Pandemic the board game was designed by Matt Leacock. In Pandemic, you are a specialist who is watching over many diseases breaking out. Your goal in the game is to prevent a pandemic outbreak. It came out in 2008, with an expansion pack that was out in stores in 2009. Here are some of the basic specifications for this game:2-4 Players
60 Minute Playing Time
Ages 10 and Up
Family Game
Party Game
High Replay Value
Expansion Pack AvailableIn Pandemic, you must work together with other players, using each character’s strength. When you first open the game, you will find 5 pawns, 96 wooden cubes, 6 markers, 6 research stations, one infection marker, one outbreak marker and a total of 115 cards.This board game is geared towards geeks and adults. It does take a lot of planning and strategizing, so you have to be in the right mind to think properly. You might need to play the game a couple of times before you actually win. It is the type of game you will want to play over and over again.GameplayAll players will want to start out in Atlanta, where the Centers of Disease Control is located in. You will be given a role to play in the game. Then, a number of player cards need to be dealt to each person, which you can deal them face up. Then, you can start taking turns and start the game.When your turn comes, you can do one of four things. You can move around on the board, share information to another player, treat a portion of infection, or even put up a research lab. You want to find a cure for an infection. This can be done when a player has five cards of the same color and is in the city.The game may end for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons why the game may end are if more than seven outbreaks happen, you are out of cubes for a specific disease, you are out of player cards to draw or you cure all four diseases. Curing all four diseases is the only way you can win the game. With the expansion pack, you will also need to avoid mutation to win the game, which is an additional challenge.Special events cards may be given to players throughout the game, which help you win. These cards offer one time actions help in gaining the necessary information to help cure a disease. Especially if it is given to the right person, it can help you win the game and avoid a pandemic. It is crucial to share necessary information about an outbreak to your other players to help solve the board game.StrategizePandemic requires a certain amount of strategy in this board game. It is not like traditional board games where more luck is involved. Take advantage of the role you were given at the beginning of the day. For example, if you are the operations manager, you will want to set up research stations and hold onto the cards. You are not required as the operations manager to discard those cards, so hold onto them.As the medic, you can treat the outbreak and diseases easier than anyone else. If you really know the role you are play, you can take advantage of the situation and help the whole team out. The researcher should work with the scientist as they pair their cards well.Keep track of the cards that have been discarded, as well as be conscious of getting rid of city cards. If one is discarded and then needed later in the game, you will be out of luck because there is no opportunity in this game to pick up any of the discarded cards.Avoid outbreaks at all cost. It will deplete the amount of disease cubes, making it much more difficult to win the game. This can be avoided by keep track of all cities that have been infected. This is the main role of the medic.ExpansionsThe very first expansion for Pandemic was called “On the Brink”. It was released in 2009. This expansion gave more options to players. You were given new roles, as well as new Special Event cards. While you were given more to beat the game, you are also given an additional disease to deal with. This disease was called mutation. In the expansion pack, you will now have eight different role cards to choose from.Pandemic won the “Best New Family Game” award in 2009 by GAMES magazine. It has become a quite popular board game because of its uniqueness. It may be a board game worth purchasing for an evening home with the family, or for your next party.