Pandemic Legacy: An old game, a new experience

By Meeple Lady | January 25, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

At a game day last week, my friend confessed to me, “I don’t have the energy to learn a new game,” and I agreed. There are those days where you just want to slip into something oh-so-familiar with a group of other folks who also know how to play that particular game. There is neither a 30-minute (or longer) explanation during game setup nor that drag where the one newbie is asking lots of questions on game play and strategy while everybody else is just eager to keep the game going.

Don’t get me wrong … I love introducing new games to people, and questions are always encouraged, but there is something deeply satisfying about opening up a box and jumping right in.

This is the board for Pandemic Legacy. After you play all twelve months, this board will no longer be playable. — This is the Pandemic Legacy board, which is slightly different than the regular Pandemic board.

Which brings me to Pandemic Legacy. First up, full disclosure: I haven’t played regular Pandemic in years. It was one of the first gateway games I played early in my gaming hobby, but the potential for quarterbacking bothered me a bit about the game. Meaning, the person with the strongest personality is basically bossing folks around the board and playing the entire game by him or herself.

Pandemic a solid gateway game though to teach new folks about our board-gaming hobby but I would much rather teach them how to play Ticket to Ride. I actually own Pandemic and Pandemic: The Cure, which is much more fun and shorter (plus everybody gets their own set of dice!). In Cure, there’s less potential for one player to take lead since the current player is in charge of whether or not to continue dice rolls.

Pandemic Legacy is a non-replayable cooperative campaign game that takes place through the course of one year. I got invited to join a group to play this game, which requires quite a commitment because the entire game could last anywhere from 12-24 games. I’ve never played a “legacy”-type game before; the only one I know if is Risk Legacy that came out in 2011.

Here's a character card that we got to name. We used my friend's "stripper" name, which is his dog's name and the childhood street he lived on. — Here’s a character card that we got to name. We used my friend’s “stripper” name, which is his dog’s name and a street he lived on.

Initially, I wondered why would people spend so much money on a board game that can’t be played after its completion? It boggles my mind! I buy games so that I can get them on the table with my friends. But of course, there’s so much buzz about this game, enough to dethrone one of my favorite games of all time, Twilight Struggle, from its No. 1 spot on boardgamegeek.com. WHAAA?!?! Currently, Pandemic Legacy is No. 1 on the board game list, thematic game list and strategy game list. Insanity, I tell you! So naturally, I was intrigued. And don’t worry folks, no plot spoilers ahead.

Here's a card that needs to be scratched off, revealing a new element to the game. — Here’s a card that needs to be scratched off, revealing a brand-new element to the game.

Pandemic Legacy comes in this huge box with lots of sealed packages. As you complete games, different things trigger, either by opening a box or uncovering a sticker that replaces or updates a rule in the rulebook. There are also different objectives for each month. The game gives you two chances to meet the monthly objective before you can move on. If you don’t, there’s a last-chance package (I’m assuming?) that’s in the box. Later on, there are cards that get torn up (which seriously feels like the most wrong to do). So far, we won January and lost February. We will need to try February again next time we meet up.

We were told to rip up a card and open one of the boxes after playing one of our games. Please ignore the caffeine and junk food.

So far it’s an interesting experience. I thought I’d be jumping into a game we are all already so familiar with but instead it’s taken us on a ride where anything can happen. It’s great that the four of us already know the mechanics of the game, so in a sense it is something familiar but it’s a completely whole new game. And major props to the designers of this campaign. I’ll keep you guys posted on how we do for the rest of the entire game. Until then … watch out for those outbreaks!

So who out there has played Pandemic Legacy? Share your thoughts!

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