Hurmferd

WHY DID I BUY THIS GAME?
I love the original Pandemic because is a cooperative game where everyone works together, rather than against one another. My family enjoys playing the original Pandemic, so I knew that I could easily get this new version to the table. Prior to buying this, I also played Risk Legacy and found that I thoroughly enjoyed the Legacy format, even with the classic, tired (IMO) dicefest of a game that is Risk. If the Legacy format could re-energize my interest in Risk, then surely it would do great things for Pandemic, a game that I very much enjoy.

WHAT I LIKE
– Enjoyable, time-tested Pandemic mechanics provide a relatively quick (1 to 2 hours), high-tension game.
– If you are familiar with Pandemic, then you’ll have very few new rules to learn. Even if you are not familiar with Pandemic, the rules are fairly easy to grasp.
– The game does not become stale. The Legacy format changes the board–and a rule or two–from one game to the next, so each game session is unique and requires different approaches.
– The 12-month campaign tells a compelling, challenging story with many surprises along the way. This requires 12 game sessions–or more–but does not take 12 months of real time unless you only play once a month. You and your players will share an evolving, memorable experience over the course of the campaign.
– Each player has unique skills in the game, so you’ll be doing different things than the other players.
– Turns are relatively quick, and all players are usually very interested in keeping track of what their team members are doing. I’ve rarely seen players getting distracted with their cellphones or laptops while the game is going on.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE
– Legacy Pandemic has a similar problem to the original Pandemic in that some players may become “bossy” and tell the other players what to do each turn. My group overcomes this with our house rule that advice is only provided if a player asks for help.
– Once the 12-month campaign is completed, all of the surprises will be known and a group of players will probably not want to play through it a second time. And, in fact, if they did want to play the campaign again, then they’d probably need to purchase a second copy of the game. I could, however, actually see myself buying a second copy to experience it again; it’s that good, and even though I already know all of the plot twists, I expect that the second time through will play out quite different than my first playthrough.

FINAL THOUGHTS
This game is engaging and tense, each and every session. The only reason that I didn’t rate it a 10 is that it is still Pandemic, and therefore it’s not entirely new. Having said that, I strongly recommend that everyone purchase it, even those who already own the original Pandemic. It’s a wild ride.

I enjoy cooperative games that are difficult to beat and that tell a compelling story along the way. This game has these qualities in spades!

WHAT I LIKE
– It’s a horror game;
– It’s maddeningly difficult to beat this game;
– Each game is an epic, eventful battle to save the world;
– Each decision that you make is hugely important as to whether you win or lose;
– The character(s) you play are unique and the game gets very personal. Your character will be sorely tested and you will end up with battle scars;
– Every game plays very differently, even with just the base game, but you should buy at least one small-box expansion to provide more variety of cards;
– There are a number of expansions that provide fun, thematic adventures;
– Days after playing it, I’m thinking of what happened;
– Weeks and years later, my fellow players and I are still talking about the times that we won or the times that we were brutally defeated;
– Turns are divided two parts: 1) everyone moves, then 2) everyone searches/fights. This reduces wait time between turns.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE
– Setup can take a while, usually 15 to 20 minutes;
– The game is long, between 3 to 6 hours (but this is offset because the time flies by while you’re experiencing an epic challenge). Unfortunately, this means that it may not hit your table too often, so see my next point…
– The rules are somewhat complicated, but not terribly so, however if you don’t play it very often, then you’ll spend extra time reacquainting yourself with the rules when you start playing the next time.

FINAL THOUGHTS
In my opinion, there isn’t a more challenging and epic game out there. If you enjoy horror games, horror movies, or horror stories, then this should interest you. If you can find willing players with similar tastes to your own–or if you enjoy a solo challenge–then you owe it to yourself to give this one a try.

When I was a young lad, I loved playing with army men. I’d set them up and battle it out on my family’s living room floor for hours.

And now that I’m a mature (?) adult, I find that I still love to set up those army men and tanks and battle it out for hours! But now I have a lightweight, easy-to-understand set of rules–along with fun, challenging scenarios–to guide me through those battlefield heroics.

WHAT I LIKE
– Easy-to-learn and easy-to-teach rules
– Cool descriptions of historical background and the commanders that puts me right on the battlefield
– A nice blend of control and luck that simulates the difficulty of executing battle plans (although some players don’t like the limitations of the cards)
– Highly re-playable, especially considering that the cards won’t let you play the same strategy/tactics with each play session
– Fast game play: less than an hour per game (not counting setup)
– Tons and tons of scenarios to play, many accessible for free on the web
– Tons and tons of expansions

WHAT I DON’T LIKE
– Setup can be tedious: about 15 to 20 minutes
– Only a 2-player base game , although the Overlord expansion increases that to 6 or 8
– Many of my family and friends don’t enjoy wargames, so I usually end up playing solo variants on quiet evenings.

FINAL THOUGHTS
This is one of my favorite games. I own almost every expansion and I really enjoy the ability to play out a series of battles that impact each other by using the campaign books. Highly recommended.