It's great to see the Sniveler, but something should be done about the card-whine ability because it depends on trust from everybody including the Sniveler player, in a game where deception is generally encouraged.

Perhaps, instead, they should whine about the number of cards they have and force a discard-down from other players unless they are premitted to go into the draw deck to make up the balance.

Alternatively, maybe they can whine about not having a particular encounter card, have to show their hand to everyone to prove it, and then draw three(?) cards from the draw deck unless a player decides to donate the card.

I would prefer the second suggestion.

I was about to write the same thing. Two weeks to the day, I've even been checking every other day or so just in case they were feeling extra nice.  The suspene is killing me; I wish it were a single alien released every other day or so.  Hopefully CI will be out before Xmas, these long breaks between updates saddens me =(.

Okay, it's been two weeks ... here we are all drooly and ready. :)

I really hope that's not the case ... having these cards marked from the back side would probably cause more problems than the "entertainment" it would add. Trader, Mind, Compensation ... anything that gives players information about which cards are in each others' hands would make it far too easy to target the RD cards, and actually work against the incentive to earn them in the first place.

In other news ... what's up wit the Rift cards not having titles?  Are they all exactly the same function but with a different number on the card?  I had the impression they would present a variety of different effects — in which case why wouldn't they have unique card titles? I would think you would need this for effects such as Finder, not to mention making it easy for players to learn the game and discuss the cards in the first place.  (Imagine if you couldn't just say "Mobius Tubes" and everyone always had to spell out "that Artifact that releases tokens from the warp ... no, I mean the one that gets everyone's tokens, not just your own".)

I like that the RD cards are marked.  I don't know if the back art matches the regular deck or not.  My RD does.  But it occurs to me that even if this version doesn't, it makes the Rifts even more entertaining- knowing that a player is holding x number of RD cards, but not knowing if any of them are Rifts. 

Great ! Greaaaat ! I want that expansion even more than any other FFG's game right now !

...although, I'm sad, because I already can picture my little brother picking up the sniveler.... awful games incomiiiiing !

Ah.. my bad.. seems like i should've read more carefully before i posted.. missed that part near the beginning about what sniveler could whine for.. ! (still powerful though, although not a likely target by the other players to lose powers unlike Tick-tock)

Still, i like the fact that a sixth set was included (we usually have 6 so no more need to steal pieces from another game).. and the rewards deck makes for an interesting choice (it doesn't seem to be too imbalanced). Can't wait to get it!

It's just starting to sink in for me how flexible the Rewards Deck could be. In true Cosmic Encounter fashion, it seems infinitely malleable with a little player creativity: imagine diverting a couple of the "unknown" Flares into the Rewards Deck at startup, or even adding two more Flares (beyond the usual 10/12) for that purpose. Or put the Morph there. Or the 40. Or one of the Cosmic Zaps. Or a third Zap from the extra copy of the base game you bought. Or ....

Man, this could totally reinvigorate the dynamics of alliances — can't wait, can't wait!

@hulahoop: Read the card again; the Sniveler gets to whine about lacking an encounter card ... so no cheesy nuking of Flares or scooping up all the Cosmic Zaps.

To answer your other question, if the Sniveler whines about ships or colonies, the other players must jointly agree to give him what he wants (if there is even a lone dissenter, everyone has to pay the price). But if the Sniveler whines about cards, any one player can unilaterally give the Sniveler an appropriate card to prevent the purge, whether the other players like it or not. So you might have been looking forward to discarding all your Negotiates, but if I am the first player to give the Sniveler one of mine, then we're done and everyone keeps the rest of their N's.

(Hmm, in the post-FFG cosmos you can whine for a Morph!)

This expansion set is going to be fabulous.  Kickers not being in the draw deck is going to take some getting used to, but the Rewards Deck concept (and the "poison" feature of the revealed Rift card) are looking pretty brilliant. I think I will be able to make the adjustment.  (And now that we've seen a few Rewards Deck cards, it's pretty clear they will have to have a regular card back, meaning I can still shuffle Kickers — or Rifts or whatever — into the regular deck if I want to.  Innovative, yet satisfying to the classic players; another triumph for Kevin!

Looks good!

But just some early questions/comments about the Sniveler abilities..
I guess the cards abilities is based on trust.. both ways . other players must also trust that sniveler does not have the card he states.. otherwise it's a more overpowered version of Mind's abilities.. if not though, it seems pretty weak as you'll have to reveal your hand to everyone else.
But it does forces you to discard your opponent's most irritating flares,  "I don't have the shadow flare" (or whatever flare.. after you've seen it being used) .. but please don't use it as "I don't have a cosmic zap"

The question i have is, what is the player agreement for either else scenarios (ships, bases, cards)? Does it  mean

1) All must agree or the either OR ELSE all must suffer the else effect. (Literal. if so the wording of either else must be careful)
2) Majority voting on taking the either or else (possibly with sniveler making tiebreaker vote if any)

Because i can see a lot of races that will care to have little ships in the void and will vote against every opportunity (Warpish, Masochist the strongest supporter), little high cards (loser, AntiMatter).

Yeah, it's the Sniveler.  So what?  Nobody likes the Sniveler, anyway.  They've a bunch of losers, that's what they are.  Erm, never mind, that's a different alien, isn't it?  Anyhow...

This is a slightly wimpier Sniveler, since it can whine about having the fewest foreign colonies, unlike the Eon Sniveler, who could whine about having the fewest total bases. No more vacating a home base into the cone as your first move, then whining about having fewer bases.

Is the "cards" ability of the Sniveller enforcable in any way, or is it just based on trust?

I don't think I've ever seen a more Cosmic Encounter-ish alien than the Sniveller. Maybe the Philanthropist, but that's it.

Fantastic!

 I have to admit, I like the idea of a rewards deck. Practically, there is little incentive to ally for the defense early in the game: Players are less likely to have ships in the warp, and a lot of times having too many cards in your hand can be a curse (if you’re stuck with five Negotiates, for example). I can’t wait to play with this new deck!

I always thought the defensive allies should get an upgrade beyond the standard fare.  Kudos!  I am not sure if I am anxious or afraid of games where the sniveler returns and it's owner feels they must act out their role.