Cosmic Encounter is the ur-example of a "balance through player interactions" type of game design (Diplomacy is another example). That is, there is just enough

Cosmic Encounter is the ur-example of a "balance through player interactions" type of game design (Diplomacy is another example). That is, there is just enough balance that one player cannot force a win by themselves, but there are otherwise gross imbalances in player power, and it is up to the players to maintain balance through temporary alliances and inevitable backstabbing. From my many plays of Cosmic Encounter, it does seem that the player with the strongest position does not win very much more often than others. There are downsides to the design: one, it's hostile to new players who don't have enough knowledge of the game (this is true of any skill based multiplayer game, but in games like CE the effect of an unskilled player on the game can be profoundly wonky). The other issue I have is that players with a weak initial position have to win through negotiations, and so have fewer paths to victory than the players in powerful initial positions. I rarely ever see the "weak" player win in Cosmic Encounter (whereas the moderately-powerful and very-powerful players seem to have about equal chance at winning if they're playing competently).