Editing Cosmic Encounter (section)

===First Eon edition (1977) and subsequent expansion sets (1978–1982)===
In the May 1978 edition of ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' (Issue 14), Tony Watson found the game to be "highly playable, fanciful, and very fun." Watson liked the professional quality of the game components, and admired the complex player strategies that were not immediately apparent upon reading the rules. He concluded, "''Cosmic Encounter'' is a new type of SF game... and it hits it mark quite squarely. From both a physical and design point of view it is a very good game."<ref name=dragon14>{{cite journal|last=Watson|first=Tony|date=May 1978 |title=Something a Little Different: ''Cosmic Encounter''|journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|publisher=[[TSR (company)|TSR, Inc.]]|issue=14|page=11}}</ref>

In the June–July 1978 edition of ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' (Issue 7), Fred Hemmings found the game "simple to learn, and yet at the same time is so full of good ideas and potential player skill." Hemmings admired the "beautifully produced" game components, but wished that there was more than one winning objective — although he did note that using the two available expansions resulted in 35 alien races to choose from, giving a potential for more than a million combinations. He gave the game an overall rating of 8 out of 10, saying, "What makes this game is the aliens —they vary from good to excellent, and so does the game."<ref name="wd7">{{cite journal|last=Hemmings|first=Fred |date=June–July 1978 |title=Open Box|journal=[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]|publisher=[[Games Workshop]]|issue=7|page=18}}</ref>

In the September 1978 edition of ''Dragon'' (Issue 18), Dave Minch questioned the science fiction angle of ''Cosmic Encounter'', saying it was "nothing more than hype." When Minch delved below the SF "patina", he found a game that "combines several elements of classic, abstract games. There are cards which introduce both chance and strategy of play, as in poker or bridge. There are chips representing the
bases which you must build to win the game, giving the positional and matching requirements of pit-and-pebble games, as well as a betting flavor like poker." Minch concluded with a recommendation, saying, "This is a simple game both to learn and to play. Best of all, it’s fun and pretty much open-ended."<ref name=dragon18>{{cite journal|last=Minch|first=Dave|date=September 1978 |title=Reviews|journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|publisher=[[TSR (company)|TSR, Inc.]]|issue=18|page=8}}</ref>

In the inaugural edition of ''[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]]'' (March 1980), [[Greg Costikyan]] rated the game 9 out of 9, saying, "The result is a weird, constantly mutating, and gripping game that does not lose its appeal even after innumerable playings. The addition of any of the four expansion sets makes ''Cosmic Encounter'' even more fascinating."<ref name="Ares">{{cite journal | last=Costikyan | first=Greg | author-link=Greg Costikyan | title=A Galaxy of Games | journal=[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]] | publisher=Simulations Publications, Inc. | date=March 1980 | issue=1 | pages=30–31}}</ref>

In the March 1981 edition of ''[[The Space Gamer]]'' (No. 37) [[Steve Jackson (American game designer)|Steve Jackson]] gave a thumbs up, saying, "I like ''Cosmic Encounter''. It's totally original, and a lot of fun. I recommend it without reservation to gamers".<ref name="SG37">{{cite journal|last=Jackson |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Jackson (American game designer) |date=March 1981 |title=Featured Review: Cosmic Encounter|journal=[[The Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]|issue=37|pages=4–5}}</ref>

In the October 1981 edition of ''The Space Gamer'' (No. 44), Forrest Johnson thought the continued publication of expansion sets (six to that point in time) was perhaps an indication that the game was losing replay value: "Expansion sets 1 and 2 would be more valuable to a new player; Eon Products is approaching the point of diminishing returns.  But sets 6 and 7 still have a lot of value for CE enthusiasts."<ref name="SG44">{{cite journal|last= Johnson |first= Forrest |date=October 1981 |title=Capsule Reviews|journal=[[The Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]|issue=44|page=32}}</ref>