Overview

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 is a cooperative legacy game where players work together over a campaign of 12 months (January through December) to cure four diseases threatening humanity. Unlike standard Pandemic, decisions carry forward permanently between games: players write on the board, apply stickers, and may even destroy components. Each group’s experience is unique based on their choices.

Components

• 1 game board (world map with city connections)
• 5 Character cards (with scar and upgrade slots)
• 61 Player cards (48 City cards, 5 Epidemic cards, 8 Event cards)
• 62 Legacy cards (drawn in order as the campaign progresses)
• 96 Disease cubes (24 in each of 4 colors)
• 4 Cure markers
• 48 Infection cards
• 4 Pawns
• 6 Research stations
• 1 Infection rate marker
• 1 Outbreaks marker
• 4 Civilian cards
• 1 Reminder token
• 4 Reference cards
• 5 Dossiers and 1 Sticker sheet
• 1 Package box with 8 numbered packages
• Funded Event cards

Setup

1. Place the board in the center of the table.
2. Place 1 research station in Atlanta.
3. Shuffle Infection cards and draw 3 cards, placing 3 cubes on each city drawn, then 3 more cards with 2 cubes each, then 3 more with 1 cube each (9 cities infected total).
4. Place the Infection rate marker on the first space of the Infection Rate Track.
5. Place the Outbreaks marker on 0 of the Outbreaks Track.
6. Shuffle Player cards (without Epidemics). Deal cards based on player count: 2 players = 4 cards each; 3 players = 3 cards each; 4 players = 2 cards each.
7. Divide the Player deck into piles equal to the number of Epidemic cards being used, shuffle one Epidemic into each pile, and stack them.
8. Each player selects a character and names them (characters persist across games).
9. Add Funded Event cards equal to your current Funding Level (starts at 4 in January).
10. Draw Legacy Deck cards one at a time until you reach a STOP card to learn the month’s objectives.

Turn Structure

On your turn, perform the following three steps in order:

1. Do 4 Actions

Choose from any combination of 8 actions (5 for the Generalist). Actions can be repeated.

2. Draw 2 Player Cards

• If you draw an Epidemic card, resolve it immediately: increase infection rate, infect the bottom card of the Infection deck with 3 cubes, then shuffle the Infection discard pile and place it on top of the Infection deck.
• Discard down to 7 cards if you exceed the hand limit.

3. Infect Cities

Flip Infection cards equal to the current infection rate. Place 1 disease cube of the matching color on each city drawn.

Actions

Action	Description
Drive/Ferry	Move to an adjacent connected city
Direct Flight	Discard a City card to move to that city
Charter Flight	Discard the City card matching your current city to move anywhere
Shuttle Flight	Move between any two cities with research stations
Build a Structure	Discard the City card matching your current city to place a research station
Treat Disease	Remove 1 disease cube from your city (all cubes of a cured color)
Share Knowledge	Give or take the City card matching your current city to/from another player in the same city
Discover a Cure	At a research station, discard 5 City cards of one color to cure that disease

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win condition: Complete the mandatory objective(s) and enough optional objectives as shown on the board for the current month. The mandatory objective in January is to discover cures for all 4 diseases.

Loss conditions (any one triggers a loss):

• 8th outbreak occurs (Outbreaks marker reaches the end)
• Not enough disease cubes to place when needed
• Not enough Player cards to draw

Campaign progression:

• Win a month: advance to the next month
• Lose a month: replay it once; if you lose again, advance anyway
• At each game’s end (win or lose), select 2 Game End Upgrades

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Legacy Mechanics:

• The Legacy Deck is drawn in order and never reshuffled; cards are permanent even when replaying a month.
• Packages and Dossiers are opened only when instructed; peeking is forbidden.
• Writing on the board, applying stickers, and destroying cards are all permanent changes.

Panic Levels (cumulative): | Level | Status | Effect | |——-|——–|——–| | 1 | Unstable | No effect | | 2-3 | Rioting | No Direct Flights or Charter Flights in or out | | 4 | Collapsing | Existing research stations destroyed; no new ones can be built; discard 1 card of city’s color to Drive/Ferry into this city | | 5 | Fallen | Discard 2 cards of city’s color to Drive/Ferry in; city is essentially lost |

Scars: Characters in a city when it outbreaks gain a scar (a permanent negative ability). If no scar slots remain, the character is lost (card destroyed).

Lost Characters: If a character’s card is full of scars or the character is in a Fallen city, the card is ripped up. The player takes a Civilian card and places their pawn at a research station.

Funding: Starts at 4 and adjusts between games. More Funded Event cards are added to the Player Deck at higher funding levels.

Game End Upgrades: Choose 2 from: Character Upgrades (permanent abilities), Unfunded Events (added to City cards), Starting Research Stations (permanent stations), or Positive Mutations (disease-specific bonuses if eradicated).

Outbreaks and Chain Reactions: When a 4th cube of a color would be placed in a city, an outbreak occurs instead. Each adjacent city receives 1 cube of that color. Chain reactions can occur but each city can only outbreak once per chain.

Characters:

• Medic: Removes all cubes of one color when treating; automatically removes cured disease cubes from current city
• Scientist: Needs only 4 cards to discover a cure
• Researcher: Can give any City card during Share Knowledge
• Dispatcher: Can move other players’ pawns as if they were their own, or move any pawn to another pawn’s city
• Generalist: Gets 5 actions per turn and has 4 upgrade slots

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1. Actions	Perform 4 actions (any combination)
2. Draw	Draw 2 Player cards; resolve Epidemics; discard to 7
3. Infect	Flip Infection cards equal to infection rate; add cubes

Infection Rate Track	Cards Drawn
Position 1-2	2
Position 3-4	3
Position 5+	4