Editing Cosmic Encounter (section)

===Basic rules===
''Cosmic Encounter'' is based on a fixed set of rules which are subsequently modified by other elements of the game.

Each player begins with a color-coded "home system" containing five planets, and twenty ships (formerly referred to as "tokens") representing starships that populate these planets as "colonies" (formerly known as "bases"). A central "warp" is used to place defeated ships for all players. The object of the game is to establish colonies on five planets outside one's home system. Each player is dealt a hand of cards from the "cosmic deck," which includes several types of cards: Attack cards with numbered values, Negotiate (formerly Compromise) cards, Reinforcement cards, and Artifact (formerly Edict) cards.

The turn player is referred to as the "offense." On a player's turn, they retrieve one ship from the warp, and then draw a card from the "Destiny" deck, containing color-coded cards which indicate which player they must have an encounter with; that player becomes the "defense." Using a special "hyperspace gate" (formerly "hyperspace cone" or simply "cone") indicator, the offense selects the planet at which the encounter will take place, and then places 1 to 4 of their ships on the gate; the defense simply defends with however many ships they have on the targeted planet. Both the offense and defense can then ask the other players individually to ally with their side; each invited player may commit up to 4 ships to either side of the conflict.

Once allies have committed, the offense and defense both select encounter cards from their hands to place face-down, then reveal them and play out the encounter based on the types of cards they used.
* If players use Attack cards, the total of the card's value and number of allied ships are added for both sides, and the side with the larger value wins, with the defending player winning in case of ties. All players involved in the encounter may play Reinforcement cards from their hands to add numerical bonuses to each side's forces. If the offense's side wins, the defense's colony is lost and all ships on the defense's side are sent to the warp, and the offense and their allies land their ships on that planet, establishing new colonies on it (or adding more ships to existing colonies there, if they already had colonies there). If the defense's side wins, all ships on the offense's side are sent to the warp, and defensive allies gain a reward of either a ship from the warp or a new card drawn from the deck for each of their ships that they sent to help defend. 
* If both players use Negotiate cards, they have one minute to make a deal, such as exchanging colonies or cards from their hands, while all allies are sent back to their owners' colonies (allies get nothing in this situation). If a deal can't be made, both players lose three ships each as a penalty.
* If one players plays a Negotiate card and the other plays an Attack card, the player who played the Negotiate card immediately loses, but they get "compensation" from the victor by drawing cards from the victor's hand equal to the number of ships they lost in the battle. Allies on the Negotiate player's side do not get anything.

At the end of the offense's turn, they may have a second encounter if they won an attack or made a deal. If they can't, choose not to, or have already had two encounters this turn, then play proceeds to the next player.