This review may contain MINOR spoilers. I will not spoil any part of the story, though I may touch upon the upgrade system a bit, not going into too much detail so that an element of surprise may remain. I can't really say a TON about the game without spoiling it...but if you like Pandemic, you'll love this! This is Pandemic with more of a story, ever-changing threats to deal with (though still well within the vein of Pandemic - they aren't COMPLETELY changing the game on you), and the need to consider future repercussions as well as immediate needs. A few things I'd like to get out of the way first: 1. For anyone wondering, this is NOT an expansion to another game. This is a stand-alone game. This game cannot be combined with regular Pandemic. 2. If you haven't played the original Pandemic game, I'd recommend considering that game and its expansions first. It's a great game...and this game isn't easy to jump into if you haven't played Pandemic before. 3. This is a game that changes as you play it. You will write on things. You will apply stickers. You will rip things up. You will open upgrade packages. If this bothers you, play regular Pandemic. This game would be nearly impossible to play in such a way that you can "reset" it. That said, it will last you a good long while and it's worth just playing it properly. If you played normal Pandemic with the expansions, it will take a bit of adjustment, no longer making use of things like the lab (one of my personal favorite expansions)...but Pandemic Legacy easily makes up for that with many of its unique features and ever-changing story. At least at first, Pandemic Legacy plays very similarly to the original game with few noticable changes. This WILL change with every game session. Some of the differences you'll note: - The game has a maximum of four players. - Pandemic Legacy may be played an unlimited number of times, but the STORY of the game takes place over 12-24 game sessions (depending on how well you do). It seems that the game taking only 12 game sessions would be nearly impossible unless you cheat. The game scales in difficulty as you win and lose. - The game starts with only four characters - the medic (improved disease removal), dispatcher (move other players), generalist (more actions and upgrade slots), and researcher (create cures for diseases more easily). That said, new roles will be unlocked occasionally throughout the game. - After every game session, win or lose, you get to choose two upgrades. These upgrades may grant your characters more abilities (like Pilot - when you use a card to fly to another city, do not discard the card), starting the game with additional research stations, making diseases easier to cure, etc. - If you play carelessly, your characters may gain downgrades that complicate their lives for the rest of the game. Collect too many downgrades on a character and they're removed from the game. From then on, you must pick a different character or use a generic character with no special traits whatsoever. These downgrades can USUALLY be avoided if you play carefully. My group made it through the first half of the game without getting a single downgrade. - When a city outbreaks, that city will gain increasing levels of unrest. Eventually, the city will become more difficult to traverse. This means that allowing outbreaks to happen will eventually make the overall game more difficult. It may be better to lose an early game if you can avoid getting too many outbreaks. - The more you win the game, the harder it gets. The more you lose the game, the easier it gets. The game is designed to scale to the skill level of your group. You are almost certain to have a mix of wins and losses. There are two mechanisms that control this. The first is your "funding" level. You have a floating number of event cards thay may be placed in the player deck. The more you have, the easier the game becomes. For each game you win, you have two fewer event cards to play with. For each game you lose, you gain two more. The second mechanism is replay. When you lose one of the 12 missions or "months", you get a second chance. Since you get 2 upgrades at the end of every game you play, you'll end up with more upgrades, the more you lose. - You always have to be mindful of the future if you want to do well. It's better to lose gracefully than to win at a heavy cost. The penalties that you accumulate will sick with you through the rest of the game. If you can lose a mission without accumulating any downgrades, you will only be better for it. This fundamentally changes how you play each game. - As you play, the game introduces new complications and may change the goals needed to win. There are hidden rules. Hidden game pieces. Hidden character cards. Many things will change as you play the game...but that's why you buy Pandemic Legacy over normal Pandemic. If you've never played Pandemic before, I'd honestly recommend considering getting that before this game. The games do not tie together, but Pandemic Legacy is less forgiving to players unfamiliar with the game system. If you already have and love Pandemic, BUY THIS GAME.
