Players 2-4 (Best with 4)
Playing Time 60 Mins
Age 12+
Complexity 3.00/5
Type Co-op
Pandemic Legacy is a co-operative campaign game, with an overarching story-arc played through 12-24 sessions, depending on how well your group does at the game. At the beginning, the game starts very similar to basic Pandemic, in which your team of disease-fighting specialists races against the clock to travel around the world, treating disease hotspots while researching cures for each of four plagues before they get out of hand.
During a player's turn, they have four actions available, with which they may travel around in the world in various ways (sometimes needing to discard a card), build structures like research stations, treat diseases (removing one cube from the board; if all cubes of a color have been removed, the disease has been eradicated), trade cards with other players, or find a cure for a disease (requiring five cards of the same color to be discarded while at a research station). Each player has a unique role with special abilities to help them at these actions.
After a player has taken their actions, they draw two cards. These cards can include epidemic cards, which will place new disease cubes on the board, and can lead to an outbreak, spreading disease cubes even further. Outbreaks additionally increase the panic level of a city, making that city more expensive to travel to.
Each month in the game, you have two chances to achieve that month's objectives. If you succeed, you win and immediately move on to the next month. If you fail, you have a second chance, with more funding for beneficial event cards.
During the campaign, new rules and components will be introduced. These will sometimes require you to permanently alter the components of the game; this includes writing on cards, ripping up cards, and placing permanent stickers on components. Your characters can gain new skills, or detrimental effects. A character can even be lost entirely, at which point it's no longer available for play.
Part of the Pandemic series.
There's no difference between the Red and Blue boxes. It's purely a decorative choice.
AWARDS & HONORS
2016 SXSW Tabletop Game of the Year Winner
2016 Lys Passioné Winner
2016 Lys Passioné Finalist
2016 Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee
2016 JUG Adult Game of the Year Finalist
2016 Juego del Año Winner
2016 Juego del Año Finalist
2016 International Gamers Award - General Strategy: Multi-player Nominee
2016 Guldbrikken Special Jury Prize Winner
2016 Gra Roku Advanced Game of the Year Nominee
2016 Golden Geek Most Innovative Board Game Nominee
2016 Goblin Magnifico Nominee
2016 Dragon Awards Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game Winner
2016 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming Nominee
2016 As d'Or - Jeu de l'Année Expert Winner
2016 As d'Or - Jeu de l'Année Expert Nominee
2015 Meeples' Choice Nominee
2015 Golden Geek Most Innovative Board Game Nominee
2015 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Winner
2015 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Nominee
2015 Golden Geek Best Thematic Board Game Winner
2015 Golden Geek Best Thematic Board Game Nominee
2015 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game Winner
2015 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game Nominee
2015 Golden Geek Best Innovative Board Game Winner
2015 Cardboard Republic Immersionist Laurel Winner
2015 Cardboard Republic Immersionist Laurel Nominee
2015 Board Game Quest Awards Game of the Year Winner
2015 Board Game Quest Awards Game of the Year Nominee
2015 Board Game Quest Awards Best Coop Game Nominee