Pandemic is an award-winning game designed by Matt Leacock. It has been played over 15 million times and translated into 30 languages.
Are you a fan of Pandemic? If so, then you should be considering getting one or more expansions for the game. The best expansion is not always clear to people, but there are some factors that can help narrow down your choices. In this article, we will discuss the different versions of Pandemic and how they compare to each other.
Base Game: What is Pandemic?
Game Features
The base game of Pandemic has players trying to stop four diseases from spreading across the world. The board is made up of several regions, and each one represents a continent. The map also contains seven cities that are connected by land or sea routes. Each player gets to choose their own role in the game: dispatcher, medic, scientist, researcher, quarantine specialist, or operations expert.
Players take turns using action points that allow them to travel between different locations on the board; treat disease cubes with matching colors; discover cures for these diseases through building research stations; giving other players cards when they visit certain areas (such as finding anti-virus tokens), and more actions depending on what your character does best!
The base game of Pandemic comes with multiple role cards so it can be played by up to five players at once. The roles each have their own abilities that make them unique and give everyone a chance to play this cooperative board game together as equally as possible!
Also included are six dice that color coordinate with the diseases on the board; 48 infection cards (three per disease); nine research stations (which will develop into either cities or airports over time); 72 player pieces in four colors representing doctors, scientists, researchers and quarantined patients; 162 cubes divided between four different types: black disease cubes for spreading infections throughout continents/cities; blue city/continent/airport infection markers; red anti-virus tokens which can be used to cure diseases if players find a matching set of three cards in the research station deck.
Lastly, there are 108 player cards with special abilities that make it easier for your team or harder for disease cubes to spread quickly across the board! Use them wisely and you might just save humanity from total destruction by these deadly diseases!
Mechanics
The game starts with each player choosing their role. They are then handed the corresponding cards for that color and three matching disease cubes. Next, players take turns rolling dice to determine how many actions they can perform on their turn until everyone has had a chance to use all seven of the die results.
These action points allow them to travel between continents/cities; build research stations (which help cure diseases); treat diseases at certain locations by giving up an anti-virus token or card which matches the color of your cube; draw special event cards if you land in one area long enough; discover cures for these four deadly diseases through building research stations; give another player cards when they visit certain areas like finding anti-virus tokens; etc.
The game ends when a player has cured all four diseases or if too many outbreaks happen and the board becomes completely full of disease cubes. Whichever happens first will determine who wins or loses this cooperative board game!
Scoring System
When playing Pandemic, you are not trying to outscore your opponents! Instead, the winner is determined by whether or not they have successfully stopped these diseases from taking over the world.
Whoever gets rid of all cubes on a continent will receive two points per cube remaining while players who cure just one disease get an extra point added to their final score as well! All other players will lose ten points if another person cures before them.
Best Pandemic Expansions on the Market
Now, there are nearly a dozen Pandemic expansion packs out there, so it can be tough to choose which one to get. This comparison chart will help you make the best decision for which Pandemic expansion pack to pick.
| Image | Product | |
|---|---|---|
Best Pandemic Expansion  | Pandemic Legacy Season 1 Blue Edition Board Game
| Check Price |
Best for Longer Gameplay  | Pandemic in the Lab Board Game EXPANSION
| Check Price |
Best for Pandemic Beginners  | Pandemic State of Emergency Board Game EXPANSION
| Check Price |
Best for Unique Mechanics  | Pandemic Legacy Season 2 Black Edition Board Game
| Check Price |
Best for Families  | Pandemic Rapid Response Board Game
| Check Price |
1. Pandemic Legacy Season 1 Blue Edition Board Game – Best Pandemic Expansion
Overview
Pandemic Legacy Season One is a board game that’s been out for over two years now. It received high praise from many different reviewers and players alike. The biggest attraction to this one was the fact it changed every time you played it!
The idea behind Pandemic Legacy Season One Blue Edition Board Game starts with a concept that could have only come from Matt Leacock, creator of Pandemic: Legacy who originally came up with his first edition back in 2008 before he went on to create Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert! This new version has just about everything you would need if you’re looking for an intense cooperative board game experience where everyone wins or loses as a team at the end! There are multiple ways to play like solo mode which requires you to find cures and stop the spread of infections all on your own, or you can play with up to four people as a team.
Mechanics
The mechanics for this game are pretty straightforward. In your turn, you’ll move to an adjacent city and take two actions of the following possibilities: treating disease cubes by spending matching colored cards or tokens; drawing more infection cards which increase the number of disease cubes on that particular continent/city location; build a research station (which requires three different colors); trade-in five matching color cards with other players at any time during their turns as long as they’re not infected with diseases; give another player additional action points if you land on one of their research stations or treatment centers; etc. Players can choose from all eight roles whenever it’s their turn including a medic, scientist, dispatcher, researcher, operations expert, quarantine specialist, field operative, and generalist.
Components
Pandemic Legacy Season One Blue Edition Board Game includes a letter-sized game board, player cards/role cards, city and research station reference tiles, six different colored disease cubes (red for the deadly EBOV virus; blue for the less dangerous HIB meningitis strain; yellow for MERS coronavirus which can become lethal if not properly treated early on in an infection; green as a marker to show where treatment centers are located throughout each continent along with matching color cards that players use to treat diseases at these locations), three wooden pawns per player representing their role characters going around curing infections all over the world.
Pros And Cons
Final Judgement
Pandemic Legacy Season One Blue Edition Board Game is a great game that offers players many different options during their turn. The overall theme for this one is how you win or lose as a team so playing with the right people is key. If you’re looking for an intense cooperative board game where everyone wins at the end, then this one should be on your list!
2. Pandemic in the Lab Board Game EXPANSION – Best for Longer Gameplay
Overview
Pandemic In The Lab Board Game Expansion is one of the newest Pandemic expansions to add a few twists and turns for players while they go around curing diseases around the world. This version adds five new modules including a double-sided game board, lab research stations, two modular decks of cards, and twelve plastic miniatures to use when playing with up to six people per game!
The theme for this one is that you have just found out about another cure waiting in the depths of some laboratory somewhere around the world. The problem is that you need to get there before anyone else does or it could be lost forever!
Mechanics
The mechanics for this version are pretty straightforward overall. In your turn, you’ll move to an adjacent research station and take four actions of the following possibilities: travel between any two cities; treat diseases at treatment stations or in laboratories (if there are no disease cubes added); conduct research by drawing cards which can help cure outbreaks around the world with matching color cards or help build a cure from research stations you have collected; use airports/seaports to transport other players around the world if they need a ride and so on.
The first one helps make sure your disease cubes don’t stay on the board too long while the latter allows you to place more cubes in a specific area if needed or split them apart between multiple cities.
Components
The components for this version are pretty solid overall with some of the best parts being the board, cards, and miniatures. Both game boards included in Pandemic In The Lab Board Game Expansion stand up well on their own so you can use them as regular maps during your games if desired which is nice to have an option depending on what players want. The same can be said for the cards as well.
The miniatures included in this version work extremely well as they look great plus they aren’t too big either. You can even use them as regular markers instead if you don’t like the monster look overall which is a nice touch for those who want to mix it up once in a while during their games!
Pros And Cons
Final Judgement
Pandemic In The Lab Board Game Expansion is a decent board game that includes some great components to help out during your gameplay. Both the double-sided boards are nice if you want to play with more people overall while still giving players options when it comes time for them to make their move each turn!
3. Pandemic State of Emergency Board Game EXPANSION – Best for Pandemic Beginners
Overview
Pandemic State of Emergency Board Game Expansion is an expansion that can be used to help influence the gameplay for either Pandemic or Rising Tide. This version allows players to have more control over their turn by giving them ways to save actions, take extra ones, and many other choices during gameplay which works well overall!
This board game includes pretty basic components with a double-sided map featuring two different versions of Hong Kong plus some research stations as well if needed during your games. The cards are fun but could use better artwork in my opinion while the miniatures look nice but aren’t too detailed at all, unfortunately. Overall it’s not bad, just missing something here and there to make it feel complete enough after adding this one into your collection next time.
Mechanics
This version is a bit different from the original in some ways which make for an interesting twist depending on what players want. You can either go by the normal rules or add more features to your gameplay such as during setup, having one player pick three action cards and giving them out randomly instead while also adding two pandemic cards into play too.
The new mechanics here work well with this version but aren’t all that unique unfortunately since you’ll see them used quite often these days. The dice rolling mechanic isn’t bad at all although there are times where it can feel more of a hassle than anything else depending on what you roll. For the most part, players will always have something to do each turn which is nice but since this game was never designed with that in mind some actions end up feeling pointless at certain moments too during gameplay which isn’t bad overall.
Components
The components included in this version are decent overall with some miniatures, cards, and a double-sided map. The miniatures look nice but aren’t very detailed which is okay since they don’t take up too much space on the board at all during gameplay. Everything fits well inside of the box although I doubt you’ll use all of it for anything else once finished playing, unfortunately.
Pros And Cons
Final Judgement
Overall Pandemic State Of Emergency Board Game Expansion works pretty decently although there’s nothing new here that hasn’t been done before many times over in other games these days sadly. This expansion still works fine though when trying to mix things up depending on how often players enjoy having more control over their turn instead of relying solely on luck throughout each game which does make it worth checking out!
4. Pandemic Legacy Season 2 Black Edition Board Game – Best for Unique Mechanics
Overview
Pandemic Legacy Season Two is a great version for fans of the original Pandemic and includes many new features that players will enjoy. This board game comes with some cool components such as disease cubes, stickers, and cards which all work well together in this version! The game does include some miniatures which are okay although there could be more detail to them in general compared to others.
The gameplay itself can be fairly fun overall but doesn’t work quite as well with this version when compared to others sadly. The game includes 12 months in total and each month has its own set of objectives players need to complete before moving on to the next one which makes things interesting. The new components here work well with the game even though you may need to re-organize them every now and then depending on how often players play but aren’t too big of a deal overall. Even though this version has some issues, it’s still worth checking out for fans of Pandemic I feel that will enjoy what is included in this version!
Mechanics
The mechanics included here are pretty fun to use throughout gameplay although they do feel more basic than what you’d expect from other versions available today sadly. Players get several different options when it comes time to make decisions during their turn but there’s not much else included overall since most actions end up feeling pointless at times due to them using dice rolls instead of actual choices/decisions made by players themselves.
Components
The components in this version are decent overall with some cool miniatures, cards, and dice. The miniatures included looking great although they don’t really add anything to the gameplay unfortunately since you’ll barely be looking at them when playing Pandemic Legacy Season Two Board Game which is a shame for sure! Everything fits well inside of the box too but there’s not much else here that can be used again once finished sadly.
Pros And Cons
Final Judgement
Pandemic Legacy Season Two Board Game is a great expansion to add to the Pandemic collection overall and provides players with different mechanics they can use during gameplay. The new components included are decent overall although the theme doesn’t feel very immersive during gameplay which is a shame since there’s nothing else to enjoy besides what you get here sadly.
5. Pandemic Rapid Response Board Game – Best for Families
Overview
Pandemic Rapid Response Board Game is a decent addition to the Pandemic collection which works well for beginners and families. This expansion includes several new features which players will enjoy, while also providing different components to use which help make this version feel more unique!
Mechanics
The mechanics included here work well overall and feel pretty unique. Players get several different options to choose from when it comes time to make decisions throughout each game such as racing to cure diseases or fighting off the effects of each disease. The mechanics here are pretty simple overall but they do work well and can be fun for players who enjoy simple games instead of complex ones with loads of different features.
Components
The components included in this version are pretty decent overall and provide players with different options when it comes to making decisions during gameplay. Pandemic Rapid Response Board Game does include some cool miniatures, cards, and dice which all fit well inside of the box although there’s not much else here that can be used again once finished.
Pros And Cons
Final Judgement
Pandemic Rapid Response Board Game is a decent addition to the Pandemic collection overall with some new mechanics mixed in that work well together. The components included are pretty nice although players will mostly use them once and throw them away afterward which is a bit of a bummer since they do feel high quality but it would be great if they could continue using them after finishing this version!
Conclusion
The best Pandemic expansion for you will most likely depend on your preferences when it comes to games. For example, if you enjoy more complex games with lots of decisions to make then the original version is probably better for you since that one has a bit more variety in terms of options throughout each game compared to other versions out there which are simpler overall.
If you’re looking for something more simple then the Pandemic Rapid Response Board Game might be better since this one is pretty easy to jump into and has some new mechanics mixed in that players will enjoy! However, if you enjoy simpler games with a bit more of a challenge then Pandemic Legacy Season Two Board Game might be the best version for you as it has some different mechanics mixed in which can make things interesting.