As is the case with many a cooperative board game, victory is often far and few between as the brutal mechanics of the game have players frantically scrambling to stay alive. And the viral outbreak of a game that is Pandemic is no exception. With so many small, nuanced decisions to be made, there is always much deliberation to be found as what the proper course of action should be to contain the situation from spiraling out of control. While there is technically no one right answer, there are a few tips and tricks to help give your team of emergency respondents that leading edge. So with no time to waste, let's get the rundown on those tips to ensure your next game night still has vital signs come its conclusion.
(NOTE: These tips apply to the standard, base version of Pandemic, though they may also assist with some of the expansions. For a brief overview of Pandemic and the general mechanics of the game, see previous Tabletop Tuesday post on such here)
Divide the Deck
When choosing your starting difficulty, players decide how many epidemic cards to include into the game and shuffle into the deck. In haste to start the game or perhaps out of neglect of knowing the actual rule, many players often ignore a crucial rule of how these are to be shuffled into the deck. Depending how many epidemic cards are being included, players should divide the deck equally into that many stacks and shuffle one epidemic card into each of those stacks, then combine stacks into one deck (no further shuffling). This helps pace the rate of epidemics to be seen during the course of the game and adds a layer of anticipation. While there is still a chance of back to back epidemics, if such was to occur, there is at least an assured reprieve to follow. So don't forget this unassuming rule!
Role Call
Each player is given a role / character to play with unique abilities that, well, play a pivotal role to effectively deal with the crises at hand. As such, players should take careful note of their abilities and remember to make use of them. If one player is a Scientist, they could discover a cure faster, or if a Medic, would be put to better use treating / clearing disease cubes. With that said, don't also become overly reliant on each player's ability. A Scientist can only hold so many cards and as such, another player may be better off discovering the cure of another colored disease. A Medic can only travel so far so quickly, so it may be better to have another player put a dent clearing cubes elsewhere. So be mindful of your roles, but also of your other options.
 |
| Know your roles. |
Cubes Vs. Cure
It's typically a safe bet that cities with 3 cubes on them are of high threat and thus high priority to take care of. And if you're playing on the lower difficulty settings, this is a more than sound strategy. But as you raised the difficulty, the answer to this situation is not always so clear cut because while clearing these cubes lowers the risk of outbreaks, it comes at the cost of lost potential working towards the needed cures to win the game. And when the threats come at a faster rate, players are faced with the dilemma that some outbreaks are going to have to occur in order to pursue the cures. So keep in mind that while outbreaks are bad, you're permitted a certain amount of outbreaks, which is in effect a resource to be considered. Use such to your advantage.
Beware Outbreak Chains
Of course, if there's multiple cities with 3 cubes directly adjacent to each other, those hold much higher risk for a chain reaction of outbreaks and should be dealt with sooner than later. If immediate action is needed, but you're unable to clear all the cities, you'll want to figure out the best means to mitigate the damage then, such as removing the middle link of the chain or which city has the most spread / connections.
Utilize Research Stations
Research stations have much more use than just as locations for which cures to be researched. Rather, they often serve as one of the most useful means of transportation, while saving players valuable city cards. So make sure to deploy your research stations early and effectively, with a good spread around the globe. Doing so will save you valuable actions in the long game.
 |
| Your research station token may vary in appearance depending which version of Pandemic you own. |
Double-check the Discard
There's no rule in the game that says you can't view the discard piles at any time. Pandemic isn't a game of memory, so don't belittle this valuable resource of information. It is important to know which city cards are being discarded so you can allot the remaining cards towards your cure and determine the likelihood of certain colors being drawn. Also, knowing which virus cards have already been drawn helps determine which cities are currently not at risk, or are next to be at risk when put back on top of the deck after an epidemic card. In fact, when an epidemic is drawn and virus cards are put back on top of the deck, though players don't know the exact order, they know for fact the X set of next targets to be hit and their probability of being hit. This is crucial information for assessing risks and determining the needed course of action.
The Power of Teamwork
As the genre of cooperative games should imply, teamwork is an important component if victory is to be achieved. So be on the lookout for ways in which you can combine your roles for useful combos. For example, once a cure has been discovered, the Dispatcher can quickly move the Medic for easy automatic cleanup. Or the Operations Expert can build and use his own research stations for easy navigation around globe, in which he can create additional research stations for other players' use of travel. Teamwork!
 |
| Team pose! |
Consider Your End-Game
As the disease cubes pile up and your deck of city cards dwindles down, don't forget to assess your end-game. Because if you're not careful, you'll end up just shy of victory, wishing you had just one or two more turns. So count those cards and cubes carefully, and make certain of how many turns are really left available to you. With this information, start considering how to research all the needed cures and who the game will end with, or need to end with.
-------
Hopefully these tips and tricks will provide the first aid needed to power through these barrage of epidemics. And if you should have any additional tips or clever tactics to share, be sure to post in the comments below! Thanks. And happy gaming!
No comments:
Post a Comment