Should I Play Pandemic: Contagion?
Players: 2 – 5 players | Game Duration 30 – 30 mins |
Min. Age 14+ | Game complexity: EASY Genre: Card Games, Cooperative, Medical
Solo game mode: No | Co-op: No |
Online Version: No
What is Pandemic: Contagion about?
“Pandemic: Contagion” offers a unique twist on “Pandemic“. Instead of curing diseases, players become the di0seases themselves, competing against each other to become the most deadly virus in a race against humanity and each other.
Gameplay Overview
“Pandemic: Contagion” is a competitive card-based game that inverts the original “Pandemic” premise. Players control a disease and aim to spread their infection across the globe.
The game is divided into several rounds, each consisting of two main phases: the Infection phase and the Draw Card phase. You use cards to infect cities, increase your disease’s efficiency, and adapt to events that can change the game’s outcome.
The game ends when either all cities are wiped out or the deck of cards runs out, with the winner being the player who has collected the most Contagion Points through spreading their disease and achieving certain milestones.
Game Mechanics
The mechanics are straightforward. Players begin with a hand of cards and a basic virus with certain capabilities. Each round, they can perform actions such as increasing their incubation rate (which allows more cards to be drawn), increasing transmission (which enhances the ability to spread to cities), and increasing resistance (which defends against events and other players’ actions). Critical to the game is the choice of cities to infect; larger cities offer more points but typically come with greater competition and challenges.
What Makes It Fun?
For those familiar with the cooperative game, Pandemic, this game makes it fun by making it competitive. The game encourages tactical thinking, as players must balance between aggressive expansion and building their disease’s abilities to adapt to a changing world. The element of direct competition, absent in the cooperative “Pandemic”, adds a layer of excitement and unpredictability. Additionally, the game is relatively quick, usually lasting about 30 minutes, making it an excellent choice for game nights that need a faster-paced game.
Rules
Pandemic: Contagion Videos
