There are games out there that should be in every household where board games are ever played.
The list is not a massive one, but for me this includes games including chess, checkers, cribbage, crokinole and a more recent addition to the select list the 2008 release Pandemic.
While it is hoped readers will follow through this review, you are forgiven if you just get up from reading this and order this game for your collection right now.
Yes it has been out for nearly a decade now, which means I was a late comer to the joys of this now classic board game. It is a lost decade in a sense, but the joy of playing this one are just as sweet having found it more recently.
“From designer Matt Leacock, Pandemic is a cooperative game of teamwork for two to four players,” details www.zmangames.com the website of the game’s publisher. “As members of an elite disease control team, you must keep four deadly diseases at bay. Work together as you travel the globe to treat infections while collecting the cards you need to discover a cure for each disease. But the clock is ticking as outbreaks and epidemics fuel the spreading plagues. As a cooperative game, players win or lose together. Only by working together can you keep the outbreaks in check and find the cures in time.”
The game is excellent in the sense of being cooperative in nature. You need every player at the table working as well as a team to have a chance at winning over the in-game mechanics. That the game is so well designed that by its core mechanics the ‘game’ wins more often than not is what first gave me the ‘wow’ factor.
The game is beatable, but a win is not easy, and when you do win it’s usually by a little good luck.
The game is based on the idea of virulent diseases breaking around the world.
“With diseases cropping up all over the planet, Pandemic takes place on a global scale,” explains the website. “Over the course of the game, players use actions to move between hotspots while treating diseases and setting up a network of research stations that help them cure diseases and make movement more efficient. Each player manages a hand of cards matching the colors of the four diseases. These cards allow them to travel more quickly between cities or—if a single player can collect five cards of the same color—discover a cure for a disease. But plenty of challenges stand in their way. Outbreaks can spread diseases across the board and random epidemics can intensify a disease in a moment’s notice. It’ll take everything you’ve got to keep things under control.”
The game stays fresh with each player taking on one of several characters, each with unique in-game abilities. Not every character is exactly created equal, but that is the fun part. Our game group randomly selects the characters to play, and having to determine how best to mesh the ‘team’ into a unit capable of dealing with the outbreaks, while fashioning cures is a big part of re-playability.
Pandemic has a number of expansions, which will be reviewed in coming months, which tells you the game has been popular.
But, you don’t need those expansions to enjoy Pandemic. It is easily a top-10 contender for all-time favourite games. Yes, it is that good. It’s outstanding, so check it out.
