This week's game...the game of riots and pilots that is Pandemic Legacy (Season One).
Players: 2-4
Time: 30-60 minutes per game
Genre: Cooperative / Legacy
For those unfamiliar to Pandemic or Legacy games, you may want to click on the previous links for an in-depth look at these games of which we've discussed prior on Hughes 3D. But to summarize here: Pandemic is a cooperative board game in which players frantically work together to suppress impending viral outbreaks and seemingly inevitable doom as they try to find cures to win the game. On the other side of the coin, a "Legacy" game is one in which every decision in the game has a permanent factor, which is carried over from game to game spanning multiple play-through. The boards becomes marked, cards are destroyed, new content and rules are slowly unveiled, and a narrative experience is created that is completely unique to you and your friends. So what happens when you combine these two types of games? The answer is the same thrilling and nerve-wrecking experience of Pandemic, but intensified more so with every mark of permanence and the unfolding story.
Pandemic Legacy is divided into 12 "months", in which every 1-2 games played indicates a "month" in the game's narrative. Your first game will play very much like a standard Pandemic affair, though with a few added risks. Outbreaks that occur will raise cities' panic levels, which if raised too high will cause them to riot and become unusable in future games for flight departures. Additionally, any characters caught in a city when it outbreaks will receive scars with detrimental effects for all foreseeable games to come. As each month passes by in the story, new twists will unfold as the game evolves and the plot thickens with each confidential folder being opened. I will leave details sparse so as not to spoil the many surprises, but this added focus on storytelling creates a very compelling motivation to keep playing this suspenseful and enticing game.
As was the case with Risk Legacy, this game is intended to be played over the course of 12-24 games, which depending on your group of friends could last the course of several months, or maybe just a few long weekends. Keep in mind, due to the permanence of physical manipulation that comes with these Legacy games, you are investing in an experience rather than a board game to be stored forever in a closet. But this experience holds tremendous value in its unique storytelling mechanics and multiple plays with evolving gameplay. I highly recommend this game for those who have a dedicated crew of players and don't stress easily. And for those who have more than one group of friends you'd like to play this game with, Pandemic Legacy is offered in two different colored packages. Each color holds the same contents, but the different colors should help distinguish which set is being played with which group of friends. Nifty!
If you have any questions about Pandemic Legacy, let me know in the comments, though try to keep them spoiler free. Otherwise, you can email me at hughes3d@gmail.com if you want to discuss the more surprising elements of the game. Otherwise, stay tuned for more board games and other Legacy games in future installments of Tabletop Tuesday!
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