Pandemic Board Game (Base Game) | Family Board Game | Board Game for Adults and Family | Cooperative Board Game | Ages 8+ | 2 to 4 players | Average Playtime 45 minutes | Made by Z-Man Games

My adult children have had this game for years. I just had to buy one for ourselves during an ACTUAL pandemic. Yes, I have a sick sense of humor. It is a great game that players work together instead of competing against each other. Its not hard to learn. (I did and Im not good with all those complicated strategic games that the rest of my family love. On those, my goal is to die quickly and get out of the game! Oh, darn the luck!! haha) This is not a lengthy game but I havent timed it. Maybe takes an hour plus or minus 30 min? Fun game even given the subject. Ive bought 3 of them. You must work together and stop the pandemic from spreading across the world by containing the virus growth in each city so it doesnt spread. So weird that this game came out YEARS ago before Covid version 19 came to visit!

Really fun game enjoyed by all! Strategy is key just as much as working as a team. We have played through multiple levels of difficulty as well as with and with out expansions. We have also played with different numbers of players. My only complaint was how it was shipped. It was around Christmas and apparently fulfilled by Wal-mart. There was nothing in my box or tracking info that stated it was an amazon order. Since I had this on my Christmas list, I was worried someone had sent it to me. I had to call Wal-mart who was not helpful at all and was finally able to compare tracking from the box to amazon to figure out it was my order.

When I first saw this game I had never actually heard of cooperative games. I read a bit about the concept and I thought to myself that it all seemed a bit pointless – playing games is about winning and how do you win if you don’t have someone to beat? I know that solo games such as solitaire are geared towards beating the system, but to me that’s because you don’t have a human to go up against (and ideally mash). I’m sure I’m not the only one whose family background was board games when it rains, with a win at all costs attitude instilled at an early age – it’s just what you did! But then I thought about it. I love my wife so why do I always want to pulp her when we bring out the old favourites? I thought to myself that it might be a better idea if we face things together, a kind of extension on how couples are supposed to be. So I bought Pandemic as a Christmas present for her (me!), not knowing very much about it at all or if we would enjoy it. But hey, need to shop for present: box ticked! We took our time learning the rules, but they aren’t too hard to grasp and we played a few easier levels and then dived into the toughest one. When we lost there was no finger pointing and when (if!) we won it was a very affirming experience for us as a team. I really have to recommend this game; it’s given me a taste for an unexpected evolution in game development and now I’m looking at other things out there too. But we still play the old stuff like Ludo and Risk, and she still hammers me in chess…

This game is super fun and pretty easy to learn! A little awkward to recommend to people considering the ~unprecedented times~ but I definitely would!

This is a great game! There is a ton of replay- ability due to the multiple roles. The set up seems daunting at first but you get the hang of it very quickly. My family knows that this is the game I request to play when given the choice. And I’m really excited to try the expansions.

There has been a lot of concern about a misprint on the board, so Ill start by saying the board I received on June 1, 2013 was correct. Pandemic is a great cooperative game. My parents always want to play when we have time together and my middle school students love playing when we study bacteria and viruses in class. Fortunately, there is enough variability for the game to stay entertaining (I have probably played 25 times in the last 2 years). The game allows players to work together in an effort to contain the spread of disease. As in real life, you are racing against time (as you may know, bacteria reproduce rather quickly) and in order to be successful you must use technology to overcome limitations like geography. The gameplay is very well thought-out and can be adapted to provide more or less of a challenge. It is not a game that can be picked up and learned in a moments time, but if you are playing with an experienced player or have a few minutes to read through the rule book, you will have a great time regardless of whether you win or lose!

This is a game that requires you to plan and think ahead, much like a game of chess. Its also co-operative, so instead of working against each other, each player must work together toward a main goal of curing each disease. Each game is new and exciting with all the different Hero cards which have different skills to help you out during your turns. Im not entirely sure if younger kids (under 12) might be able to fully understand and appreciate this game because there really is a lot of strategy involved. But if youre playing to teach those skills, this would be the perfect game to use.

This was my first cooperative board game and it did not disappoint! Awesome game! It’s best played with 3 or more people but 2 player games can be fun too. The gist of the game is, you each pick a character that has special abilities and you work together to try and eliminate diseases. There are different ways to win which keep things even more interesting. You can play this game many times and it’s a totally different game every time. This is a must have in any board game collection.

Pandemic constantly tops everyones lists as the best game ever, and I suppose I can see why. Its a game that comes from Matt Leacock, who churns out some great titles, including a favorite of mine, Forbidden Island. This game has gotten a lot of expansions, and Pandemic: Legacy is currently #1 at BoardGameGeek.com. Surely, when I got my copy, Ill have a blast with it like everyone else, right? Sadly....no. I am very sorry to say that despite the hype, I only have a so-so opinion of Pandemic. Let me explain why. This game has a lot of similarities with Forbidden Island. Down to the mechanics are basically the same. However, I felt that Forbidden Island improves on said mechanics, especially when it comes to what I personally believe is severely flawed in Pandemic - the Exchange System. In FI, you can exchange your gear once you meet a teammate. In Pandemic, you can only exchange a City Card with a certain player once the both of you are in said city. This greatly hampers efforts to put, say, 5 cards into a player who may be in a great position to cure the Blue Disease Cubes, because unless the Co-Ordinator is there, you have to wait until his turn to meet you in another city to take your resource. I often ignore this and depend on what I draw, because its easier. I can forgive that, however, if beating the game didnt feel like such a disappointing anti-climax. In FI, you are desperately running towards a helicopter, the island crumbling and sinking around you. When you make it, you feel awesome. Like youve accomplished something. When you cure the last disease in Pandemic, its like Boop. Well, thats it. Really? I had to play this over and over again just to see if I was missing out anything, because I could not believe the game could have ended that easily, on such a Meh note. I have played this game with kids and adults from my group. The reactions were mixed. Some liked the game, others felt completely bored out of their minds. I should point out that Im an open minded guy, and I can deal with people liking this game for what it is. But if you want my personal opinion, I think Forbidden Island/Desert is a much more worthwhile series to invest in. Now granted, there ARE expansions to Pandemic, and to its credit, is a beautiful game (well, with the exception of the pieces, which oddly has three shades of green.) I honestly dont feel thrilled playing this game. The experience was only a shoulder shrug from my end. If you want to get it, go ahead. But dont use it as a gateway game.

The game is a treasure in the world of board games and is a must-have. Just beaware that this game is a little difficult for someone under 10, and will require a lot of hand holding and explanation due to its difficulty level. Also, the local retail shows likely have better deals than this one.