I had a bunch of friends up and was gifted Cosmic Encounter.

I had seen it played on YouTube, but this was the first time I got to play it myself. We had a great time! The game can feel a little bit overwhelming at first with all it’s stages and card-decks, but once you get past it it’s a really good time.

If you’ve never played it, the super short version is that you are trying to get colonies on other players planets by drawing cards against each other. But what makes it fun is that every player also gets to draw an (initially secret) civilization/character card, which typically has abilities that completely turn the game on its head. We had lots of hilarious moments stemming from the character reveals. I would definitely recommend checking it out!

I also got to play Radlands with my S/O. Not at all the kind of game either of us have really played before, but we had a blast. It’s a card-dueling game, and all the cards feel very powerful with some cool synergies. It’s pretty simple to teach, especially if you use table-top sim or spring for the edition that comes with play-mats.