Was it fun?
Yes, I enjoyed the game, but I had my doubts because at first the setup was annoying and trying to first understand the rules, actions, and characters.
What were the player interactions?
There was a lot of player interaction throughout the game. The main objective was for the players to work together to beat the game itself, but since there were more ways for the game to win than for us to succeed, each turn had to be played strategically. This required constant communication between players to decide on the best possible moves for each turn.
How long did it take to learn?
It took awhile to set up the game, and understand the actions to play and what we could do with our characters, but ultimately it took around 20 minutes to finally get a rhythm going.
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
The most frustrating part was when we made one decision, only to realize later that another choice or possibility would have been better. But that’s a part of the game and made it interesting.
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
I really enjoyed the collaboration because it pushed us to think carefully about every move and plan together in order to beat the game. It created a competitive aspect, not between the players, but between the players and the board. My team and I became fully immersed in the experience.
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
No, I thought the game was overall good, and there wasn’t anything that I wanted to do that I couldn’t.
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything
from the experience, what would it be?
If I HAD to add anything I would want a little more randomness/ luck included to the game. Like occasionally adding something that would give the players a little luck especially when playing on the harder levels.
Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why
YES! I would love to play this again because I enjoyed collaborating with people, it was like team bonding and it was different to be competitive towards something else besides another person. I also loved how involved/immersed everyone was, and I like when games bring that out of people.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
The first act is the set up and the pandemic. This is where your chosen character is introduced and where your first outbreaks begin. The second act is when the players start building research centers and cleaning up some of the places where there are outbreaks. This stage is also where epidemic cards can be drawn and add another level of difficulty to the game. Lastly, the third structure is when the game starts to reveal whether the players have successfully stopped the outbreak, or if they will be wiped out by the outbreak.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?
The collaborative aspects of the game were having to use each other’s character strengths to try and beat the game, planning every step strategically, and communicating openly to decide on the best moves. The competitive aspect, on the other hand, came from the constant challenge of trying to outsmart the board itself, as the game always seemed to have more ways to win than we did.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics stand out?
The game’s metaphor is the world being overwhelmed by rapidly spreading diseases. The mechanics that stood out most were the drive/ferry, flights, and cures, since without these systems the metaphor would fall apart. These mechanics made it possible to represent the importance of finding solutions for the pandemic, which are essential to the game’s theme and playability.