Pandemic Family Board Game Review (Age 10+) Sent by Asmodee

This month Asmodee have sent us Pandemic Board Game to review for the Blogger Boardgame Club. Although I didn't own a copy, I have played Pandemic in the past, so before we even opened the box we knew we'd have a good evening.

Matt Lacock's multi award-winning game Pandemic was first released by Z-Man Games in 2007 and is so popular that it's spawned a host of different editions. The aim of the game is simple, prevent plague from infecting all of humanity and ultimately save our species from extinction...

Inside the box are a few pieces to become familiar with: Game board (showing some of the world's major cities), 7 Role Cards with 7 matching Pawns, 6 Research Stations, 6 Wooden Markers, 96 Disease Cubes (in 4 colours), 48 Infection Cards, 59 Player Cards, plus Reference Cards for each player and the Rulebook.

Don't let it all scare you. Most of these items have a place on the board and gameplay is much more simple than you might imagine.

The aim of the game is to prevent diseases from taking over. There are 4 different possible diseases and players work as a team, bringing their character's special skills and abilities into play.



Diseases are depicted by gorgeous little transparent coloured cubes and can break out anywhere. When they are become concentrated in one area, they spread. Players travel the world fighting disease outbreaks, working to create a cure and clearing the disease from the world to eradicate it.

Gameplay progresses in turn, with each player making 4 actions, drawing 2 cards, dealing with any epidemics and then drawing to infect even more cities. Once a particular disease (one of the 4 colours) has been eradicated it can never return.

You can randomly draw Event Cards and Epidemic Cards, which can be a bit scary if you are already fighting a few diseases...

Pandemic is a lot of fun. Unlike a lot of similar styled games, it's fairly quick to play. Our games average around an hour, although we have also finished in 40 minutes. Gameplay isn't frantic, but movement is quick, especially when a win (or a lose) is in sight.

You find yourself getting into the role, you can imagine the populations and see clearly how disease can spread in real life, and how much of a battle it is to eradicate it. If you didn't previously want to be a Doctor with Médecins Sans Frontières when you grow up, after playing Pandemic you might change your mind...

We all really enjoy playing Pandemic. It's a great game for when you want a real game, but you don't want to commit a whole evening and ideal for people new to board game night, or who have previously only played commercially popular games.

Pandemic is suitable for 2-4 players aged around 10+ - my 9 and 10 year olds love playing. Created by Z-Man Games and available to buy now, currently priced around £35. Below is my Amazon associate link...

We were sent our copy of Pandemic for review by Asmodee, as part of the Blogger Board Game Club. Asmodee distribute excellent quality independent games, including games for serious gamers.

You can find all of our Blogger Board Game Club Reviews here...