or artifacts before drawing a new hand as offense or defense?
- How many reinforcements can be played, and when?
- Can a Cosmic Zap be played against a flare?
- Which card types does Plague make a player discard?
Flares and the Advanced Game
- If you have a power, can you play the Wild effect of its matching flare instead of the Super?
- If your alien power has been zapped or lost to too few home colonies, can you still use that alien's Super flare?
- Can a player play more than one flare in the same encounter?
- When does a played flare return to your hand?
- Do flares with a lasting effect, like Wild Cavalry or Classic Wild Empath, stay out of your hand for the rest of the encounter?
- Can a flare be included in a deal?
- Can you use your alien power and a Flare card in the same encounter?
- Can you play a Flare and an Attack or Negotiate card in the same encounter?
- If a flare says 'may', can you play it and then decline its effect?
- Are the flares dealt during alien selection shown to all players before they are shuffled into the cosmic deck?
- Can Reincarnator use the Super flare of the alien it has become?
- If Anti-Matter prevents another flare, is that flare kept in hand, and does it count toward the flare limit?
- When does a flare return to its owner's hand while its effect is still resolving?
- Can a flare passed to another player be used again in the same encounter?
- Can Wild Mind be used more than once per encounter?
- Do Wild Remora, Wild Reserve and Wild Zombie work only once per encounter as printed?
- Does Super Healer's raised healing fee last for the whole encounter?
- When Klutz's Wild Flare is played, must the player use at least one of its options?
- Can Wild Shadow be played after the loser has drawn compensation in Resolution?
- Can Wild Remora be used if the other player's flare has been Cosmic Zapped?
- When Doppelganger's Wild Flare swaps hands, which hand does the flare return to after resolving?
- Are flares for a newly acquired alien power added to the deck partway through the game?
- When an alien leaves the game through Reincarnator, what happens to its sheet, facets and things in play?
- If a Super Flare is Card Zapped, does its owner still use the alien power, and what happens to the flare?
- Does a flare's effect still apply after the flare has left your hand?
- Must a flare that lasts until the end of the encounter leave your hand before compensation is drawn?
- Does a flare that gets card zapped count toward the one-flare-per-encounter limit?
- Does using a flare's Wild effect discard the flare?
- Can the Trader super flare let you use Trader's power a second time in one encounter?
- Can Zombie use the Kamikaze flare and keep its ships?
- After Wild Reincarnator, does the new alien get its flare?
- When a flare switches two players' alien powers permanently, do the players swap their alien sheets?
- If an alien loses its power, do its Cosmic tokens (such as Warrior tokens) stay on the alien sheet?
- If a Card Zap hits an artifact kept by Wild Clone, is it discarded?
- Does Loser collect compensation if he wins by declaring an upset on a Negotiate?
- Does Barbarian's power trigger when a deal succeeds on an offensive encounter?
- Can Human be Cosmic Zapped to win, or can you zap yourself to win, after playing a Negotiate?
- If Daredevil's wild flare wins against a Negotiate, does the winner lose three ships to the warp?
- How does the Wild Virus flare work with Anti-Matter, which subtracts ships?
- When the Virus wild flare multiplies ships, does an allied Macron ship count as one ship or four?
- If the Observer "allows" allies not to lose their ships, must the allies use that permission?
- If Grudge loses its power after giving out tokens, do the tokens still take effect?
- Does an ally count as the offense or defense for an alien power's effect?
- If a mandatory 'up to' effect like Glutton's or Vacuum's cannot be fully carried out, do you still do as much as possible?
- Can Citadel place a second citadel card during the same player's second encounter in one turn?
- What makes two attack cards 'identical' for The Claw or Wild Deuce?
- If Sargasso Web is active, is a Wild Angler flare returned to the player after it fishes out a card?
- If Cryo's super flare makes you discard your hand to take your stored cards, do you discard the flare too?
- Does Macron's wild flare add to the total for every ship on your side, or only the ships you have in the encounter?
- Can a defensive ally play Wild Guerrilla, and can it change who wins the encounter?
- Can Wild Anarchist be played on the offensive main player?
- What does Poison's Wild flare do?
- Can Wild Miser protect fewer than two other cards when you draw a new hand or another player takes compensation from you?
- Can Wild Bride's flare target an 'unoccupied' planet with zero ships, and is 'foreign' judged from the offense's view?
- Can General Wild be played when the offense's Morph has become an attack matching the defense's attack?
- Can the Sorcerer flare trade powers with a player who has lost his power?
- When Sorcerer's flare swaps powers, does the new owner keep the Warrior's accumulated tokens?
- When Healer heals a player, are the ships placed on colonies or replaced?
- Can Merchant's hired ships be lost to the warp when a deal fails?
- Can another player Cosmic Zap a Schizoid who completes its own victory conditions?
- How do foreign colonies on Pygmy planets count toward victory?
- If Plant grafts no alien, does Plant have any power for the rest of the game?
- If Chrysalis becomes Vulch with its Super Flare, can it collect the nine other flares being discarded?
- How does Mirror reverse a multi-digit attack card?
- If Sloth is forced to ally by Remote, must Sloth still send four ships?
- Can the Alchemist be required to say which discarded card they took?
- Can a Super Architect tower double your total in an encounter?
Zaps and Timing
- Until when can I Cosmic Zap an alien power?
- When can I zap Anti-Matter?
- Is the Start Turn phase part of an encounter?
- Can a victory claim, such as Masochist's Plague win, be stopped by a Cosmic Zap?
- When does an effect that happens "after the encounter" take effect?
- When can Mobius Tubes be played, and where do its ships go?
- Can Wild Schizoid swap colors with a player who has just won and take the win?
- Can I Cosmic Zap a power before the player uses it?
- When can a Cosmic Zap be played against a power: before or after its target is declared?
- After a power is zapped, which parts of the alien sheet stay active?
- Can another player zap Super Glutton's flare, even though it says you immediately win?
- If a card revealed by a zapped power is zapped, is that card discarded?
- Does Wild Calculator resolve before Tripler's or Virus's power?
- When two players both have optional powers that could be used in the same timing step, who must act first?
- Can you play Mobius Tubes in response to someone else's Plague during your regroup?
- Does the Timing Rule let the offense always act first when both main players use powers in the same phase?
- When is a power use declared, and must its target be named before a Cosmic Zap window?
- When is the last moment to Cosmic Zap an alien power once its targets are chosen?
- Can you Cosmic Zap Reincarnator after he has drawn his new alien?
- Can you Cosmic Zap a power after its user has already used it?
- When is the right time to Cosmic Zap Macron when he is on defense or an ally?
- If a super flare's owner is hit by a Cosmic Zap, does his flare become the Wild flare?
- Which parts of an alien power does a Cosmic Zap shut off?
- Can a Cosmic Zap be answered by a second Cosmic Zap after the first one was zapped?
- Does a power that works after encounter cards are revealed have to be used immediately?
- Can you play Cosmic Zap against a player who is using his Super flare?
- Can you Cosmic Zap a player who is not using his power, or a power that is only being referred to?
- Can a power be Cosmic Zapped once it has started to have its effect?
- If a Super flare has a different timing icon from its alien power, can you still Cosmic Zap the use it causes?
- When is a Super flare that says 'when you use your power' played relative to the power's use?
- Do you have to pause before a power resolves so others can Cosmic Zap it?
- Does a card that is zapped and discarded have to have been played first?
- Can you Card Zap a Cosmic Zap to reinstate the power or card it stopped?
- After a Cosmic Zap, can an alien still use its non-use effects for the rest of the encounter?
- Can I Cosmic Zap Cyborg after he names the card he will swap in?
- Can I Cosmic Zap a power whose result depends on hidden choices, such as a face-down card?
- Does Hate keep his card if he is zapped while using his power?
- If Kamikaze's power is Cosmic Zapped, do the ships he already moved to the warp come back?
- Is a flare discarded for its second effect counted as played?
- Can a player back out of a power they declared if the Timing Rule delays it?
- Does the Timing Rule apply when both players agree on the order their powers resolve?
- Does the Timing Rule apply to mandatory effects, continuous effects, or reactions to another player's action?
- When two optional powers, such as Trader and Loser, can be used in the same phase, who declares first?
- Can you play a second Cosmic Zap on the same alien power after a Card Zap has been played on the first Cosmic Zap?
- Can you zap just part of a card effect or alien power?
- Can a Card Zap played earlier cancel an earlier flare once other actions have happened?
- Can an 'at any time' card like Finder interrupt another action in the middle?
- Can Cosmic Zap stop the Siren's second clause, which gains a colony when she wins on defense?
- When can Cosmic Zap be played on Macron?
Alien Powers (A–F)
- Can Amoeba's ooze or Wild Amoeba use ships from colonies in the encounter, or on a planet where he has none?
- If I chose to ally and was then removed from the encounter, do I still avoid the grudge token?
- Does a successful deal count as a win for Daredevil?
- If Force Field keeps an offensive ally on the Leviathan planet, has the ally left the encounter?
- Does Cudgel work on a card changed into an attack, and is compensation due for the extra ships?
- Can Alchemist or Miser respond to a Cosmic Zap or act before Shadow?
- Does Architect's doubling include reinforcements played during Reveal?
- Does Cudgel trigger when the defender's Morph copies an attack?
- Can I draw from the reward deck for any reward, or only defender rewards?
- Does Cavalry or Industrialist count a Morph as an attack or negotiate?
- Can Disease win by taking one planet and then spreading to others in that system?
- Can Dictator change the Destiny card again after giving the player their own color?
- Does Anti-Matter subtract ships from allies on both sides, or only from its own side?
- Can Fido claim the card I was offered as compensation after encounter cards have been discarded?
- If Force Field cancels my alliance after my ally emptied a home planet, can the ally's ships return to that empty planet?
- What happens when Empath and Pacifist face each other?
- When can the Butler still get his tip from the offense?
- Can the Alchemist wild flare discard itself to take another flare from a discard pile?
- How do Crusher and Fungus interact when Crusher merges a Fungus stack?
- If a Masochist with no colonies sends its last ships to support or attack, where do those ships go?
- Engineer: can you take compensation before using Engineer's power?
- Can Converter draw cards instead of retrieving ships when there are no ships in the warp?
- When Filth loses an encounter, does his power resolve before compensation, so the offense can still play its Cosmic Zap?
- Does Diplomat's Negotiate swap force the deal immediately, or can other after-reveal effects still act first?
- Can the main player use Crystal's Refract power to discard her own attack card?
- Does Wild Fido take from the whole discard pile, and does his pickup depend on the discard window?
- Does Super Fodder let you add attack cards higher than your opponent's revealed card?
- Can Chosen's Divine Intervention activate more than once in one encounter?
- When Changeling takes over Fungus's power, does he receive the Fungus stacks?
- Do an alien's facets (tokens, cards on its sheet, citadels, grudge tokens) transfer when its power is stolen, traded or loaned?
- Can Wild Fury destroy one of your own ships that is in the Warp?
- If Filth joins as an offensive ally and the offense wins, do the allies fly home or still each gain a colony elsewhere?
- How does Anti-Matter's subtraction work for the opponent's total?
- How many ships does Cudgel make an opponent lose?
- If Amoeba sends all his ships out of his home planets, does he lose his power?
- Can Amoeba move all his ships into the hyperspace gate before losing his power?
- If Chosen adds a card to his revealed card, can Filch take the added card?
- If you attack a planet holding another player's Filth tokens and win, can your ships move to another planet in that system?
- Does Extortionist's victim see all of the reward cards before Extortionist takes half?
- Can Changeling swap powers with Symbiote?
- Does Cudgel's extra loss count an ally's ships, such as Macron's?
- What can Fido retrieve after an encounter?
- When can the Citadel player place the Citadel, and can it be placed again after a redrawn destiny?
- How many times can an alien power be used in one encounter?
- How is the total for Anti-Matter versus Virus calculated?
- Does Claw trigger when a copy of its card is discarded, such as by Hate?
- Does Anti-Matter have any effect when it meets Overkill?
- Does a once-per-encounter power trigger when I am not involved in the encounter?
- Does Force Field cancel the main players' alliance?
- Can an alien power be used again in a later encounter after it was used once?
- When Cudgel's power forces extra ships into the warp, does Ethic get compensation for them?
- What does Fido get when the other player refuses the card he offers?
- Can Fido retrieve any discarded card, or only the encounter card used in the encounter?
- Can Filch take the opponent's encounter card when the opponent played two cards, or is Filch limited to one card?
- Is Super Daredevil's threshold 3 or 4?
- When Changeling swaps powers, is the swap permanent until someone swaps again, or only for the current encounter?
- How does a Fungus stack count toward totals and ship counts inside and outside combat?
- Can Changeling swap aliens with Symbiote, Lizard, Pygmy, Roach, Swindler, or Horde?
- Does Chronos's Time Travel also undo the effects of alien powers and artifacts played this encounter?
- Can an offense-only alien power be used when you are the defense or an ally?
- If The Claw steals a Pygmy planet, does it keep Pygmy's four-ship limit and half-colony count?
- If Anti-Matter or Wild Anti-Matter prevents another flare, can that flare be played again?
- When Super Chosen's divine intervention draws cards, can the player see them before deciding to play the flare?
- If Cudgel Wild flare is played on a planet with existing colonies, do the other players' ships there leave before the allies land?
- Does The Claw match a Morph that copied another card?
- What does 'legal encounter' mean on Colony Cloak, Worm, and Butler?
- Does Alchemist's once-per-encounter power apply to any encounter in the game, or only to encounters Alchemist is part of?
- When Fungus's stack enters the warp and frees its ships, do the freed ships stay in the warp?
- If Changeling swaps Schizoid to another player, can that player look at his victory conditions?
- When Wild Chrysalis draws a flare, do you keep it in your hand after looking at it?
- If the Wild Fury flare is used against a player who has too few ships to lose, does it still remove a ship?
- When Wild Clone is played on a Cosmic Zap, is the Zap discarded, and can it be zapped?
- If Wild Cyborg is played during the reveal to replace the top discard as your encounter card, is that allowed?
- Does Super Fido's extension of the base power still give you the base power's draw or retrieve for each accepted card?
- Does Bully make a losing opponent lose more ships when that opponent is a Lunatic allying against himself?
- If Bulwark wins and Guerrilla's power sends the extra ships to the warp, how many ships does Bulwark lose?
- How does Anti-Matter's power subtract ships from each side's total?
- How does Filth's power work when Filth is an ally, and does it still apply when Filth regains power after a zap?
- Does Disease infect each time a destiny card is drawn, including redrawn ones?
- Can Super Masochist reduce the Masochist below the number of ships needed for foreign colonies?
- When does Citadel place its card after Destiny is drawn?
- Can Deuce have a second encounter if he has only one encounter card?
- When Barbarian wins, does the defense draw a new hand?
- Can Butler flare target a player with no encounter cards to become offense, and what happens?
- What does the Bully power's sentence about coexisting ships on the target planet mean?
- Does Fungus capture the extra losing ships that Cudgel creates, or the ships Grudge sends to the warp?
- Does Fury's ship-loss ability apply when ships are captured instead of lost to the warp?
- How do captured ships count for the Fungus power, and can you restack them later?
- If a Cosmic Zap is card-zapped while The Claw is trying to take it, does The Claw keep the Cosmic Zap?
- Does Duplicity (Kicker x2) change compensation or failed deals?
- If Citadel's power is lost or discarded, are the citadels discarded?
- Does Super Insect let you skip discarding a qualifying flare from your hand?
- Does Wild Bride end Machine's turn?
Alien Powers (G–O)
- When does Healer heal relative to compensation and Remora, and does Zombie beat it?
- As an ally, which ships does Observer protect, and does Fungus beat him?
- When can Lunatic use his power relative to alliance invitations?
- What if Loser declares an upset and I have no Attack cards?
- When Wild Loser ends an encounter before Reveal, which phases are skipped?
- If Hate has no encounter cards at the start of his turn, can he still use his power?
- Does a Merchant's hired ship count as a ship for Fungus and Void?
- If the defense lets the Industrialist win, do the defense's ships still go to the Warp?
- When Love has no encounter cards at the start of her turn, can she use her power before or after drawing a new hand?
- If Hate flare or Wild Hate removes the target's last encounter card, does Loser's upset still swap the outcome?
- Can an alien that has lost its power, such as Locust, still receive its own flare?
- Can Mimic use its hand-size power repeatedly to keep drawing new hands?
- Does a failed deal count as losing an encounter for Guerilla's power?
- Can Observer's allies still choose to send their ships to the Warp under Observer's Protect power?
- If Mirage swaps colonies to change encounter totals, does a +X Reinforcement card still add ships to the defense?
- Can Gambler claim an encounter card that is not currently in the game?
- Can Oracle's forced reveal stop the Calculator Wild flare from being played after cards are chosen?
- Does Multitude drop back to x1 when its player is put in timeout?
- Does Space Junk's 'several cards go to the discard pile at the same time' trigger when Mirror Universe makes the discard pile the new deck?
- Where can ships that Mobius Tubes frees from the Warp be placed?
- When Genius and Wild Guerrilla are both played against a landing on a planet, who goes first?
- If a player uses Merchant's hired cards as ships, do they count for rewards, compensation, and ship-affecting effects?
- Does Maven's power put the encounter into the reveal, so that effects that trigger after cards are revealed still apply?
- Do cards set aside by Laser still count as part of the defense's hand?
- Does Macron's Wild flare, which says 'after you reveal an attack card', work when you are an ally?
- Can you sacrifice stuck Gorgon-held ships to the Warp and still send four ships into an attack?
- Can the Glutton's draw-two power trigger on compensation or on a successful deal?
- In an encounter with both Mirror and Tripler, when is Mirror's power applied relative to Tripler's?
- Does Oracle's forced early reveal interact with Gambler's power?
- Can an opponent play a flare after an Oracle forces an encounter card to be played face up?
- When is the Oracle's power used, and what about the Super Oracle's Reveal wording?
- If the opponent has fewer than three encounter cards, does Wild Magician still take three cards from the new hand?
- Can Lightning stop Machine's extra encounter?
- When can allies draw their card from The General's 'afterwards' bonus?
- What happens when Magician's target Deuce is the offense and has two encounter cards left?
- If a Loser declares an upset and Wild Loser is played, does the upset resolve?
- Can the Judge get its last base with a Fiat?
- Can Hate use his power again in a second encounter if his hand runs out?
- Can Hate's discard penalty remove ships that are part of a foreign colony?
- What happens to Merchant's hired ships if he loses the encounter?
- Is Macron's ship effect optional, and how many ships can Macron commit to one encounter?
- How many ships can Macron send into an encounter, and how much does each one count?
- When the Mimic copies hand size, does a handless defense draw a new hand first?
- If Oracle forces Pacifist to play its Negotiate face-up, does Pacifist's power still trigger?
- What does Loser's Super Flare allow that the normal Loser power does not?
- How do Gambler and Oracle interact when Gambler's card is played against Oracle?
- Can Super Gambler risk more ships than he currently has available?
- If Hate is out of encounter cards at the start of his turn, must he refresh his hand before using his power?
- Can Human be zapped regardless of the encounter card types played, and what happens when Human and Pacifist both auto-win?
- Does Mirror's digit swap change a negative attack card's minus sign?
- If Loser declares an upset and a Self-Destruct kicker is played, does either side win?
- If Healer heals the ships of a player who lost a Negotiate, does that player still get compensation?
- When a Lizard swaps ships into the morphed state, do they stay morphed when sent to the warp?
- Does Laser's 'without looking at them' let you account for card backs when choosing cards?
- Does Leviathan's worldship launch add ships to the hyperspace gate on top of a normal launch?
- Does Macron's double-ship rule double a ship's value for every purpose, or only when collecting rewards and compensation?
- If Leviathan loses its power after sending a worldship, does the worldship still add to the total and get sent home?
- If Hate discards an attack card, can another player discard a lower attack card instead of losing ships?
- If an upset is declared and then Wild Loser is played, do both players win?
- Must a Magician answer a Seeker's yes-or-no question based only on what he knows, even if his power may change the result?
- Does Horde get a token when it draws a card from the Reward deck?
- Does the Judge's if an attack card is revealed condition require both players to reveal attack cards?
- Does Judge's extra 'loser gains a colony' term give her ally a colony too when she loses?
- If Sargasso Web is in play, is a Privilege played by Oligarch removed from the game?
- Can Miser use reinforcement cards from either of his hands?
- Must a Miser with no encounter cards in hand draw a new hand even if encounter cards sit in his hoard?
- Can Human use his power when he reveals a Negotiate, and does a self-zap win give compensation?
- Can you discard up to three cards before using Super Mutant to refill your hand if you start with eight or more cards?
- Does the General's Super Flare add to the total on top of the normal ship count, or replace it?
- Does Mirror's power reverse the attack cards of both players, or only the opponent's?
- Do Merchant's hired cards return to hand before or after compensation is taken?
- Can Wild Mimic copy a flare that the copying player could not legally play himself?
- Does Mobius Tubes force Masochist's ships back onto colonies?
- Can Grudge give Grudge tokens to players who accepted his alliance invitation when Force Field cancels the alliance?
- How do you resolve a Loser upset against Anti-Matter?
- Does Human win automatically when Cosmic Nebula is in play and Human attacks?
- Can Human be Cosmic Zapped to win when he reveals a Negotiate card?
- When Oracle or Wild Magician makes Magician play his card first, can Magician still change it?
- When Judge's fiat gives a bonus to the loser and both players lose, do both get the colony?
- Can you Cosmic Zap the Mutant after it has started taking cards?
- How does Loser's upset interact with Bleeding Heart's peace when Bleeding Heart is attacking Loser?
- When Miser's Wild Oracle flare is played from the horde, which hand does it mix?
- Can Glutton use its power to draw extra cards from the Rewards deck?
- Can Miser start a second encounter if his only encounter card is in his hoard?
- Does Cosmic Guardian turn every high attack card into a Negotiate everywhere, even outside the encounter?
- Does the Merchant collect compensation for hired ships that go to the warp?
- If Loser declares an upset and is then forced to reveal a Negotiate against an Attack, who wins?
- When Gambler's bluff is caught, must the ships he loses come from outside the encounter?
- Can Macron bring more than one ship into an encounter?
- Can Gambler be used with Sorcerer despite Gambler's 'do not use with' note?
- How do Merchant's hired ships that would go to the warp interact with Healer?
- Does Wild Grudge stop a Fungus ally from capturing ships when the main player plays it?
- When Mobius Tubes frees ships from the warp, does it free all players' ships or only the ships of the player who played it?
- Can Observer, as an ally, lose ships outside the encounter to Grudge or Wild Void?
- Does Loser's upset override Human's automatic win?
- If the Gambler claims a card value and it turns out to be a Morph when revealed, did he lie?
- Does Card Zap affect an Essence privilege card, or only Cosmic Zap?
- How does Wild Human interact with the Gambler's claim and challenge?
- If Laser blinds an opponent to no cards as the offense, does Laser still gain a colony?
Alien Powers (P–Z)
- Does Pacifist collect compensation if he loses, and can the win be stopped?
- Can Parasite ally with the defense when Energy Cloak is used?
- Can Tick-Tock share a win when others win by deal in the same encounter?
- How do Void, Zombie and Fungus interact on ships going to the warp?
- Must Will encounter an actual colony?
- What can Zombie's deal power and compensation do?
- Can Poison's auto-win make Poison defeat itself against Loser?
- Can Siren use her power when her system comes up in Destiny?
- If Warhawk turns a Negotiate into an Attack 00, can Emotion Control still force a deal?
- Can a buyer pay for a Peddler card with something he does not control?
- Does Tick-Tock share the win when a trade gives another player their fifth colony?
- If Warhawk turns the opponent's Negotiate into an Attack, does Poison still apply?
- When does Warrior add tokens to his alien sheet?
- Can Trader use his power with an empty hand?
- Can Wild Shadow be played after compensation is drawn?
- If a Cosmic Zap cancels Reserve, can reinforcements still be added?
- Can Prometheus be retrieved from the warp during Regroup if it was lost?
- When Will is used, who is the defense?
- Can Siren's lure depend on which planet was attacked, or only on whether she is the defense?
- Does Schizoid AT make every card flipped up a win condition?
- Can Sniveler name a range of cards, such as all attacks of 15 or lower, when he whines?
- Can Reactor use its second power when a main player invites it to ally?
- If a Parasite Flare piggybacks on an encounter that gives a game win, is the piggyback valid?
- Do Pack Rat or Emperor stack several received items under one ID ship?
- When Plant steals a power such as Remora, does the original owner keep it?
- Which drawn Destiny cards count for powers such as Shadow and Tourist?
- Can Xenophile's owner launch ships from a colony to the gate targeting a planet where they already have a colony?
- Can Rift 1 establish a colony on a planet that has no ships on it?
- Can a Negotiate steal the Vacuum's super flare from its holder?
- For Prophet, does a deal count as a win when checking the prediction?
- Can Sniveler count Locust's devoured planets when he whines about foreign colonies, and can Locust refuse with them?
- Is Seeker's question 'Will you take the encounter card your opponent plays on his left?' valid against Magician?
- Does the Symbiote wild flare's 'every regroup phase' retrieval last for the rest of the game?
- When Plant takes a power like Reincarnator, does he take its current incarnation and the extra components?
- Can Plant take Macron and then send more than one ship to the gate?
- Can a player use the Super flare of an alien they have taken or of Reincarnator's current incarnation?
- Can Precursor Seed draw an alien that conflicts with one already in play, such as Gambler with Sorcerer?
- Can Wild Schizoid switch colors after the encounter that gave a player the winning fifth planet?
- Is Siren's passive power mandatory when its trigger happens?
- Does Pacifist get compensation when he wins with his power?
- When do Vacuum's extra ships go to the warp, relative to ships lost by the offense and defensive allies going home?
- When Virus multiplies your total, does a Fungus stack count as one ship or as each captured ship?
- Does Shadow Flare's 'As the Defense' apply to a defensive ally?
- Can Trader use his flare's super effect to swap hands with the main player during an encounter?
- When the winner of a Negotiate-versus-Attack encounter plays Wild Vulch, does it resolve before or after compensation?
- What happens when the opponent agrees with Skeptic's doubt during Planning?
- Does Poison's Wild Mirror Flare let Poison win every encounter that does not involve a Negotiate?
- Can Vulch pick up a Card Zap and play it against that same Card Zap?
- When Shadow's power is used on a Wild destiny card, does Execute mean remove the ship from the game?
- Can Virus Wild Flare multiply by zero when you have no allies?
- Can Super Vacuum move ships that are in the hyperspace gate?
- If Vacuum loses 4 ships as attacker, do all other players lose 4 ships each?
- Can Vacuum send Zombie ships to the warp when it loses ships?
- Does The Qax force all eligible players to ally with you?
- If Zombie loses his third home colony while ships sit there, can he use his power on those ships first?
- Does Saboteur's own booby trap go off when Saboteur places his own ship on his planet?
- Can a non-Reincarnator play the Reincarnator's Wild flare on himself?
- Is Prometheus worth 3 or 4 in an encounter?
- If Warrior loses his power, does he still collect the tokens for a loss?
- When Sorcerer and Amoeba both act in the Planning phase, who decides first?
- Can Will use his power to reclaim an empty home planet?
- If the Witch's curse says you cannot win, does it stop a win from an encounter that ended in the same phase?
- How does Prophet's 'gain a colony on any one planet of your choice' work?
- When Seeker's wild flare is played against Magician, how many cards does the ally see?
- Does Parasite still ally into an encounter when no main player asks for allies?
- Is the second part of Zombie's power, the In addition clause, a zappable use?
- Can ships be placed on a Pygmy planet above four?
- Can the Trader swap an empty hand for the opponent's full hand?
- Does Pacifist's automatic win on a Negotiate hold against any play?
- Can you answer 'I don't know' to a Seeker question about your future intentions?
- If you decide beforehand to play a random card, can you answer 'I don't know' to a Seeker question about which card you will play?
- Can you answer yes to a Seeker question like 'Will you play a Negotiate?' when you hold none but expect to draw one?
- After answering yes to a Seeker question, can you later take actions that make it impossible to keep your answer?
- If you answered yes to a Seeker question about playing a Cosmic Zap this encounter, must you zap the first power that gets used?
- If Seeker asks an invalid question, does Seeker get to re-ask or keep the power?
- Must a Seeker answer be only yes or no?
- Can a Seeker question use an 'if' condition, such as 'If Jeremy uses his power and you have a Cosmic Zap, will you play it on him?'?
- Can Shadow execute one ship for each destiny card when the offense draws more than one?
- Can Trader trade a hand that has no encounter cards in it?
- Can Vacuum use its power against its own ships?
- Does a zapped Warrior still earn his tokens?
- Can Wild Plant be played when Plant has lost its own power?
- How does Super Vox's card drawing work with the card itself?
- Can Saboteur check where its bomb tokens are, and how many can it move per encounter?
- Does Pacifist's hand get raided when Pacifist wins an encounter with a Negotiate?
- Can Sniveler whine about cards other than encounter cards?
- Does Remora's power trigger when another player draws Reward deck cards instead of Cosmic deck cards?
- Does Zombie still get to use its power to return ships to colonies when it must lose its last home-colony ships?
- Does a Rift card explode when Trader, Dervish or Whirligig moves it into your hand?
- Can you play Wild Pentaform on yourself as Symbiote to discard its power and keep the extra ships?
- When a Black Hole hazard would send ships to the warp, does it override Zombie's power?
- Does Warrior earn double tokens when it loses, and does being left out of alliances affect its power?
- If Plant loses its own alien power, does a power it already grafted keep working?
- Does Reactor's power count every matching flare, and why does its text say flares in the plural?
- What happens when Wild Vulch is played on the Vulch and artifacts keep bouncing back?
- If Sorcerer switches cards, which card does Clone or Filch affect?
- Does a Zombie's deal, which lets it pull ships out of the warp, require a negotiated deal?
- When can Patriot use its power?
- Does Seeker work against Trickster when Seeker is the offense?
- Does Sniveler's whine need every other player to agree, or is a majority enough?
- When several players could give Sniveler a card, who gives it?
- Can Shadow's power remove a ship that is researching a tech card?
- Can Will encounter a player on a planet where that player has no colony?
- If a Quash cancels a deal, does Prophet still get a reward for a correct prediction?
- When Visionary declares the opponent must play a certain card, must the opponent say whether they hold it?
- Does Remora draw a card when the player draws from the Rewards deck?
- Does Virus multiply its attack value by its ships instead of adding them?
- Does Super Winner's colony flare give colonies in addition to the base Winner power?
- Can Wild Sadist's flare be used when you are an ally and your side wins the encounter?
- When Warhawk and Pacifist both use their powers, whose power resolves first?
- Can the Wrack propose a deal that is impossible to accept, and can it change the deal between tortures?
- If Vacuum targets a defensive ally's ships, does Observer protect that ally?
- Does Swindler get to take the Swindler power when Psychic Switcheroo swaps powers with the opponent?
- How does Symbiote's second color work for attacks, defense and losses?
- Does Plant steal the target's power, or only copy it?
- How many ships can a power put on a free foreign colony, such as Prophet's or Relic's?
- Can Reincarnator use his own Wild Reincarnator flare on himself?
- Does Trickster's power or Wild Loser's timing let Wild Loser be played against Trickster?
- When Void and Fungus both win, what happens to the losing ships?
- Can Vulch use an artifact it just picked up during the same Regroup phase?
- Does the Winner race's extra colony trigger if the opponent plays a Negotiate?
- Does Void remove the losing side's ships from the game when an encounter ends in a failed deal?
- Can Wild Reincarnator be played on a losing ally, not just a losing main player?
- Does a Trader flare played in the Alliance phase interrupt Mutant's power, or the other way round?
- What does 'prevented by another player' mean in the Visionary power, and can Visionary's effect override a restriction?
- What does 'no colonies' mean on the Rift 1 card: must the planet be completely empty?
- When Pygmy is attacked by more ships than its four-ship limit, which ships land?
- How is Phantom's attack value calculated when it has ships on its sheet and in the encounter?
- Does Virus keep its power if all of its ships are on a single planet?
- Does Virus multiply the +3 bonus from The Prometheus?
- Can Super Reserve play more than one attack of 07 to 09?
- If Void wins with Fungus as an ally, are the losing ships captured or eradicated?
- Can Sorcerer still play a Negotiate after Loser calls an upset?
- How often does Vulch pick up discarded artifacts?
- Can a defensive Trader trade his hand when he has no encounter cards?
- When Zombie loses an encounter in its home system, do the defending ships go to the warp and get resurrected?
- Must the answer to a Seeker question be yes or no, and is the ally bound by it?
- Does Plague make you discard a Rift or a Kicker card too?
- Can Zombie use flares that require sending ships to the warp, like Wild Kamikaze?
- Can Sorcerer switch his encounter card and let the opponent see the new card before the Gambler claim?
- Can Parasite ally against himself as a main player?
- If Tick-Tock runs out of tokens and two other players win a deal together at five colonies, who wins?
- When can Whirligig use its power during the Planning phase?
- Can Will ignore the drawn destiny card and encounter a different player's colony?
- Can Plant graft a power that was stolen with the Plant wild flare?
- Can Pirate use his power as a defensive ally?
Variants
- In the Hidden Powers variant, does a hidden alien gain tokens before it is revealed?
- Can Plant look at and use an unrevealed alien power it grafts from another player in the Hidden Powers variant?
- Can Cosmic Encounter be played with only two players?
- What is the reward when a card is accepted in the hidden alliance (Foreign Aid) variant?
- Does the alternate Wild Schizoid flare do anything when the Double Aliens variant is in use?
Technology Variant
- When can a player research a tech card?
- Where do the ships researching a tech go when it is completed?
- Can a tech be revealed during the Reveal phase so its ships can be added to a colony under attack?
- Can you check the ships on your researching tech card at any time, and when is it revealed?
- When can you place a ship on a Technology card to research it?
- When can you activate a Tech card after placing its last ship?
- Does gaining a tech card as your second encounter trigger a Regroup phase?
- Can you research two tech cards in one Regroup phase if you have two ships?
- Can you look at your own face-down Tech card while researching it?
- Can you remove ships from a researching tech card to pay for a failed deal's ships in the warp?
- Can Shadow's Execute remove a ship that is researching a tech card?
- Can The Prometheus tech card be discarded while its ship is in play?
- Can you use a Coldsleep Ship right after completing its research in the same Regroup phase?
- Does the Qax tech force you to pull ships off a tech you are researching?
- If a tech says do not reveal until used, do you get your ships back when you research it?
- Can you rearrange your planets to change which planets the Lunar Cannon sits between?
- Does Gluon Mines, when it sends all of the main player's ships to the warp, end the encounter?
Editions, Components and Rules Disputes
- What is the difference between the 2008 and 2011 Cosmic Encounter printings?
- Should I use the rulebook included with the 2018 Cosmic Encounter edition?
- Are the Cosmic Encounter expansions compatible with the 2008 edition?
- Can translucent ships represent a 13th player color?
- Can the group vote to decide what a card or rule means?
- If you think an opponent made an illegal play, may you stay quiet to profit from it?
- Do cancel and negate mean the same thing on cards?
- What do 'challenge' and 'cone' mean on some cards?
- Is the classic Wild Filch flare legitimate to use?
- Can you play more than one kicker in the same encounter?
- What is the difference between a card's value and its identity when powers modify encounter cards?
- Is winning an encounter the same as having a successful encounter, such as making a deal?
- What happens if you must draw from the Cosmic deck and both the deck and discard pile are empty?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic IncursionExpansion
- Does a Rift detonate if an opponent gives it to you as part of a deal?
- Do Rift cards detonate when Trader takes another player's hand?
- Is a rift card a kind of attack card?
- Can Rift target your own ships to free them?
- Must a Rift release exactly its value in ships from the warp?
- Who chooses which colonies ships freed from the warp by a Rift return to?
- What happens to reward cards in hand when a Cosmic Quake occurs?
- When is the Reward deck reshuffled?
- Can effects that target the discard pile take reward cards from the reward discard pile?
- Can you target reward-back cards when taking compensation?
- Can allies choose cards from the reward deck when they receive a reward?
- Can players look at the card backs of the cards in other players' hands?
- Who chooses their encounter card first when both main players play face down in Cosmic Incursion?
- Do Mind and Remora activate when another player draws a reward card?
- In Cosmic Incursion, can you retrieve a reward card after it has been discarded to the reward discard pile?
- How do you add a sixth player with Cosmic Incursion?
- Can Sniveler whine about flares, or only about ships in the warp, colonies, or encounter cards?
- Are kicker cards affected by effects that target encounter cards?
- When are kicker cards revealed?
- Can you play more than one Kicker card on an attack?
- Does the opponent's kicker multiply my compensation when I play a Negotiate?
- Does a Morph copy a Kicker's multiplier, and is a Morph's value set before a Kicker applies?
- Does a Kicker multiply a card before or after Tripler triples it?
- Does a Cosmic Zap on a Fungus player free the ships that player has captured?
- When Fungus wins with a stack of ships, can the new ships join the existing stack?
- How many ships does a Fungus stack count as for rewards, compensation and the gate limit?
- If Fungus captures Merchant's hired ships, do they return to Merchant's hand at the end of the encounter?
- Does a captured Prometheus still give +3 when Fungus uses it?
- Can Fungus capture ships that Bully forces out of the encounter?
- What does Super Fungus's flare do to a Fungus stack sent to the warp?
- If Fungus takes all of a player's ships, how does that player get back in?
- Does Void resolve before Fungus when both would affect the same ships?
- Can Fury spend her tokens after her power was zapped or lost?
- When Leviathan brings a worldship into an encounter, can it also bring ships from its hand?
- When Leviathan regains his power, who keeps the Leviathan wild flare?
- Does Ghoul feast on ships sent to the warp by players other than the one it fights, such as ships Guerrilla's power sends to the warp?
- Can Locust consume one of its own planets after targeting it with its power?
- Can Disease use its power on a green colony when green is not the flipped destiny card?
- If Chronos uses Wild Plant to become Virus, can Plant then steal Chronos's power?
- Can Guerrilla's wild flare blow up a planet that is not your home planet, or where you are not the only player present?
- Does playing the Wild Symbiote flare stop you from playing another flare that encounter?
- If you regain three home planets after losing an alien power, do you get the power back?
- When a player loses their alien power, does their Super flare still apply, or does the Wild flare come into scope?
- Can a power tied to one phase or event be used again in that same phase or encounter?
- Can Vulch or a Card Zap interrupt an action that is still waiting to resolve, such as Finder during a Card Zap?
- When does Wild Magician take effect relative to Trader and other effects before cards are played?
- Can Plant use a grafted Fungus stack in an encounter without grafting Fungus again?
- Do Sniveler's allies need to be within one colony of winning to share its Super Flare victory?
- Can Seeker's opponent answer I don't know when the question cannot be answered yes or no, and can they trade away cards after answering?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic ConflictExpansion
- Does Industrialist's power belong to the Reveal phase or the Resolution phase?
- Can Siren have an encounter with herself, and which timing icon does her power need?
- When is the hazard card drawn after a destiny card shows a hazard warning?
- Can Visionary use its power again after Chronos makes the encounter replay from the planning phase?
- Are all alien powers limited to once per encounter?
- How long do Hazard cards stay in play?
- If Filth loses an encounter as defense, do the opposing ships return to their other colonies even when Filth is on a foreign colony?
- If you invite Filth as an ally and win the offense, do you land on the target planet with him?
- Can Classic Wild Empath be played as a surprise without warning the other players?
- Does The Claw's 'copy' match a card by its face only, ignoring the back?
- Can Wild Siren be played during a card draw, and does it cover the rest of that encounter's draws?
- Does Empath turn an attack card into a Crooked Deal when the opponent reveals a Negotiate (Crooked Deal)?
- Does Saboteur's bomb go off when any ship is placed on its planet, including a ship retrieved from the warp?
- Is Miser's hoard a hand, so an encounter card in it counts toward a second encounter?
- Does Industrialist still have its power when it loses its third planet during the encounter?
- Does the Sadist win when the other players have lost eight ships combined, or eight each?
- Can the Saboteur look at his face-down tokens, and when can he switch them?
- Does Lunatic allying against himself as the defense keep his colony if he loses?
- Which cards carry hazard icons?
- Does Relic trigger when Cosmic Upheaval scrambles hands and deals them back out?
- Does Invader get an extra encounter when he draws an Invasion! card on his own turn?
- Does Glutton's power also apply to the reward deck?
- When Empath and Warhawk powers conflict, which one takes precedence?
- If the Glutton plays its Super Flare to win on a Cosmic Quake, can a Zap stop the win?
- Does The Claw keep its claw card and count stolen planets as foreign colonies after it loses its power?
- If Trickster's power is used, are encounter cards still selected that turn?
- When Meteor Storm checks for destruction at 25 or more, which totals are compared?
- Can Changeling take over Saboteur, and can the new Saboteur look at the trap tokens?
- Can Saboteur add extra tokens during the game?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic DominionExpansion
- What happens when the Doppelganger Wild takes another player's hand?
- Is Love's discard power mandatory at the start of his turn?
- How many free foreign colonies does Love get when other players do not discard a matching card?
- Can Wild Joker change a Negotiate that was made by Emotion Control?
- If you play Wild Bride in your first encounter as offense, does your turn end?
- Do any Cosmic Dominion aliens require the reward decks or technology variant to work?
- Can Mesmer create an artifact from a reward deck that is not in play?
- How many times can Mesmer use his power in one challenge?
- If a Rift is taken as compensation while you hold Right of Refusal, does it detonate?
- Does Victory Boon give rewards to defensive allies as well as to the defense?
- When Negotiate (Special Defense) sends opposing ships to the warp, who chooses which ships go?
- Does a Reinforce +X reward that counts all ships on your side include your allies' ships?
- How many colonies can each player gain from a three-player deal?
- How much does each morphed Lizard ship count toward the total?
- Does Mirage's proxy ship count for compensation, rewards, or Sapient tokens?
- Does The Explorer's discovered planet add to his total when the defender has no ships there, and can he use the power again on the same system?
- Does Wild Usurper end the encounter as soon as it is played, so that Force Field cannot cancel the allies?
- Can the Loser still call an upset when the opponent has played Intimidate before Planning?
- Does a variable attack card such as 02/20 count as its higher value in hand once a Hazard Warning is in play?
- Can Omni-Zap cancel a Space Station?
- Can Lizard's removed young ships be Ship Zapped back into the game?
- Does Remora's double draw apply when drawing from the reward deck or other decks?
- Does Quartermaster's power apply to the extra rewards Glutton receives?
- Where do the ships captured by Pirate come from?
- What happens to the Tourist's cruise liner and the ships on it when he loses his power?
- What does an ally's Intimidate card do if neither main player accepts it?
- Can Pickpocket use his power once in each of two encounters of one turn, and pick a different target each time?
- Can Wild Tourist peek at the opponent's encounter card before you choose yours?
- How does the Judge's fiat work, and what terms can the Judge declare?
- Does Ace win the game with just one foreign colony?
- Can Doppelganger start a second encounter after discarding his encounter cards as a main player?
- How many home colonies do you need to keep an alien power after colonies have been gained or lost, such as through Ace?
- Can Engineer keep ships in the warp and reuse them to research several techs?
- Do defensive allies count as being in the hyperspace gate, for cards such as Duplicity?
- Can Mirage's chosen colony be the same colony the attacker targets?
- How does the Host get flares onto his sheet?
- Can the Aristocrat use its power more than once in an encounter?
- Does Whirligig mix cards before or after encounter cards are selected?
- If the Judge's fiat gives the fifth colony, does the game end right away?
- Does Wild Yin-Yang let you blame any player for the ships you lost, or must the choice be factual?
- Does Laser select cards up to the victim's ship count or as many as you want?
- Does a planet placed by Explorer count as a home planet for the defender, and can ships be moved onto it?
- Can the Joker declare its wild card after it has been played?
- Does Greenhorn's Wild Flare return to hand after it resolves?
- Can Mesmer's Super Flare be used again after a Card Zap is played against it?
- Does a successful Negotiate count as a win for Lizard's power?
- When does the defense draw a new hand of encounter cards?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic EonsExpansion
- Can Anarchist force another player to accept its disruption move when it loses an encounter?
- Does Anarchist need its essence cards accepted by other players to win, or only revealed?
- Do Moocher's couch colonies count as foreign colonies?
- Can a Moocher who fails to make a deal place a couch in the system where the encounter took place?
- How do alliance dials work for aliens that can ally on both sides, like Yin-Yang?
- Can you send Foreign Aid to a main player who did not invite you?
- If a main player accepts your Foreign Aid, do you get the same kind of reward a defender gets?
- How does Foreign Aid work with the Alliance Dials in Cosmic Eons?
- Can Force Field be played before a Foreign Aid alliance is formed to stop the card being given?
- When Evil Twin plays an encounter card from hand, does the good twin also lose a card?
- Are a Hypochondriac's anxiety tokens in play, and does he start the game unable to win?
- When is The AI's power used in relation to chosen encounter cards?
- Can Wild Pack Rat move ships from several planets, or move one to an empty home planet?
- Can Alien's Traumatize hold more than one captured ship at a time?
- Where do Particle's entanglement tokens go after they are discarded?
- When Perfectionist loses his power, do the cards on his sheet leave or stay?
- Does the game end for insufficient planets only when every other player is unable to win, or when any one player is?
- When does a Nanny timeout on the offense take effect?
- Can an Assistant use the Help card it was given on itself?
- How do crushed ship stacks interact with later encounters for the Crusher?
- Can Pretender switch seats repeatedly to see every player's hand?
- Must you mark a Cloak move with the colony marker during the 15 seconds?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic AllianceExpansion
- Can Extortionist take cards another player draws for Wild General or similar effects that do not go into their hand?
- Does the Butler flare require the invitation even when the target player cannot be invited?
- Can Wild Schizoid separate Pygmy, Horde or Symbiote from their planets or ships?
- What makes a Wild Schizoid extra ship not 'alone' on a planet?
- When Schizoid's Wild flare swaps two players' colors, do the tech, alien power or hand swap too?
- Does a Cosmic Zap played in the Start Turn phase still affect the player in the Planning phase?
- When Mirror reverses the attack cards, does Poison's automatic win still trigger on the reversed values?
- Does a Morph copy the card's value before or after Calculator, Mirror, or Tripler changes it?
- How does Gorgon's power work when an opponent moves ships from Gorgon's planets?
- Where do the nine unused flares go after Chrysalis picks a new alien?
- Do discarded cards go to their own deck's discard pile, or to the pile of where they came from?
- When more ships try to land on a planet than fit (four-ship limit), who lands first?
- Can Remote take a ship from the opponent after a successful Negotiate deal?
- Can Horde use its power on starting hands to place eight Horde tokens at setup?
- Can the General draw from the reward deck?
- Can players lie about their cards during alliance table talk?
- Is the General's power mandatory, and when do the allies draw cards?
- Does the Winner's 10-point difference count reinforcement cards in the totals?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic StormExpansion
- After Tide loses as a main player, do the opposing players discard a card when only one token is left on the sheet?
- Does Grumpus trigger when you voluntarily remove your colony from a planet?
- How does The Patriot's Buy Loyalty work?
- When a space station is flipped because its owner lost the home planet, do its energy tokens stay on the card?
- Does Bulwark protect his allies' ships from being sent to the warp?
Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic OdysseyExpansion
- Do Blue Moons only trigger once, when they are revealed?
- How long does a moon's power last after a ship lands on it?
- Does a Hub Moon's 'as part of a deal' bonus still require a basic valid deal?
- Can you buy a second Ultra Reward with Lux in the same encounter after one has been drawn?
- How many Ultra Rewards can you draw from the reward deck in one encounter?
- When Delegator swaps the defensive ally into the defense role, do any ships move?
- Do you remove the original alien flares when swapping in the alternate-timeline aliens?
- Does Cosmic Odyssey's replacement Hazard destiny card mean the old hazard-symbol destiny cards are removed?
- How many Lux tokens does the offense get when it launches an encounter?
- Can you occupy a moon in your own home system?
- Do Odyssey's Full Moon gate effects apply only to the moon's owner?
- Must a ship on a moon join the encounter when its owner is the defense?
- If you win against a colony with an occupied moon, can you then occupy the moon?
- In draw straws, draft, or unseen alien selection, why does the player to the right of the first player choose first and then play go clockwise?
- With Array Objectives in a campaign, who claims the Master card?
- Are the Cosmic Odyssey aliens usable in standard games without the campaign?
- Does Machine's unlimited-encounter power override a temporary limit to one encounter from an Odyssey evolution or moon?
- Does Cosmos look through your essence cache or the essence deck?
- When can a card revealed by Aura's power be played again?
- Does Wrack's trigger apply when the opponent plays a regular encounter card, not only a flare?
- Can Cosmic Odyssey's Zilch fate essence cards be used more than once?
- Can Decoy swap its revealed card to escape Enforced Cease Fire?
- Can Voyager move a planet holding Alt Masochist ships out of the Warp?
- Does a moon base count as its own foreign colony when you have ships on it and on its attached planet?
- When drawing more than two Lux cards, such as with Luminance, how do the Lux cards and their unique abilities work?
- Can Pack Rat take a Lux or Ultra Lux token from another player?
- Can a moon be taken over more than once?
- What happens when both players play Overkill, or Overkill is played against a Morph?
- Without the Reward deck in play, can you still take rewards in Cosmic Odyssey?
- When an alien with essence cards is Cosmic Zapped, do its essence cards go back to the unavailable pile?
- Can AT Perfectionist use its power when drawing a new hand, not only on the opening hand?
- How are the new SafeGuard encounter cards played, and when do they take effect?
- If Wild Sorcerer or Wild Reincarnator swaps an alien in a campaign game, does the coalition change?
- Can Lloyd insure more than one token from the same player in a single encounter?
- What is the difference between the Public Option and Selective Omission wrench cards in Cosmic Odyssey?
- When can you buy rewards with Lux in Cosmic Odyssey, including Lux earned during resolution?
- Where are the Abandonment and Doubling Up master cards used in Cosmic Odyssey?
- Can you use a tech card with an at-any-time effect, such as Proximity Mining, during another player's deal?
- If Enforceable Cease Fire is active and the opponent reveals Negotiate (Betrayal), does it make a deal?
- If you have no non-encounter cards when Galactose Intolerance triggers, do you lose eight ships?
- Does Extractor's before-landing timing conflict with a flare that returns ships that would land?
- Can an Ultra Lux card be used more than once in the same encounter if you pay again?
- In a campaign, do Envoys gained in one game stay for later games?
- When Dragon redraws after drawing its own color, does the discarded destiny card also go on the Dragon sheet?
- How are players ranked at the end of a Cosmic Odyssey campaign game?
- How do Void and Observer resolve when the new alternate Void is used?