Asmodee Pandemic Legacy Season 1 Board Game (Red) - Epic Year-Long Battle Against Deadly Diseases, Cooperative Strategy Game for Family Game Night, Ages 13+, 2-4 Players, 1 Hr Playtime

This game is absolutely amazing. My boyfriend and I just started playing it and have finished through February of the "12 month" campaign so far, and when I woke up this morning, the first thing I said to him was "I want to play more Pandemic." We had never played Pandemic before, so we did a few practice rounds first without the Legacy rules in effect. Feeling pretty comfortable with it, we moved ahead in the campaign. Opening the special boxes and putting stickers on the board feels like Christmas. The first time it told us to destroy a card, we looked at each other wondering who was going to be brave enough to rip it up. The way new cards are entered into play, with rules changing permanently (or at least seemingly permanently) as you go, objectives changing and adding on to one another, makes each game a unique experience with changing strategy. There are funded events, characters added into play, upgrades and scars added to characters, mutations added to the diseases, and at the end of each game, depending on whether you won or lost, your funding either goes up or down, which will make the next game either easier or harder. I don't know how anyone could go back to regular Pandemic after this. At first I hadn't wanted to buy both Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy, but now I think I understand the need for both. As the game's board changes and is modified, I think we'll need a regular Pandemic board (and the expansions!) for playing afterward. Though maybe we'll need to keep some of the new modifications we learned in Legacy? Only time will tell. Next week, I'm starting a new Legacy campaign with four players. I'm hoping that is even more exciting (will report back soon), but for now, I'm happy to have found a complex and engaging co-op game for two players. Update: And for people wondering if you can start over with the Legacy campaign after you finish the 12 months, my feeling is that the answer is no. Even if you don't destroy cards, some of the changes are somewhat permanent, adding new rules at certain stages or placing new stickers over the old ones. Each time there is an outbreak in a city, it gets a sticker permanently leveling it from 1-5 (rioting to destroyed) which changes the play. So even without destroying cards, you're using the stickers. I don't think you could play through it again after you finish as the 12-month campaign, but I figure it IS likely that whatever state the game is in by month 12, you can keep playing that campaign over and over.

I dreamed of playing this game for a long time before it did. Intrigued by the idea that choices could be permanent, I was not disappointed. It is an incredible game of choice and consequences, where every choice you make will be something you feel every game after, Its brilliant and terrifying. Its also surprisingly, a role playing game, as a natural extension of having characters with names that matter and can die, there is incredible fun to applying personalities to these characters, for this reason i recommend bending the rules in small ways to make the role play feel right to you, 3 characters are all siblings, or this new character is the same person as a previous but having gone through a change, i warn you do not use that to make it easy, or to prevent death. THE GAME IS SUPPOSED TO BE HARD, AND DEATH IS SUPPOSED TO HURT. There is however a limit to who would enjoy this game, this game is a commitment very much like a DnD campaign, with a long story, and complex events, if you or your play group aren't interested in being committed to the time and complexity, you wont get nearly as much out of it as i have, tho i expect still quite fun anyway.

My girlfriend and I played through this and we were absolutely hooked, literally dreaming about the game, until it was through. It really is an amazing experience, so unlike any table-top board game I've ever played before. Having finished our play-through, we're now in a sort of Pandemic Legacy withdrawal phase. "What do we do now?" They've tantalized us with that "Season 1" label on the box, so maybe there's hope, eventually, for us to get our fix. Anyway, here are some thoughts from our experiences: Works great for two players. I was a little worried at first that it might be more properly designed for four players, but no, it's eminently playable by two. And, frankly, a great game for couples, since you're working and collaborating together. Be careful with the rules. One small downside is it's very easy to miss a rule here or there. The rulebook, to some extent, seems to assume some knowledge of the basic Pandemic game. We played a few practice games before beginning the "Legacy" rules, and it's definitely worth doing so. In fact, we lost our practice games, but had a nice string of wins once we started the legacy rules, so the practice was good for that reason too. Avoid spoilers. Although I enjoyed reading other people's accounts of their play-through, I was careful to read the months that we had already completed, rather than looking at spoilers. It turned out to be well-worth it. The game has some twists that are pretty epic and you'll really get the full experience of it if you don't see them coming. Also, we enjoyed many conversations speculating as to what was coming and trying to prepare for it. We were sometimes right and sometimes wrong, and that's really part of the game. Don't be turned off by the destructive "one play" aspect of Legacy rules. Really, it's worth it. It's a bit like watching a movie you love or tv-show you love. It's true, once you've seen it, you've seen it, and you can't recover that first experience of not knowing what's coming, but that doesn't lessen the experience. Play Carefully! One of the things we noticed was that as the series of games went on, we were going slower and slower with each game. Part of that may have been increasing complexity of the rules, but mostly it was us taking more time to plan our moves carefully. The desire to win our final month kept growing as it approached, particularly with all the work preparing for it. Anyway, if you take the plunge, I know you'll enjoy it. Unquestionably, one of the best game purchases I've ever made.

Some notes -It is best if you (or someone you're playing with) have played enough rounds of Pandemic to be familiar with the rules before playing this game. It makes the game very easy to pick up and get quickly into. -This is an incredibly well-produced legacy game. The legacy deck and top secret dossiers make the development of the game/story easy to follow. The only legacy game I had played before this one was Charterstone, and, though Charterstone was good, this one leaves it in the dust. There is a reason why this game is consistently #1 or 2 on Board Game Geek. -You don't have to love Pandemic to enjoy this game. I like Pandemic, but it is not in my top 10. This game is easily amongst my favorites I have ever played. -If you don't have a consistent crowd, it is easy to add or subtract players from round to round. Obviously, the experience is better if everyone can be there for each game, but if someone needs to drop out or an extra joins up late, it will be no problem. -The game works really well with two players. The only drawback is that there are some roles that don't work as well with only two players, and some months where one of you may feel obligated to take a certain role. -Very highly recommend for anyone who isn't turned off by the theme. My wife refuses to play it simply because it is about a pandemic. If this doesn't bother you, get a good group, and enjoy!

Up front, I have played the original pandemic so our group was fairly accustomed to the base rules. If you played the original Pandemic, especially if you have a regular gaming group (2-4), I would highly encourage you to consider this. If you haven't played the original Pandemic, I would still suggest it, though there will be a learning curve that hopefully the mechanics curve to your benefit later. Possibly play it to cure the four diseases a few times (base game), escalating the number of infection cards in the player deck to get the idea. Then when ready, accept the "training" is over and see what happens. There are minor spoilers below. I bought this for friends, and we've played through the first two of twelve "months". The first month is more or less like the original game. We struggled a bit with a few different elements of the design: 1) Destruction of components - this is a thing. This is not a board game designed around infinite replayability. It's designed around giving you a great gaming experience. Getting over this was hard. 2) When to open the rule options - we thought based on what we read in the rule book that occurred after the first game, rather than being patient and accepting this occurs when told to. This seemed less than clear. 3) *READ* the entire text. We missed the bottom half of the first card that said "STOP" and there was a word "until". Had to do some finagling to rewind and get us back on track. So struggles aside, this has been a great experience. Every decision in regular pandemic can mean the difference between winning and losing. In Legacy Season 1, every decision has that little bit of extra weight where, it might not just hurt the current game, but it might hurt later games. When having to make the decision of "do we rush to save the city already in turmoil, or do we accept them as a casualty to try and eradicate a disease"... it's awesome. When new rules show up, or old rules evolve? it changes how you look at the board. I would like to think we're doing great with only minor turmoil on the board, but going into month 3 we have zero funding because "obviously we have things under control" -_- Can't wait.

I've played a lot of board games across lots of genres. I enjoy a great variety of those games, but none more than this. It is the best game I've ever played, and well worth all the hype. My wife, who plays board games fairly rarely, also loves this game. We are playing through this game just the two of us. Pandemic Legacy is a co-op game that introduces rules gradually as you play. This is great for people who get overwhelmed by lots of rules. At the same time, the game offers a lot of depth for people who prefer the heavier games. It is a perfect balance of depth and ease, strategy and leniency. This is the first "legacy" game I've played. I don't like the idea of only playing a game one time through and then having to throw it away. Well...that is still a drawback, but the one play-through actually gives you 12-16+ rounds (each taking over an hour) depending on choices you make and the subsequent results. I was apprehensive about the value before I started playing, but now have no regrets at all. Also, for those wondering, Red and Blue versions of this game are the same. They made two versions so people playing it with multiple groups could keep them straight.

I got this in the blue box because I have always loved board games but am married to a wonderful woman who is not generally a fan of the complex gaming style that I usually prefer. Boardgamegeek.com had rated this their number one game so I decided to give it a shot and ask for it for my birthday knowing that my family and friends would be more inclined to play if it were my birthday present. This game is amazing and they really enjoy playing it as well! Even though I grew up playing games like Risk, Monopoly, Axis and Allies, HeroQuest, and Battle Masters this is my favorite board game of all time, and we're only through March! I'm hooked. I re-connected with my childhood best friend and gaming buddy and bought the red box in order to play with him, my daughter, and his boy as a second group. I also purchased the regular Pandemic game and On the Brink expansion so that my wife, daughter, and I can play as a family to further limit time in front of the television. I love the cooperativeness that the game demands and the encouragement of team-building skills. It adds a different dynamic of working together that we don't normally experience as a family, which teaches me more about my daughters personality and our intra-personal relations in the home. I even made a soundtrack for the game using others recommendations and coupled it with news breaks of viral outbreaks every 3-5 minutes. Unfortunately, after trying it once my wife felt it made the game too tense. The game mechanics are ingenious. The way you periodically re-shuffle the cards where any outbreaks have already happened and place them back on TOP of the infection pile, introducing further risk to already problem areas, makes the game feel alive. Matt Leacock, thank you so much for this.

This game is amazing. SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: If you've never played Pandemic WAIT ON THIS. While the rule book in this version of Pandemic states that you can technically use this version of the game to play the original I DON'T RECOMMEND IT. While, yes, you technically can, you will find yourself frustrated and confused because there are a LOT of extra pieces and things in the box for the legacy story mode, if possible you really would be best to just buy the original and have about 4-5 play through's before considering this. You need to understand the purpose and the mechanics of the original before attempting this. With all that said and NO SPOILERS: This game is absolutely phenominal. I don't take it lightly when I say this may be the best board game I've ever played (and I've played a lot). The depth is insane, the way the story progresses and the game evolves is insane and the way new dynamics are revealed is both realistic to what you would imagine a real-world virus outbreak would look like as well as very understandable as they get added. Plain and simple if you like the original, you'll love this ONE MORE SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: It's extremely helpful if you play this with the same group of players through the whole season (not required but way more fun that way since everyone knows the story as it unfolds).