Stackable plastic ships in the current edition
Ships (tokens prior to the Avalon Hill edition) are the basic unit of a player's presence on a planet and in an encounter. Landing ships on planets is how players form colonies, which is the object of Cosmic Encounter.
Each player starts the game with four of his or her ships on each of his or her home planets. When ships are lost, they go to the warp, after which they may not be used until retrieved through Regroup, rewards, or a game effect such as Mobius Tubes.