Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 103

Geek Syndicate TABLETOP GAME REVIEW Pandemic or so that I would call myself a fan of table-top games. I’ve always owned some games and had some great evenings with some of my friends when I worked as a wandering IT consultant in Nuclear Power stations, but I was never a gamer… Of course, then I started watching Geek and Sundry’s TableTop show and got off my console and PC gaming bum to gather round a table with some friends … and I’ve realised that, actually, I do enjoy playing games this way with friends and family. I’ve also realised something: my favourite type of game is co-operative, where everyone is playing together against the game. Games like Castle Panic (reviewed on the Geek Syndicate Site), Gears of War and now: Pandemic. Image © Z-Man Games, 2013 Image © Z-Man Games, 2013 Gather your team. Well, be assigned a role is divided into roughly equal parts, an epidemic card shuffled into each and then the deck restacked. The rules are simple and easy to pick up – each player has four actions to perform which include curing one “cube” worth of a disease (or all cubes if the disease has been cured), building a research centre, moving to another city, trading a research card and so on. After a player has used their actions, the player draws two player cards into their hand … possibly unleashing an epidemic and then the diseases spread by turning over cards and infecting designated cities. There is one way to win the game and three ways to lose: To win, the team must cure and eradicate all four of the diseases. The team can lose if eight outbreaks occur (an outbreak being when a city would be infected by a fourth disease cube which adds one cube to each of the adjoining cities … possibly unleashing one or more further outbreaks!). The team also lose if they run out of disease cubes for one of the diseases – it has become so virulent that there’s no stopping it. Finally, if the players run out of player cards (the ones they draw two of after taking their actions) they lose. 103 Designer: Matt Leacock Publisher: Z-Man Games “Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out. Players must work together, playing to their characters’ strengths and planning their strategy of eradication before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. But the diseases are outbreaking fast and time is running out: the team must try to stem the tide of infection in diseased areas while also towards cures. A truly cooperative game where you all win or you all lose. This new edition has been entirely redesigned and includes two new roles: The Contingency Planner and the Quarantine Specialist.” It’s only really been the last year Gameplay Pandemic pits two to four players against four virulent diseases which are spreading across the globe. Each player is randomly assigned a role within the group – each of whom has specific abilities. For example, the researcher can trade cards (used to cure the diseases) more easily than others, the scientists can cure diseases quicker (requiring four relevant cards instead of five) and the quarantine control officer can prevent diseases from spreading in their vicinity and so on. Once roles are assigned, the outbreaks begin, with nine cities being infected – three with three disease cubes, three with two and three with one. The game’s difficulty can be controlled by choosing the number of epidemic cards that are shuffled into the player deck – either four five or six. The player deck