Strategy game
Pandemic
Work together to cure four diseases before time runs out
- 2–4best with 2-4
- 45 minper game
- About 10 minto set up
- 8+years
- Medium
- Somereading
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The game in a nutshell
Pandemic is a cooperative game for 2 to 4 players. Instead of playing against each other, you act as a team of specialists racing to cure four diseases spreading across a world map, and the whole table wins or loses together. A game takes about 45 minutes and suits players aged 8 and up who enjoy planning. You can make it easier or harder by changing how many Epidemic cards go into the deck. India has no local edition, so you will be buying the imported Z-Man Games box.
Is Pandemic right for you?
Great if
- Groups who would rather win together than beat each other. Nobody is knocked out or left behind
- Couples and pairs. It works with two, and each player starts with four cards
- Teens and adults who like to plan a few turns ahead and talk through options
- Families with older children where competitive games tend to end in arguments
Skip it if
- One person in your group likes to run the show. In a cooperative game they can end up telling everyone else what to do
- You need a game for a big group. Pandemic is for 4 players at most
- A game about spreading diseases feels too close to home for someone at your table after the COVID years
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
Origins Award, Best Board Game, 2009 (Winner)
Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year), 2009 (Nominated)
How Pandemic plays
The board is a world map of 48 cities in four colours, one colour for each disease. Each player takes a role card, such as the Medic or the Scientist, with one special ability. At the start, Infection cards place disease cubes on nine cities. Then 4, 5 or 6 Epidemic cards are shuffled into the player deck: 4 for an introductory game, 5 for standard, 6 for heroic.
- Time to teach: about 15–20 minutes.
- Reading and language: City cards show city names in English. Each role card and the five Event cards also carry a few lines of English text. Because everyone is on the same team, one confident reader can read cards aloud for the others.
Online Video Tutorial Series: Pandemic · ZManGamesOfficial · Official
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
Your turn, step by step
- 1Act
Take four actions. You can drive or fly to another city, remove a disease cube from the city you are in, build a research station, or hand a city card to a teammate standing in the same city.
- 2Draw
Draw two player cards and keep no more than seven. If one is an Epidemic, the infection rate goes up, a new city gets three cubes, and the cities already infected are shuffled back on top of the Infection deck.
- 3Infect
Flip as many Infection cards as the infection rate shows and add one cube to each of those cities. A city that would get a fourth cube of one colour has an outbreak and spreads cubes to its neighbours.
- 4Win
The team wins the moment all four cures are found (five city cards of one colour handed in at a research station). Everyone loses if there are eight outbreaks, a colour of cubes runs out or the player deck runs out.
The full explanation: how a game of Pandemic goes
On your turn you take four actions. You can move: drive to a connected city, discard a city card to fly there, discard the card of the city you are in to fly anywhere, or fly between research stations. You can also build a research station, treat a disease (remove a cube from your city) or share knowledge (hand over the card of the city you and a teammate are both in). To discover a cure, discard five cards of one colour while standing at a research station.
After your actions you draw two player cards, and the hand limit is seven. If you draw an Epidemic, three things happen. The infection rate goes up, a new city suddenly gets three cubes, and the used Infection cards are shuffled and put back on top of the deck. That means cities that were already sick come back sooner. Finally, you flip Infection cards equal to the infection rate and add a cube to each of those cities.
If a city would get a fourth cube of one colour, it has an outbreak instead and spreads a cube to every connected city, which can set off a chain. The team loses if there are eight outbreaks, if a colour runs out of cubes, or if the player deck runs out. You win as soon as all four diseases are cured. You do not need to clear every cube from the board.
Everyone can see everyone else's cards and talk freely, so each turn turns into a short team discussion about where to go and what to clear first.
What's in the box
- 1Game board
world map of 48 cities joined by travel routes; Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata are among them - 7Role cards
one special ability each, such as the Medic, Scientist, Contingency Planner and Quarantine Specialist - 7Pawns
one for each role - 59Player cards
48 City cards, 6 Epidemic cards and 5 Event cards - 48Infection cards
one for each city - 96Disease cubes
24 each in blue, yellow, black and red - 6Research stations
- 4Cure markers
turned over to the 'eradicated' side if a cured disease is cleared from the board - 1Infection rate marker
- 1Outbreaks marker
- 4Reference cards
list the actions you can take - 1Rulebook
8 pages, English
Box: 30 × 22 × 5 cm. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
This list comes from Z-Man Games' Pandemic page and the contents page of its English rulebook, and it matches the contents given in Indian listings. It is the current edition, first printed in 2013, which is the one sold in India. The original 2008 edition had only five roles; the 2013 edition added the Contingency Planner and Quarantine Specialist and new artwork.
Where to buy
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.
No Indian edition or authorised Indian distributor was found, so every genuine copy is the imported Z-Man Games edition with English components. Our Amazon.in link goes to Z-Man Games' imported 2013 edition (item ZM7101).
How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.
- The box and listing should name Z-Man Games. The genuine Amazon.in listing has 'Z-Man Games' in its title.
- Be wary of an unbranded 'Pandemic Board Game' that costs far less than the usual price. Much cheaper sets sold under the name don't come from Z-Man Games.
- Check the age. The base game box says 8+, so a listing for base Pandemic that says 'Ages 14+' was probably not written from the real box.
- Check the contents. The real game has 48 Infection cards, 59 player cards, 96 disease cubes in four colours, 6 research stations, and 7 role cards with matching pawns.
- Be wary of listings that name no brand at all.
We link to one Amazon.in listing that we've checked against the maker's own information. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
What reviewers and players say
Reviewers still call Pandemic the best way into cooperative board games. The rules are clear, a game is fairly short, and the chain reactions of outbreaks keep the whole table on edge until the last turn. You can make it easier or harder by changing the number of Epidemic cards. The common warnings are that new groups usually lose their first few games, and that one bossy player can end up making everyone's decisions.
What people love
- Everyone wins or loses together, so nobody is knocked out and newcomers can be helped along by the rest of the table
- It stays tense: one unlucky card can set off a chain of outbreaks across the map, so wins feel hard-earned
- Difficulty is easy to adjust with four, five or six Epidemic cards, so it can grow with your group
- A clear rulebook and sturdy, colourful pieces, and it is often recommended as a first modern board game
Common complaints
- One confident player can start telling everyone else what to do, which takes the fun out of it for quieter players
- New players should expect to lose their first few games before they learn how to plan
- Outbreak chains and badly timed Epidemics can swing a game sharply in a single turn
Based on 5 reviews and discussions
- Review Pandemic review (Timothy Linward, July 2024) · Wargamer
- Review Games We Love: Pandemic (Ashley Gariepy, August 2020) · Meeple Mountain
- Review Review: Pandemic (Quinns, July 2013) · Shut Up & Sit Down
- Players Is Pandemic harder with fewer players? (October 2013) · Board & Card Games Stack Exchange
- Reference Pandemic (board game) · Wikipedia
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
More like Pandemic
More from Z-Man Games
More cooperative games
See all
Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): Forbidden Island – A lighter, shorter cooperative game by the same designer, good for families; Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 – Campaign version where the game changes over many sessions; Pandemic: Hot Zone – North America – A smaller, quicker standalone version of Pandemic.
Questions people ask about Pandemic
Is Pandemic about COVID?
No. Pandemic came out in 2008, long before COVID-19, and its four diseases are fictional, shown only as coloured cubes. Interest in the game did rise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Can you play Pandemic with 2 players?
Yes. It plays 2 to 4, and with two players each person starts with four cards instead of two or three. The rules are the same at every player count.
Should I buy Pandemic or Pandemic Legacy first?
Start with the base game. Pandemic Legacy is a campaign played over many sessions, where you permanently change the board and cards, so it suits a group that can meet regularly. It also costs more.
Is a cheap, unbranded Pandemic genuine?
Be careful. Unbranded 'Pandemic' listings name no publisher, and a much cheaper set is unlikely to be Z-Man's game. Look for the Z-Man Games name on the box and in the listing.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Matt Leacock
- Publisher
- Z-Man Games (an Asmodee studio)
- First published
- 2008
- Players
- 2–4
- Barcode
- 681706711003
- Language
- Some English – City cards show city names in English. Each role card and the five Event cards also carry a few lines of English text. Because everyone is on the same team, one confident reader can read cards aloud for the others.
- Box size and weight
- 30 × 22 × 5 cm
- Awards
- Origins Award, Best Board Game, 2009 (Winner); Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year), 2009 (Nominated)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Z-Man Games – Pandemic (players, time, age, contents, item ZM7101)
- Bored Game Company – Pandemic
- Gameistry – Pandemic
- Wikipedia – Pandemic (board game): year, 2013 edition, spin-offs
- Pandemic rules summary (actions, epidemics, hand sizes, loss conditions)
- Retailer listing showing UPC 681706711003 for Z-Man ZM7101