Pandemic

Overview

Pandemic is a cooperative game in which players work together as a disease control team to discover cures for 4 deadly diseases (Blue, Yellow, Black, and Red) before they overwhelm the world. Players travel the globe, treating infections, sharing knowledge, and building research stations. Each player has a unique role with special abilities. The team wins by discovering cures for all 4 diseases. The team loses if 8 outbreaks occur, a disease spreads beyond its cube supply, or the Player Deck runs out.

Components

1 Board (world map with cities connected by lines)
7 Role cards
7 Pawns (matching role colors)
59 Player cards (48 City cards, 6 Epidemic cards, 5 Event cards)
48 Infection cards
96 Disease cubes (24 each in 4 colors: Blue, Yellow, Black, Red)
4 Cure markers (double-sided: “vial” / “eradication” symbol)
1 Infection rate marker
1 Outbreaks marker
6 Research stations
4 Reference cards

Setup

Place the board within reach of all players. Put 6 research stations and disease cubes (separated by color) nearby.
Place 1 research station in Atlanta.
Place the Outbreaks marker on the “0” space of the Outbreaks Track.
Place the 4 Cure markers (“vial” side up) near the Discovered Cure Indicators.
Deal roles: Give each player a reference card. Shuffle Role cards and deal 1 face up to each player. Place matching colored pawns in Atlanta. Remove unused Role cards and pawns.

Deal Player cards: Remove Epidemic cards and set aside. Shuffle remaining Player cards (City + Event cards). Deal starting hands:

Players	Starting Cards
2	4 each
3	3 each
4	2 each

Prepare the Player Deck: Choose difficulty by selecting 4, 5, or 6 Epidemic cards:
- Introductory: 4 Epidemic cards
- Standard: 5 Epidemic cards
- Heroic: 6 Epidemic cards
Divide remaining Player cards into face-down piles equal in number to the Epidemic cards used (as equal in size as possible). Shuffle 1 Epidemic card into each pile. Stack the piles to form the Player Deck, placing smaller piles on the bottom.
Infect initial cities: Place the Infection Rate marker on the leftmost “2” space. Shuffle Infection cards and:
- Flip 3 cards: place 3 cubes of matching color on each city.
- Flip 3 more cards: place 2 cubes on each city.
- Flip 3 more cards: place 1 cube on each city.
- Place all 9 flipped cards on the Infection Discard Pile. Remaining Infection cards form the Infection Deck.
First player: The player with the highest population City card goes first.

Turn Structure

Each turn has 3 phases in order:

Do 4 Actions — Choose from available actions (may repeat the same action).
Draw 2 Player Cards — Resolve any Epidemic cards drawn. Discard down to 7-card hand limit.
Infect Cities — Flip Infection cards equal to the current infection rate.

After completing all 3 phases, play passes to the left.

Actions

You may perform up to 4 actions per turn. You may repeat actions. Your role’s special abilities may modify how actions work.

Movement Actions

Action	Description
Drive / Ferry	Move to a city connected by a white line.
Direct Flight	Discard a City card to move to the city named on that card.
Charter Flight	Discard the City card matching the city you are in to move to any city.
Shuttle Flight	Move from a city with a research station to any other city with a research station.

Other Actions

Action	Description
Build a Research Station	Discard the City card matching your current city to place a research station there. If all 6 are already built, move one from the board.
Treat Disease	Remove 1 disease cube of any color from your city. If that disease is cured, remove all cubes of that color from your city instead.
Share Knowledge	Give the City card matching your current city to another player in the same city, or take that card from another player in the same city. Both players must agree. If the receiving player exceeds 7 cards, they must immediately discard or play an Event card.
Discover a Cure	At a research station, discard 5 City cards of the same color to cure that disease. Move the cure marker to the Cure Indicator.

Eradication

If the last cube of a cured disease is removed from the board, the disease is eradicated. Flip the cure marker to the eradication side.
Eradicated diseases: no new cubes are placed during infections or epidemics.
Removing the last cube of a disease that is not cured has no effect (it is not eradicated).
Eradication is not required to win.

Drawing Player Cards

Draw the top 2 cards from the Player Deck.
If fewer than 2 cards remain when you need to draw, the game ends and the players lose (do not reshuffle discards).

Epidemic Cards

When an Epidemic card is drawn, resolve these 3 steps in order:

Increase: Move the Infection Rate marker forward 1 space.
Infect: Draw the bottom card of the Infection Deck. Place 3 disease cubes of the matching color on that city (unless eradicated). If the city already has cubes of that color, add only enough to reach 3, then an outbreak occurs. Discard the card to the Infection Discard Pile.
Intensify: Reshuffle only the Infection Discard Pile and place it on top of the Infection Deck.

If 2 Epidemic cards are drawn at once, resolve all 3 steps for the first, then all 3 steps for the second. Events may be played between the two.
Remove resolved Epidemic cards from the game. Do not draw replacements.

Infection Rate Track

Position	Infection Rate
1-2	2 cards per turn
3-4	3 cards per turn
5-7	4 cards per turn

Infecting Cities

Flip Infection cards from the top of the Infection Deck equal to the current infection rate (one at a time):

Place 1 disease cube of the matching color on the named city.
If the disease is eradicated, do not place any cube.
If the city already has 3 cubes of that color, do not place a 4th; instead, an outbreak occurs.
Discard each Infection card to the Infection Discard Pile.

Outbreaks

When an outbreak occurs:

Move the Outbreaks marker forward 1 space.
Place 1 cube of the outbreak color on every city connected to the outbreak city.
If any connected city already has 3 cubes of that color, a chain reaction outbreak occurs there after the current outbreak resolves.
During chain reactions, do not add cubes to cities that have already had an outbreak while resolving the current Infection card.
A city can have cubes of multiple colors (up to 3 of each).

If the Outbreaks marker reaches the last space (8th outbreak), the game ends and the players lose.

Hand Limit

Maximum 7 cards in hand (Player cards only; Role and Reference cards don’t count).
Applies immediately after receiving cards (including via Share Knowledge).
Excess cards must be discarded or played as Event cards.

Event Cards

Any player may play Event cards at any time (not an action).
Cannot be played between drawing and resolving a card.
The player who plays the Event card decides how it is used.
Discard played Event cards to the Player Discard Pile.

Event Cards:

Card	Effect
Airlift	Move any 1 pawn to any city (get permission for another player’s pawn).
One Quiet Night	Skip the next Infect Cities step (do not flip Infection cards).
Resilient Population	Remove any 1 card in the Infection Discard Pile from the game. May be played between the Infect and Intensify steps of an Epidemic.
Government Grant	Place a research station in any city (no card discard needed).
Forecast	Draw, view, and rearrange the top 6 cards of the Infection Deck.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Victory

Players win immediately when cures for all 4 diseases are discovered. The diseases do not need to be eradicated; cubes may still be on the board.

Defeat (3 ways to lose)

Outbreaks: The Outbreaks marker reaches the last space (8th outbreak).
Cube supply exhausted: Unable to place the required number of disease cubes of a needed color (during epidemics, outbreaks, or infections).
Player Deck empty: A player cannot draw 2 Player cards after their actions.

Difficulty Levels

Level	Epidemic Cards
Introductory	4
Standard	5
Heroic	6

Special Rules & Edge Cases

No replacement for Epidemic cards: Do not draw a new card to replace a drawn Epidemic card.
Discover a Cure location: Any research station works; the city color does not need to match the disease being cured.
Share Knowledge on your turn: You may take a card from another player (matching the city you’re both in) on your turn.
Researcher exception: You may take any City card from the Researcher (not just the one matching the city), as long as you’re both in the same city.
Hand limit after Share Knowledge: Applies immediately when you receive a card from another player.
Research station limit: Only 6 exist. If all are placed and you build another, relocate one from the board.
If more than 6 stations supplied: Set extras aside during setup.
Board wrapping: White lines going off one edge of the board wrap to the other edge (e.g., Sydney and Los Angeles are connected).
Introductory game: Play with cards face up for all to see. Standard/Heroic: keep hands private.
Two Epidemics at once: Resolve each fully in sequence. Events may be played between them.
Cube supply check: If you cannot place the needed cubes during an epidemic, outbreak, or infection, the game ends in a loss immediately.

Roles

Role	Special Abilities
Contingency Planner	As an action, take 1 Event card from the Player Discard Pile and store it on this Role card (limit 1, doesn’t count against hand limit). When played, remove it from the game instead of discarding.
Dispatcher	As an action: move any pawn (with owner’s permission) to a city with another pawn, OR move another player’s pawn as if it were your own. Cannot use the Operations Expert’s special move. Discards come from the Dispatcher’s hand for Direct/Charter Flights.
Medic	Treat Disease removes all cubes of one color (not just 1). If a disease is cured, automatically removes all cubes of that color from any city entered or occupied (no action needed, works on other players’ turns if moved by Dispatcher or Airlift). Also prevents placement of cured disease cubes in the Medic’s city.
Operations Expert	As an action: build a research station without discarding a City card. Once per turn as an action: move from a research station to any city by discarding any City card.
Quarantine Specialist	Prevents disease cube placement and outbreaks in the current city and all connected cities. Does not affect cubes placed during setup.
Researcher	When Sharing Knowledge, may give any City card (not just the matching one) to a player in the same city. A player who Shares Knowledge with the Researcher on their turn may take any of the Researcher’s City cards.
Scientist	Needs only 4 City cards (not 5) of the same color to Discover a Cure.

Player Reference

Turn Sequence

Do 4 actions (any combination, repeats allowed)
Draw 2 Player cards (resolve Epidemics, discard to 7)
Infect cities (flip cards = current infection rate)

Actions Quick Reference

Action	Cost
Drive / Ferry	None
Direct Flight	Discard destination City card
Charter Flight	Discard current city’s City card
Shuttle Flight	Must be at a research station, move to another
Build Research Station	Discard current city’s City card
Treat Disease	None (1 cube; all if cured)
Share Knowledge	Both players in matching city; both agree
Discover a Cure	5 same-color City cards at a research station

Key Numbers

Disease cubes per color: 24
Max cubes per city per color: 3 (4th triggers outbreak)
Hand limit: 7 cards
Research stations: 6
Cards to cure: 5 (Scientist: 4)
Outbreaks to lose: 8
Initial infection: 3+3+3 cities with 3+2+1 cubes each (18 total cubes)
Starting city: Atlanta

Infection Rate Track

Epidemics Resolved	0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Cards Flipped	2	2	2	3	3	4	4