Pandemic, a consistently best-selling game at Rules of Play, pits four players against four deadly viruses. Players must work together before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. Most people who walk into our store have played it, and for many families, it's a firm favourite.

But what if you've never played Pandemic before?

We could show you all the reviews and videos in the world, but nothing truly captures the horrifying emotional rollercoaster you go on during a game of Pandemic. 

It's time we changed that.

Wanna know how to play Pandemic? This is how you do it (illustrated with GIFs)...

Pick your character

You work as a team, but you still have an individual role. You're supposed to deal the roles out randomly, but who cares? Just don't pick the medic. Waaay too much responsibility.

The infection begins...

Infection cubes are randomly places across the board in different cities. It's YOUR job to eliminate these diseases to save the world!

Choose your move...

You can do a bunch of stuff, like treating infections (removing a cube from a city), creating a Research Lab in a city and more. Just choose, dammit!

...or just run away

One of my favourite tactics is to hop from city to city, avoiding the virus and ignoring my team's cries for help. Heh heh heh.

Drawing Epidemic cards

These you CAN'T escape. If you draw an Epidemic card, you have to place 3 infection cubes on a city, and reshuffle that city card into your draw deck. 

Arghh, outbreak!

If a city already has 3 infection cubes when you place another cube inside it, an Outbreak occurs and all interconnecting cities get a cube. Life is cruel.

Finding a cure

Chill out in a city with a Research Lab. If you get 5 Player cards of the same colour, you can cure the disease of that colour! Alternatively, be a medic and get special powers. Like I said, too much responsibility.

Ooh, a special event!

Playing Pandemic is hard. That's why special event cards help! You get government grants to build extra Research Labs, an airlift that lets you jump to any city - the list goes on. 

Welp, game over

There are a few ways the game might end. If more than 7 Outbreaks occur, or you run out of certain cubes or Player cards, the world dies and you lose. Boo.

What about winning?

You win if you find the cure to all 4 diseases. THAT'S IT. No wonder Pandemic causes nervous breakdowns...

Cooperation is key

The most important thing to do in Pandemic is work together. This way, you'll have a fighting chance of curing the world and becoming the awesome-but-exhausted superheroes everybody needs. Yeaaaaah!

Buy Pandemic here.

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