My friend swore by the 'gamma ray' strategy in Cosmic Encounter... it backfired hard on both of us

A buddy of mine, Tom, keeps telling me that the Gamma Ray flare card is the best early game move in Cosmic Encounter because you can just pick off weak players. He said it's a surefire way to thin the herd and make a power play. So I finally tried it in a 5 player game last Saturday night. I used Gamma Ray against my neighbor right away, dumped all my ships into his home system, and thought I was clever. But the other three players ganged up on me immediately because I'd shown my hand too early. I lost half my fleet and ended up being the first one out. Tom laughed and said I just didn't execute it right. Have any of you dealt with a friend who gives bad advice that sounds great in theory but fails in practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

iris3948d ago

You ever get that feeling where you follow a friend's advice and instantly become the cautionary tale of the group? My buddy once swore I could pull off a "solo raid" in a game, and I ended up getting wrecked so fast my ghost was still at the table.

iris_mason888d ago

Right, because "solo raid" always works out great when your buddy says it'll be "easy." My friends keep telling me to "just go for it" and I end up looking like a tutorial on what not to do. I swear they're all secretly recording me for their own personal blooper reel at this point. You'd think after the third time I became a cautionary tale they'd stop giving me bad advice, but nope, they keep feeding me to the wolves. Glad I'm not the only one whose ghost haunts the gaming table as a warning to others.