Was it fun?
After understanding the flow of the game and its primary objective, the game was incredibly fun to play.
What were the player interactions?
Instead of working against each other, players had to strategize and plan their next moves carefully. Our group found ourselves planning, then splitting up to handle different infected regions of the world.
How long did it take to learn?
It took a good 15-20 minutes to understand the multiple actions, card interactions, and how each piece of the board affects the game.
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
Even though we accidentally set ourselves on a n easier difficulty, it felt as though there was little stakes after a certain point. I never felt as though a loss was right around the corner (unless people made unwise decisions).
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
My favorite aspect of the game play was collaborating with team members to divide and contour the board efficiently and handle the new outbreaks efficiently.
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
No. The game felt balanced and intuitive after understanding the game’s mechanics and objectives. I enjoyed the experience overall.
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything
from the experience, what would it be?
I would add more randomness to the game, something that different versions of Pandemic already did.
Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why
Yes. I found the need for collaboration to be a breath of fresh air. I have played few table-top games where players actually benefited from working together. I also found the setting, the art, and the overall stakes of the game very fun.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
The first act is the initial start and outbreak. Players find out what needs to be done and usually go to the most infected cities to curb the spread. In the second act, at least one epidemic card has been drawn, and players quickly change course to deal with the new outbreaks that have occurred, all while dividing tasks between themselves. In the final act, players either collaborate successfully and cure all diseases, or fail to stop them in time.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?
The most collaborative aspect was the role system. Differences in roles and their bonuses made players rely on each other for certain tasks. Some players could cure diseases more effectively, while others made it easy to travel to infected areas for quicker cures. Learning how we all could help each other out and executing the plan was a satisfying moment. We felt little need to compete, and it was stated in the rules that we were better of working together.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
I believe that the game’s metaphor is one of people coming together to stop threats bigger than themselves. There was no way that players could win the game alone, or by working against each other. Each player had to use each other’s locations (city cards drawn), and specialist roles (which gave bonuses) to make an effective plan before the diseases spread too much.