Panic… call an outbreak meeting!

​The patient this week dies from a terrifying virus but fortunately we were only playing a board game! NB we were not sponsored for this review but enjoyed the game so much we thought we’d best share it with you all…
 
Pandemic Legacy Season 1 is a complex, cooperative game which is rather expensive for the average board game, so is it worth it and how realistic is it for those who actually know about infection? Am I going to be disappointed as a Microbiologist?

​Basically the board game is a proper old fashioned board; no computer required so it gets the thumbs up for that. The game is played over 12 months, although this is a fictitious year as you can play one month straight after the next if you are addicted or in a state of panic! Now the WARNING, if you are conscientious you are likely to have a few sleepless nights! It took us 14 hours to play the “year”, plus a lot of sleepless nights worrying about the fate of the world. We got this games as a Xmas present and played almost constantly for January… there is a lot of game time for your money.
 
Essentially there are 3 sets of cards (player cards, infection cards and the instruction cards), 1 board with continents and countries with respective cities and a secret dossier which contains more game elements. You’ll open windows of the secret dossier and be given helpful and disturbing additional elements as you play future months. The order of these windows is determined by the instruction cards; they are not numerical or alphabetical. Then there are a lot of stickers and cubes, all is explained in the rule book. The aim is to complete your set objectives and prevent infection spreading across the globe. However the game mutates! And it can kick you just when you thought you have it sussed. Watch out too as decisions you make have consequences in later rounds/months! The players act individually, as well as together, against the game itself. The game is hell-bent on causing a scene out of World War Z! If you haven’t seen this film then it is a great introduction about how the game is played.

Theoretically YOU CANNOT PLAY THIS GAME MORE THAN ONCE; you play 12 rounds or “months” and then the game ends (although technically this is 24 rounds as you can play each month twice if you fail to succeed on your first attempt). Now my wife is a little thrifty and likes to play again and again… so she came up with a way of HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME MORE THAN ONCE… use Blu Tack or other sticky tack (reusable adhesive) to stick on the stickers rather than placing them permanently on the board. It is a bit of a fiddle (NB don’t place stickers on top of each other, remove the old one and put the new one in its place) BUT it does make the game reusable. Cut out paper backing for those stickers which need to be peeled off a card and Blu Tack them onto the desired location, be it the board or a player card. Added to this, you’ll need to write the number or letter onto the dossier window so the additional element can be placed back into its correct window to reset the game and use it again as a new year. Adding a description of any removed stickers to the dossier window also helps reset the game e.g. the upgrades and character stickers are not necessarily used immediately, they are saved and can be chosen from the ever increasing pool (e.g. veteran or co-worker stickers). If you do not add the description label to the dossier window they came from they cannot be put back onto the correct window.
 
Once you start a “year” you could add in other people to your game, so if two people start playing a “year” a third or fourth person can join in later months, e.g. joining in April or May. Another point, choose your character carefully! They are game changers, so are your character upgrades and end game upgrades. You choose these before you know your next objective!!!
 
Hints & Tips

• Epidemics!!! Oh my goodness, watch out for those epidemic cards, they will really hammer you especially if you get them in quick succession. NB 3 cubes in one city are a bad thing!
• Keep your eye on the objectives!
• Don’t forget the panic level!! Cities can overreact very quickly.
• Eradicating 1 colour of cubes can be very helpful, especially if there are only 1 or 2 cities on the board with this colour BUT don’t forget those objectives!!

 
There are so many variables to this game which can alter the game and its success; it is gutting to lose a month!!
 
So was I disappointed as a Microbiologist? NO, this is the best game ever; I think it is even better if you actually do know a little (or a lot) about Microbiology or Virology. I am a self-confessed nerd but even my wife kept saying “can we play again…!”
 
We are eagerly awaiting Season 2 but that might not be out till next year… or nervously waiting… this game is simply brilliant, frightening and addictive. It’s definitely recommended!
 
And if you are wondering whether to buy the red or blue versions… apparently it doesn’t matter, the artwork on the box is the only difference; you’d need two boxes if you want to play this game again… unless you are thrifty and use Blu Tack :-)