[Pandemic] - Game 14 - Game Over - Blue Smacks Players Again

stever777

Welcome to Pandemic, Z-Man Games' game of global disease containment. In this game, players take the roles of five Center for Disease Control (CDC) operatives, racing against time to cure outbreaks.


You and your companions are highly skilled members of a disease-fighting team waging a battle against four deadly diseases. Your team will travel across the globe, stemming the tide of infection and developing the resources you'll need to discover the cures. You must work together, using your individual strengths to destroy the diseases before they overtake the world. The clock is ticking as outbreaks and epidemics accelerate the spread of the plague. Will you find the cures in time? The fate of humanity is in your hands!

Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out.

Players must work together, playing to their characters' strengths and planning their strategy of eradication before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. For example, the Operation Specialist can build research stations, which are needed to find cures for the diseases. The Scientist needs only 4 cards of a particular disease to cure it instead of the normal 5.

But the diseases are breaking out fast and time is running out: the team must try to stem the tide of infection in diseased areas while also towards cures.

A truly cooperative game where you all win or you all lose.


This will be a Play-By-Post Base Game of Pandemic for 5 players, participants from sign-ups.

[RULES]
[EXPANSION RULES]
[RULES SUMMARY]
[Discussion and Sign-ups]

stever777

A QUICK TUTORIAL ON PANDEMIC

Pandemic is a cooperative game. You and your fellow players are members of a disease control team, working together to research cures and prevent additional outbreaks. Each of you will assume a unique role within the team, with special abilities that will improve your team’s chances if applied wisely. The object is to save humanity by discovering cures to four deadly diseases (Blue, Yellow, Black, and Red) that threaten to overtake the planet. If you and your team aren’t able to keep the diseases contained before finding the necessary cures, the planet will be overrun and the game will end in defeat for everyone.

The Board & Cards

-The Turn Phases-

Each turn, the current player must:

1. Take 4 actions
2. Draw 2 cards to add to his hand
3. Take on the role of the Infector (cards drawn & tokens placed by Host)

After the Infector has gone, the player’s turn is over and the next player begins his turn.

-Actions-

A player gets 4 actions to spend on her turn. A player may select from any of the available Basic and Special actions and spend 1 action to perform it. A given action may be performed more than once during a turn, so long as 1 action is spent for each instance. Each player’s Role will grant them special abilities that are unique to that player. Players may also pass if they have nothing else to do. Unused actions may not be saved from turn to turn.


BASIC ACTIONS

Charter Flight
Play the card corresponding to your pawn’s current location, and move to any city on the board. Discard the card to the Player Discard pile.

Shuttle Flight
If your pawn is in a city with a Research Station, move it to any other city with a Research Station. (See below for details on building Research Stations.)

Direct Flight
Play a card from your hand and move your pawn to the pictured city. Discard the card to the Player Discard pile.

Drive (or Ferry)
Move your pawn to an adjacent city. Cities are adjacent if they are connected by a red line. Red lines that go off the edge of the board “wrap around” to the opposite board edge and continue to the indicated city. (For example, Sydney and Los Angeles are considered to be adjacent)

The Dispatcher may move other player’s pawns on his turn (using any of the available Basic actions) as if they were his own pawn. He may also spend an action to move a pawn to any city that contains another pawn. He may only move other players’ pawns if they permit him to do so.
Note: For the Charter Flight action, the Dispatcher must play the card corresponding to the current location of the pawn he wishes to move.

Pass
A player may also elect to pass (and do nothing) for an action.


SPECIAL ACTIONS

Discover A Cure
Once your team has discovered all four cures, you win!
If your pawn is in a city with a Research Station, discard 5 cards of the same color to cure the corresponding disease. Place the spent cards into the Player Discard Pile.

The Scientist only needs 4 cards of a color to discover the cure of the corresponding disease when performing the Discover Cure action.

Build A Research Station
Building Research Stations helps your team move from place to place.
Research Stations are also required for discovering cures. Play the card corresponding to the city your pawn currently occupies, then place a Research Station in that city. Discard the card to the Player Discard Pile. If there aren’t any Research Stations left in the supply, select one of the Research Stations already in play and transfer it to the city your pawn occupies.

The Operations Expert does not have to play the card matching the city his pawn occupies when performing the Build A Research Station action. He simply spends an action to add a Research Station to his current city.

Treat Disease
Over the course of the game, your team can treat diseases to buy the time needed to discover cures. Remove a disease cube from the city your pawn occupies. (Each removed cube costs one action.) Place the removed cube back into the stock by the side of the board. If players have discovered a cure, instead of one cube, remove all cubes of a cured disease in your current city for one action.

Eradicating a Disease
If a cure for a given disease has been discovered and all of the disease cubes of that color have been removed from the board, flip the Cure marker for the disease to the “Sunset” side. From now on, cards of this color have no effect when drawn on the Infector’s turn. Cubes of the eradicated color will not be used again for the rest of the game.

The Medic may remove all the cubes of a single color (instead of 1) when performing the Treat Disease action. Also, if the Medic at any time finds herself in a city that contains cubes of a disease that has been cured, she may immediately remove all of those cubes. This unique ability is in effect during all players’ turns and does not cost any actions to perform.

Share Knowledge
Sometimes it’s hard for one player to get the cards necessary to discover a cure. The Share Knowledge action (while difficult to perform) can be useful in these cases. Transfer a card from one player to another. Every card transferred costs 1 action. Both your pawn and your fellow player’s pawn must be in the same city, and you may only transfer the card of the city that you are in together. (For example, if you are together in Moscow, only the Moscow card may be transferred from one player to the other.) If either player holds more than 7 cards as the result of a transfer, the excess cards must be immediately discarded to the Player Discard Pile.

The Researcher may give a fellow player any card from his hand when involved in a Share Knowledge action. He is not restricted to giving the card of the current jointly-occupied city, like other players are. This freedom only applies when the Researcher is giving a card—he always receives a card with the same restriction as other players. The Researcher can utilize this ability when involved in Share Knowledge actions on any player’s turn.

-Special Event Cards-

The Player Cards deck contains some Special Event cards. These cards may be played at any time (even on a fellow player’s turn) and do not require an action to play. When you play a Special Event card, immediately follow the instructions on the card, then discard the card into the Player Discard Pile.

-Hand Limit-

Players have a hand limit of 7 cards. If the number of cards in hand ever exceeds 7 as a result of drawing cards (or performing the Share Knowledge action), the player must immediately discard cards in excess to the Player Discard Pile. Players may choose which cards to discard. Players may play Special Event cards (including any they have just drawn) instead of discarding them, to help reduce their hand to 7.

-Sharing Information About Cards-

Players may openly discuss strategies during the game, but like the real world, the players do not immediately know everything that the other players do. To simulate this, if you are playing the Normal or Heroic Games, players may not show the contents of their hands to their fellow players during the game. Players may however, freely tell each other what cards they have. The Introductory Game has no such restriction and players may decide to play their hands openly. Because Pandemic is a test of cooperation and mettle (and not of memory), players may freely examine the contents of the Player Discard Pile and the Infection Discard Pile at any time.

-Infector Phase & Outbreaks-

Draw cards from the Infection Draw Pile equal to the current Infection Rate and add one cube to the pictured cities, using a cube of the same color as each card. Resolve the cards in the order you draw them. If, however, the pictured city is of a color that has been eradicated, do not add a cube. If a city already has 3 cubes in it of the color being added, instead of adding a cube to the city, an outbreak occurs in that color. When this happens, instead of adding a 4th cube, add a cube of the outbreaking color to each adjacent city. Each time a city outbreaks, move the Outbreaks Marker up one space on the Outbreak Indicator. If the number of outbreaks ever reaches 8 (and the Outbreaks Marker reaches the skull symbol), the game immediately ends in defeat for all players. Also, if there are not enough cubes to add to the board when infecting, the game immediately ends in defeat for all players.

Chain Reactions
If any of these new cubes would cause the total number of cubes of that color in an adjacent city to exceed 3, additional outbreaks may occur, causing a chain reaction. Note that each city may only outbreak once in each chain reaction.

DEFEAT OR VICTORY!

The game ends immediately in defeat for all players if any of the following conditions occur:
-A player needs to add disease cubes to the board and there aren’t any left of that color in the supply.
-The eighth outbreak occurs (the Outbreaks Marker reaches the skull symbol on the Outbreak Indicator).
-There are not enough cards in the Player Draw Pile when a player must draw cards.

Players collectively win the game immediately when the cures for all four diseases (Blue, Yellow, Black, and Red) have been discovered. Players do not need to administer cures to every infected city in order to win the game—victory is instant when any player discovers the fourth and final cure.

stever777

We will let the group decide on how many Epidemic cards will be in this game.
4 (Introductory), 5 (Normal), 6 (Heroic) or 7 (Legendary)
Please indicate choice in bold limegreen!

@Grunt's Ghosts
@Auralynx
@jdarksun
@CesareB
@Preda

You may then choose your roles in that player order.
I know, there are 2 Operations Experts shown.
Only one is available.
Also, the Bio-Terrorist is not available.

Grunt's Ghosts

Medic and 6 seems good to me.

CesareB

Actually I want to join in the one after jdarksun. See who the real disease killer is.

If you can't find a fifth in a reasonable amount of time though I'll fill the spot. Wouldn't want to stop the game from happening just to show jdark who's boss.

Auralynx

CesareB wrote: »

Actually I want to join in the one after jdarksun. See who the real disease killer is.

If you can't find a fifth in a reasonable amount of time though I'll fill the spot. Wouldn't want to stop the game from happening just to show jdark who's boss.

Figured I should let you be the one to point that out, though obviously he's going to come out ahead since I'm undefeated at forum Pandemic.

If anyone picking after me has a really strong role preference, mention it now while we wait on a new fifth!

Preda

No preference, I'll adapt on the choice of the others to balance the group between treaters and curers

jdarksun

6 / no preference, though I think a Dispatcher is invaluable. I'll play one if no one else does. We could also use a Scientist, Field Operative, or Archivst.

stever777

We could use another player, then.
Although it can be played with 4 if we don't get anybody.

Phyphor

Who wants to save the world?

stever777

Should've known but now you guys are doomed.
Worst...Troubleshooter...ever.


Phyphor, you are in position 5.
We currently have 2 votes for 6 Epidemics.

Preda

The better strategy, playing with 5 operators, is to have 2 cure oriented ones (Scientist, Field operative, Epidemiologist, Archivist), 2 treatment oriented (Medic, conteinment specialist, troubleshooter) and the Dispatcher. One cure oriented could be excanged with a researcher or operation expert to give more move flexibility, but than more people will be occuped with the cure. The cure specialists and the treatment ones should be alternated (the position of the dispatcher isn't important, only shouldn't be first).

Phyphor

Also, the first 2-3 people will have one more turn than the last few playing with 5, which could be important for cure-oriented roles. Field op should go first as I think that way he can potentially cure 2 diseases

Auralynx

I remember wanting to try Field Operative last time.

stever777

Looks like @jdarksun is leaning heavily toward Dispatcher, with his "I think a Dispatcher is invaluable" comment.
That leaves @Preda & @Phyphor to select roles.
Also, we're at 6 Epidemics, unless the remaining 3 vote otherwise.

jdarksun

Grunt's Ghosts - Medic
Auralynx - Field Operative
jdarksun - Dispatcher
Phyphor
Preda

Phyphor one of (Scientist, Field operative, Epidemiologist, Archivist) or (Medic, conteinment specialist, troubleshooter)?

Preda one of the other group?

Preda

I think we could as easyly die heroes as die regular medical operator, so why not? I'll die Containment specialist.

Preda

I'm 4° and Phypor is 5° so to keep alternating roles I treat and he should cure...

Phyphor

6 is fine with me

jdarksun

Grunt's Ghosts - Medic
Auralynx - Field Operative
jdarksun - Dispatcher
Preda - Containment Specialist
Phyphor - Scientist

Does that look right? @Preda

Preda

It make sense as role distribution goes. We could have our chance if fate is not aganist us too much (and with 6 epidemics much is in fate hands...)

stever777

Aww, now we won't get to see Phyphor get screwed by Epidemics in the Troubleshooter role...

Preda

We could still find the change role event. If we do we'll keep it for that...

Auralynx

Preda wrote: »

We could still find the change role event. If we do we'll keep it for that...

It was what won us the last of these I was in. Switched from Ops Expert to something cure-y after spamming research stations all over.

stever777

Starting soon.
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.
Damn beer...

Phyphor

stever777 wrote: »

Starting soon.
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.
Damn beer...

Never Infect While Drunk

stever777

@Grunt's Ghosts - Medic Turn

You all start in Atlanta, at the Research Station, (red cross icon).

3 cities received 3 disease cubes.
3 cities received 2 disease cubes.
3 cities received 1 disease cubes.
These cities are not in danger of receiving more cubes until an Epidemic card is turned over from the Player Deck.
Then, those card are shuffled and placed on top of the Infection Deck and that's when the trouble starts, as outbreaks begin to occur.
Obviously, the 3 cube cities are the most dangerous, as they could outbreak the fastest.

Please ignore the purple cubes, as we are not playing with them this game.

You can click on the board to see it enlarged to read the cities and texts.

Grunt's Ghosts has 4 actions to play.


Starting hands -
Roles, current hand sizes & cards -
Grunt's Ghosts - Medic (2) - Milan; Shanghai
Auralynx - Field Operative (2) - Moscow; Algiers
jdarksun - Dispatcher (2) - Essen; Mexico City
Preda - Containment Specialist (2) - Madrid; Johannesburg
Phyphor - Scientist (2) - Toronto; Bogota

Once you decide on your final actions, post them in the color of your pawn on your turn.

Grunt's Ghosts - darkorange
Auralynx - goldenrod
jdarksun - mediumorchid
Preda - tan
Phyphor - grey

Grunt's Ghosts

My best course of action could be either to move to LA, cure all, then to Sydney and next turn cure them or cure Atlanta, move to LA and cure them then move to Sydney next turn. Either way, I think that is where I should be going before Tokyo pops.

Preda

I suggest you move to LA treat it, than fly to Milan. Than Aura could go to treat either Tokio or Sidney (Tokyo is way better due to double outbreak risk with Osaka), Than jdark using me as middleman, excange your places leaving me and you in tokyo and aura in Milan, also eliminating another cube with my ability and placing me in the right place to work on red. That way we will have treated all 3 cubes cities in 4 turns and left aura near black, to get the cubes he need his next turn (no way to do it first turn, unless he's willing to discard a black card and risk a double outbreak in Japan). Sadly an epidemic is between the first 9 card, witch means that there are 2 chances out of 3 that by 4th round it will be already fired, making everything harder...

Grunt's Ghosts

It's worth a shot. Tokyo scares me atm.

Move to Chicago, to LA, Treat LA (Medic removing all cubes), Fly to Milan.

stever777

@Auralynx - Field Operative Turn

Roles, current hand sizes & cards -
Grunt's Ghosts - Medic (3) - San Francisco; Shanghai; "Re-Examined Research" Special (Current player may draw any one city card from Player Discards and add it to his hand.)
Auralynx - Field Operative (2) - Moscow; Algiers
jdarksun - Dispatcher (2) - Essen; Mexico City
Preda - Containment Specialist (2) - Madrid; Johannesburg
Phyphor - Scientist (2) - Toronto; Bogota

Auralynx

Preda's plan seems sound so far, and there are even some cubes for me!

1-3: Move to Tokyo.
4: Treat Tokyo.

stever777

@jdarksun - Dispatcher Turn

Roles, current hand sizes & cards -
Grunt's Ghosts - Medic (3) - San Francisco; Shanghai; "Re-Examined Research" Special (Current player may draw any one city card from Player Discards and add it to his hand.)
Auralynx - Field Operative (4) - St Petersburg; Moscow; Algiers; "Borrowed Time" Special (Current player may take 2 additional actions this turn.)
jdarksun - Dispatcher (2) - Essen; Mexico City
Preda - Containment Specialist (2) - Madrid; Johannesburg
Phyphor - Scientist (2) - Toronto; Bogota

jdarksun

1) Move Preda to Auralynx (Tokyo)
2) Move Auralynx to Grunt's Ghosts (Milan)
3) Move Grunt's Ghosts to Preda (Tokyo)
4) ...treat Blue, or move Preda if he prefers?

@Preda‌ Had a super solid plan, but didn't mention what he thought I should do with action #4!

Grunt's Ghosts

Shouldn't that be move me to Tokyo?

Phyphor

That would be the better plan yeah

Phyphor

And then my turn would be treatx2, move to SF so GG can hand me the card

jdarksun

Mistyped city. The action is correct.

Preda

Fourth move should be either moving me to osaka to autotreat another cube or reach aura in Milan so next turn you could get Phyphor to essen and give it to him.

jdarksun

I think red's OK, let's get movement towards curing.
1) Move Preda to Auralynx (Tokyo)
2) Move Auralynx to Grunt's Ghosts (Milan)
3) Move Grunt's Ghosts to Preda (Tokyo)
4) Move jdarksun to Auralynx (Milan)

@stever777‌

stever777

@Preda - Containment Specialist Turn

Roles, current hand sizes & cards -
Grunt's Ghosts - Medic (3) - San Francisco; Shanghai; "Re-Examined Research" Special (Current player may draw any one city card from Player Discards and add it to his hand.)
Auralynx - Field Operative (4) - St Petersburg; Moscow; Algiers; "Borrowed Time" Special (Current player may take 2 additional actions this turn.)
jdarksun - Dispatcher (4) - Essen; Mexico City; Manila; Jakarta
Preda - Containment Specialist (2) - Madrid; Johannesburg
Phyphor - Scientist (2) - Toronto; Bogota