CE Online on the iPad? Why not?

And that's not just me talking crazy, either. Here's Cosmic Encounter designer Peter Olotka, commenting at this very blog:

Bill and I are committed to getting some of the new aliens online. And we are discussing the possibility of an IPad ce online. Our Cosmic flash guru Alan Queen did this little game in flash and ported it to the iphone:

Search the app store for
Star Match ABC
by DigiDood

Well, that would be enough to pretty much make my head explode in a tremendous spray of blood and gray matter. As a longtime member of both the Apple and Cosmic Encounter cults, playing CE Online — with some new aliens, too! — on Apple's shiny new gadget would be a clear case of Fanboy Overload for me. I will say right now, on the record, that I would gladly pay my CE Online Founder's fee again if it guaranteed I would be playing the game on my iPad by this date next year.

Seriously, where do I sign up?

+++++

One technical question: is getting CE Online to play in a non-Flash environment a feasible thing? Because Apple will not put Flash onto its mobile devices, and that includes the iPad.

First look! All 20 Incursion aliens!

With the Cosmic Incursion expansion now in the hands of at least one eager player/consumer, it's fair to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding the 20 aliens who made the cut for the first expansion to the Fantasy Flight Games edition. They are, in alphabetical order:

Bully, Chronos, Cryo, Deuce, Disease;
Ethic, Fungus, Fury, Genius, Ghoul;
Guerrilla, Leviathan, Locust, Magician, Mercenary;
Merchant, Plant, Seeker, Sniveler, Symbiote.

My first take: I'm seeing at least nine — maybe 10, depending on possible name-changes — that look like first-time appearances. It will be very interesting to see if that trend continues.

My second take: Disease and Fungus? ... Plant beats Insect onto the list of official FFG aliens ... Deuce is a personal favorite, so I'm happy with that ... and Bully? I would have lost that bet.

(Another shout-out goes to Kobold Curry Chef — that's two in a row. The rest of you better get with the program here)

Incursion: off the boat and on the truck

It appears that the news is all good for those of us eagerly anticipating the arrival of Cosmic Incursion: the official FFG Upcoming Products and Reprints page has changed CI's status from a boat icon to a truck icon.

In English words:

The product is being shipped from the FFG warehouse in Minnesota to stores and distributors. This process takes between 7-10 days for the US, or a few days longer in Canada.

(Tip of the hat to Kobold Curry Chef for the sharp eyes)

Celebrating 10 years of CE with food and fun

The fine folks involved with the Seattle Cosmic Game Night recently celebrated their 10th anniversary with a food-themed night of Cosmic Encounter.

The best part is that each alien power was backed up by a real-life snack. So, Amoeba is a Jell-o sculpture, Aristocrat has hoity-toity tiny sandwiches, and so on. It's all very clever and looks like it was great fun.

There might be more pictures available soon; if so, I'll update this post with where to find them.

Congratulations of 10 years, SCGN.

Have I been playing it wrong all this time?

Ah, yes, Cosmic Encounter: diplomacy, bluffing, variable powers, backstabbing ... hot alien sex?

Wait; what?

Oh, right, there's a rulebook, too

Duh.

I totally forgot to mention this part in my excitement over yesterday's super-cool new alien: the rules for Cosmic Incursion are available at Fantasy Flight's CE support page.

I'm not sure why they sort of buried the news at the bottom of an alien preview, but, still, the important thing is that they are out there and available for immediate download.

Cosmic Incursion: It's like magic!

That headline will seem a lot better once you head on over to Fantasy Flight Games and read the description for the newest Cosmic Incursion alien.

(And it's by Bruno Faidutti, too! That's just made of win.)

Quick take: it's my favorite of the CI aliens revealed so far.

Dune: A love story in two acts

Well, it took a year, but at least the story has a happy ending. Follow the link to read the heart-warming story of Dune hatred becoming Dune love.

The author's conclusion is worth reading for any new-ish Dune players or anyone else who feels they'll never "get" the game:

This game is worth figuring out, and certainly it does take some figuring out. It's not readily apparent what you should do with each faction. Take your time learning, play with people that know the game, and read some strategy [articles].

Here's where I'm playing my next game of CE

I figure I'll be comfortable enough with 8,000 square feet. Heck, that might even be big enough to accommodate The Warp's super-deck.

I must note, also, that Fantasy Flight's new Gamer Heaven is the first thing I've ever encountered that made me wish I lived in Minnesota.

Third FFG mystery box: Dungeonquest?

No matter how much I want it to be, I no longer even remotely believe the third of Fantasy Flight Games' three mystery boxes contains the new Twilight Dune: Dinosaur Imperium game.

I'm going with this rumor instead: it's a new version of Dungeonquest.

Which, frankly, is made of awesomesauce ... albeit an event unlikely to be detailed too much in this space.