I'm sure the extra aliens and the extra player are great additions, but how is team play?  

Is it fun with 4?  5?  6?  8?

Are the games longer or shorter?  

Is the variant even necessary considering how Cosmic Encounter already allows for joint victories?

We played the team variant with three players.  After one game with the solo player getting thrashed without winning even one encounter, we house ruled that the solo player gets both powers and the players on the team of two do not get defensive rewards.  The solo player still kept losing, although not as badly.

Fido is a good power if you have a teammate.

Most people don't like Cosmic with three players.  I would assume teams would make it even worse as it would essentially become a one-on-one game with alliances always being predecided.

Adam said:

I agree.  A 3 player game is functional, and fine for teaching the rules, but it's barely more interesting than tic-tac-toe!

I agree that a three-player game is not as interesting as with more players; but, unfortunately, I rarely have a chance to play with more players.

PJSlavner said:

Have you tried the friend finder on this site?  I've also found Meetup useful for meeting gamers.

GrimJester said:

I have a regular monthly game group of old friends, two of which like Cosmic Encounter, one who rarely shows up, and the fourth is not much of a Cosmic fan.  Also, we have so many games that we do not even play Cosmic every time.

I play with my two sons, but my daughter prefers Dominion.