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.

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!

Wow! My kids got this for me Christmas 2015, and we have been playing it this year as defined in the rules. Oh yes, 'the rules', they are intricate and I am only able to keep up with every detail because this is a COOPERATIVE game. So far we have won 7 out of 10 playing sessions and succeeded to meet our objectives all but one month. (The faded figures caught us off guard and has proved to be our biggest challenge since 'invading' the yellow region.) Enough about our problems. This is a bit of advice to you: Learn how to play Pandemic (we also expanded our original game set with On The Brink and In The Lab) before even thinking about Legacy. And play the game with a team you can work with. Read the rules closely and read them again before each playing session. Make sure everyone remembers the details about their character and their relationship with others. Believe me when I say that every detail will have an influence on whether you win or lose. Yes, some details will hurt you, but more often than not you will find yourself in dire straits if you ignore, forget or simply overlook a minute instruction that was intended to help. Do we recommend this game? Highly! Are you capable of winning? That depends on you and the draw of the cards. Draw two epidemic cards back to back and it will test your mettle to its limits. Run or you will be scarred for life. Utilize your capabilities or your team will suffer. Don't think for a moment that you have things under control. Outbreaks will be your ruination if you don't plan for every contingency. May I remind you, this is Pandemic at its worst or should I say its best.? Adding my end of year note: We finished the game and saved the world for future generations. Based on the scoring tiers at the end of the game we finished just shy of the top level. This was a family night for the entire year 2016 and it was a challenge, but every episode enjoyable. Still a five star game for our group!

Friends and I played the original Pandemic over and over, it was always my favorite. Last year we picked up Pandemic Legacy, Season 1. For those who don't know how Pandemic works, it's all the players "against the board". Each round a player performs actions, and then cards are flipped to "advance" the diseases you're attempting to prevent. The end game is simple, stop the diseases from getting out of control. However, the gameplay is way more fun than that sounds, as you typically discuss (and sometimes argue) next steps and calculated risks, determining if it's worth taking the time to do X or Y, and each players turn causes you to re-think strategy. A typicaly round of gameplay takes an hour, and it feels like 5 minutes. Pandemic Legacy adds an additional twist. You play out "months" in the game. Win in January, and move on to the February story. Lose in January, you can retry it one, but the board is altered on each gameplay, meaning that you always have to live with your losses. As the story progresses, you open new boxes\cards to advance the story and the playstyle, and the end-game for each "month" is always different. One month, you may need to eradicate a disease, the next it may be to setup some structures. You don't stick to one play style to win, you constantly change who you are and what you do. The hardest thing about the game is that you "destroy" things.. and believe me, it's hard! At some points in the game youre instructed to take certain play pieces and rip em up, since as the story evolves, certain opening game play pieces don't apply anymore. It's a really well done game and totally worth the $60 (or whatever it is now). You play through at a minimum of 12 times, and each playthrough is unique. If you haven't played the original Pandemic, you may want to go online for a primer first, but Pandemic Legacy is an awesome party game and a great way to kill time with friends and family.

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.

If you like Pandemic, this is a must-play experience. Essentially, you play through 12 ordered scenarios (one for each month of the game year), and each one delivers gameplay-altering surprises. Changes to the map, your characters, and even your cards stay in effect across scenarios. Pros: * Keeps the core gameplay of Pandemic—a true classic!—while making each month feel unique. * Real stakes. Every turn you'll make decisions that potentially affect not only the current win/loss conditions, but also future months. For example, allowing an outbreak to occur in a city will raise the panic level in that city, making it more difficult to travel to. * Challenging but never too rough, thanks to some clever balancing mechanics. (Losing one game makes the next game a bit easier, you always get two attempts, and there's even an "OPEN IF YOU LOSE 4 GAMES IN A ROW" package to help you out if you get in a rut.) Cons: * As more and more rules are added, they become harder to keep track of. Even the most hardcore board gamers will make some mistakes of interpretation. Since the rules are different for each of the 12 months, rules clarifications are hard to get. * Some rewards take the form of scratch-and-win cards, which are incredibly messy. Seriously, I hate those things! * Strategy purists will hate some of the aforementioned surprises, because there's no way you can prepare for them. For example, you might invest several of your upgrades in something, only to have that something destroyed at one point in the narrative. * Speaking of narrative, it goes off the rails pretty quickly. The tone abruptly shifts from "educational simulation" to "paranoid thriller." The silliness somewhat undercut the experience for me. Overall, I enjoyed Pandemic: Legacy and found it worth the price of admission. Note that you destroy the game as you go through its campaign, so it has no resale value. (If you're careful—setting pieces aside instead of destroying them when instructed to do so—you can still use the game as a basic Pandemic set.)

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.

Finally finished my campaign with a friends. While they are not big into board game, pandemic was easily accessible for them and we ended with a beautiful one of a kind board that we still talk about from time to time to this day. I need to find a way to frame the board with all the elements. Fred the med, you shall be remembered as an hero, always and forever.

Es un excelente juego, muy entretenido, el tablero, figuras y tarjetas, tienen una calidad excelente, mi único problema con el juego es que cuando empiezas la campaña, tienes que realizar cambios al juego que no son reversibles, por lo cual necesitas un grupo regular para jugar la campaña (12 - 24 juegos), si no tienes un grupo constante y quieres un juego para llevarlo con diferentes grupos de amigos, es mejor que compres Pandemic normal.

Al principio era bastante difícil. Os recomiendo a ver uno o dos vídeos antes de empezar. Pero cuando ya sabes cómo se juega es el mejor juego, sin duda!!!!

Oh, WOW. If you have not played pandemic yet, go get some practice, maybe try on the brink expansion first, then come back. IT WILL HELP. If you enjoy pandemic, this is the next step. forget those mad dash to cures ignoring the rest of the world for the win. This is a series of games that adds to what you already know and the game you love. See it as an investment to entertainment. You will only get to play a limited of 12-24 games as you change the board, but we have found it was worth it. We may even try to take features and additions into our normal games to spice things up. I'm not saying anymore due to spoilers, each normal game will take about an hour as you have extra jobs before and after the game that all adds to the enjoyment, dare I say excitement of virus outbreaks across the globe. I'm not sure whether I would buy it again, but I would recommend it if you enjoy pandemic and want an ongoing challenge with friends.

If you’re into legacy games, I highly recommend this one. We have the ‘stand-alone’ version, which is ok but this one takes it to another level. You will not necessarily win all the scenarios in one turn, there is actually a good chance you will have to play a scenario more than once, which makes it interesting and exciting to play. Will be buying Season 0 as well.