Cosmic Express is a quick-playing version of Fantasy Flight Games' extremely awesome Cosmic Encounter. It takes the elements of Cosmic Encounter that make it so fantastic (negotiating, backstabbing, variable alien powers, alliances) and tries to deliver it in a half hour playing time, and with far less components than the original.
The game replaces Encounter Cards with Encounter Dice, of which a player only has one at any given time. When having an Encounter, players can choose to Fight (hold the die in their fist) or Negotiate (keep their fist empty). The classic Prisoner's Dilemma outcomes apply, with mutually fighting players rolling their dice to determine a winner.
The game is completely free to print and play, and uses no artwork from Fantasy Flight Games. It is designed as a tribute to on of my favourite games of all time and as a thank-you to the BGG community, who has given me so much enjoyment and help in the last year.