Questions tagged [pandemic]

Pandemic is a cooperative game in which players work together to combat the spread of four deadly diseases before they overwhelm the planet. Each player brings a distinct skill to bear on the problem; only through careful teamwork can they ultimately save the Earth! 2-4 players, 45-60 minutes.

Pandemic is a cooperative game in which players work together, racing against time to combat the spread of four deadly diseases before they overwhelm the planet. Each player brings a distinct skill to bear on the problem; only through careful teamwork can they ultimately save the Earth!

Players must balance fighting disease hotspots with the need to work towards global cures. The problem is complicated by unpredictable epidemic outbreaks, which intensify the urgency of the situation. Teamwork is essential; each player role is different, and provides particular advantages. For example, the Scientist can discover cures more easily than other players, while the Medic can more effectively treat outbreaks in the field. An unusual feature of the game is that all players must work together, or shared disaster for all is ensured.

Pandemic has three expansions, , , and .

  1. adds extra roles, 5 player rules, new events, and several 'challenges', each one a distinct twist on the base game. It also provides attractive petri dishes for disease cube storage.
  2. adds extra roles, new events, and a new game board that allows players to research cures in a laboratory, much like the base game, but with added complexity. In addition, it added a one-player mode and a team play mode.
  3. adds even more roles, more events, and three new challenges: The Hinterlands, Emergency Events, and Superbug.

If you're interested in Pandemic, you may find the following questions useful:

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What are good general strategies for Pandemic?

I've looked at a lot of forum posts on several sites on Pandemic and it seems that there is a decent amount of luck. You may win two 6-epidemic games in a row, then lose three 5-epidemic games. I have no trouble at all with luck, but I'm curious:…
Gordon Gustafson
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Is Pandemic harder with fewer players?

I've played a couple of Pandemic games with 2, 3 and 4 players. From my point of view, the game should be harder with only 2 players since it will be more difficult to get a medic and both players will have to stay virtually close to each other…
Joao Costa
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Does anybody need the 6th epidemic card in Pandemic?

4 epidemic cards in the pile are easy in Pandemic. 5 cards - it is interesting. Our win / lose ratio is about 50% with 5 epidemic cards. But I can't imagine how to play with 6 epidemic cards. Are you just very lucky to win this way, or are there are…
Pawka
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In Pandemic, why take the extra step of eradicating a disease after you've cured it?

I understand that you need to cure all four diseases to win the game. But the next step beyond curing a disease is eradicating it. Why do this? After you cure a disease, how are you helped by going to all the trouble of eradicating it? The only…
Deane
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Clarification of a Pandemic rule involving the Medic

The rules of the French edition of Pandemic are a little unclear about the following game situation. Once a cure for a disease (let's say blue) has been found, at any point the Medic is in an infected city, what happens? (a) the city is…
F'x
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Is this a win or loss?

Does a player need to complete a full turn (i.e. 4 actions, pickup, infect) if during the action portion the final disease was cured? I only ask because there was only 1 player card left in the deck and I wouldn't have been able to complete a full…
Nicole
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Special event cards and timing

The Special Event cards all indicate they may be played "at any time". Are there any restrictions to "any time", i.e. in the middle of someone's turn? Suppose an epidemic card has been drawn -- can the airlift card be played while the epidemic steps…
jro
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Does the medic remove cubes of the final cured disease (and thus eradicate it) before the game ends in a win?

Consider a scenario in which your group is doing absurdly well. Three diseases have been eradicated, and while the fourth disease — Red — has not yet been cured, it has been contained to a single city, in which the Medic is already present. Then it…
SQB
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Can you eradicate a disease without finding a Cure first?

If you eradicate a disease in Pandemic without finding a cure first (ie remove all of one colour from the board) does it remain eradicated or can it still come back unless it has also been cured? The rules are a bit unclear on this point ... Or I…
Michael Steer
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Why is the Pandemic starting position always Atlanta?

Why did the creators of the game Pandemic decide that the starting position for each game would be Atlanta rather than any of the other possible cities on the board?
AlexC
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Exchanging Cards in Pandemic

When exchanging cards between two players in Pandemic, does it matter which player's turn it is? I have seen this rule played two ways: - The active player can only give a card. OR - The active player can give or receive a card. Both actions would…
Gundabad
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In Pandemic, do certain setup and card order combinations make it impossible to win?

My family has won most of the Pandemic (2 or 3 player games) we've played, but we ran into one recently that I thought impossible to win due to the 2 and 3 cube infections being far from Atlanta, far from each other, and not accessible with any of…
Joe Golton
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Are the (player) cards in your hand supposed to be face up or not?

In playing Pandemic, I've always played where the cards in your hand are face up - i.e., visible to everyone. It is a cooperative game after all, and looking at another player's cards is easier than asking everyone what they have each turn. Certain…
mmathis
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Bottom card drawn during epidemic: What happens if there is already more than one disease cube in the city?

How do you handle a situation where the bottom card drawn in an epidemic is for a city with 2 or 3 cubes (of the same color) on it already? For example, if Mumbai has 2 black cubes on it due to prior outbreaks in Chennai and Delhi, what happens if…
Vinnie
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Does the Medic need to wait until their next turn to remove cubes when another player researches a cure?

Say Medic got to Paris with 3 blue cubes but didn't have enough action to remove cubes, and a next player cures blue. Do we get to remove those blue cubes from Paris right away or do we wait till Medic's next turn?
Kiko R.
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