Vegas Dice Game (also called Las Vegas) is really fun. Its been a hit with everyone I've played with. Light and easy to teach but just enough meat there to feel satisfying

Totally Arkham Horror! Hella meaty, and extra hard with less players.

I would start with Nusfjord or Viticulture. They'll stay with you for longer and they're no harder to learn/play.

Stone Age is dated and you'll tire of it and Lords of Watetderp is a DnD themed recipe fulfillment game that requires the expansion to be good.

I would start with Nusfjord or Viticulture. They'll stay with you for longer and they're no harder to learn/play.

Stone Age is dated and you'll tire of it and Lords of Watetderp is a DnD themed recipe fulfillment game that requires the expansion to be good.

Mage Knight is plenty meaty and complex, and it plays 1-4 players. I've only played it solo and at two players, but I've heard it's still fun at three players.

May be you can help me. For Arkham Horror;

Do you really need the whole 6 15$ packs AND the campaign box to play the full-length campaign ?

Meaning that a "full-length" campaign is 130-140$ ?

Feels like at this point I might just go in and buy Too Many Bones instead. It feels super bad to spend 130$+ for a single campaign, that seems to be rounded up to 6-8 scenarios. I get the replayability, but damn, it feels less bad to buy the 777$USD Expansion of Death of Kingdom Death than this.

May be you can help me. For Arkham Horror;

Do you really need the whole 6 15$ packs AND the campaign box to play the full-length campaign ?

Meaning that a "full-length" campaign is 130-140$ ?

Feels like at this point I might just go in and buy Too Many Bones instead. It feels super bad to spend 130$+ for a single campaign, that seems to be rounded up to 6-8 scenarios. I get the replayability, but damn, it feels less bad to buy the 777$USD Expansion of Death of Kingdom Death than this.

There are plenty of clever decisions in Cosmic Encounter and I've indeed seen many people talk about the mechanics of the game in a positive manner.

1. Choosing who you attack at random is not a decision, but it produces a richer game than choosing who to attack since that would allow you to avoid certain matchups, attack the leader and so on. Judging who to attack and who is actually winning is a fake decision in the vast majority of games, which makes me glad it's not included in Cosmic Encounter.
2. Other people's invasion's have much to do with you. For starters, they can either give you points or cards which is how you win the game. There's a clear incentive to take sides and determine the balance of the table, seeing who gets what cards or who is allowed to get points. Thinking there's nothing in for you when people are getting points and cards at stake will only result in defeat.
3. This is a common misconception that does not pan out in practice. The vast majority of attack cards are in the 6 to 12 attack range, with 6 and 8 being the most common numbers and odd numbers having only one card. This means that the majority of battles are decided by a few points, enough that the presence of an ally can turn the battle around.
4. Per above, who to support comes from a multitude of factors. You want to have a path to victory, where you can either win alone or push with a joined win and plan accordingly. You don't want, for example, to support an aggressive power that won't be interested in your assistance and you don't want to feed cards into the hands of players who won't support your goals.

While Cosmic is mostly about fun, the truth is that there's far more cleverness and skill involved than it seems at first glance.

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