Last night, my friends Dennis and Justin (more about them later) joined me in trying out a new board game I picked up called Pandemic. The object of the game is to prevent four mysterious diseases from spreading while racing to find a cure. Players take turns traveling across the globe to treat infections while finding new paths to move around the world. While this is happening, the diseases spread infection and outbreaks occur.
For anyone who’s enjoyed movies like Outbreak, World War Z, Contagion or 28 Days Later, there’s a certain perverse pleasure in watching infections spread across the globe while those who seek answers try valiantly to stop them. Some games, like Plague, Inc. on mobile devices, want you to see if you can infect the world while scientists block your every attempt. This game, however, wants you to find a cure and save the world.
This is a cooperative game, so we did our best to work together to solve the world’s problems. The game starts in Atlanta where the Centers for Disease Control is located. You each take on a random role in the game that gives you a special benefit in your attempts to thwart the nasty plagues that could wipe out humanity. You have four actions to perform each round, which include flying to new destinations, treating diseases, setting up research facilities, and discovering cures.