I never was a big Cosmic Encounter fan, mainly because I only played the original game a couple of times, but it’s always interested me (if only because Richard Garfield mentioned it as one the inspirations of Magic). However, the same team were responsible for the Dune boardgame, which is one of those games I really, really love. Not that I get to play it that much.

Well, Fantasy Flight Games has gotten the rights to do both games again. Cosmic Encounter got put out a little while back in a “not-so-good” version – Sarah has that one – but I expect the FFG will do a better job with it.

You can hear an interview with Christian Peterson of FFG here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/198748

Cosmic Encounter is due out about GenCon 2008. Christian says that he wants to put in a *lot* of races, which can only be a good thing. I’m still not sure if I really want it, but it’s an item of future interest.

Dune won’t actually be Dune. This is really a shame, but the Dune gaming license is one of the hardest licenses to get and hold these days. (See the history of the Dune RPG). So, instead they’ll be transplanting the game mechanics into the Twilight Imperium universe. As my Dune set seems to be missing pieces – very annoying, and I don’t know how it happened – I’ll be looking forward to this. I’ve always felt the game was a lot of fun and very solid, although you needed to play it a few times before you figured it out. Look for it towards the end of 2008.

The last of the three games FFG announced means nothing to me: Borderlands. Perhaps it means something to someone out there? Randy?

Me? I’m just excited about Dune.