One of the First Legacy Games is Still One of the Best: ‘Pandemic Legacy: Season 1’ is 40% Off
Playing through the story of Pandemic Legacy is one of the most exciting ways to experience a legacy game, where the game itself evolves each time you play!
For avid board gamer types, Pandemic was probably one of the first cooperative board games they played. It was certainly the case for me. And for as much as I love the game, it does become somewhat “solved” after a certain number of plays.
I think ZMan Games realized this and modified the game with a, at the time, newfangled mechanic called Legacy, where the game evolves every time you play it. And thus, Pandemic Legacy was born!
Pandemic Legacy Overview
Pandemic Legacy is, at the core, still the same game as base Pandemic. Players work together, traveling the world, and fighting an uphill battle against multiple ravenous diseases. The main difference between Pandemic Legacy and typical Pandemic is what happens between each game.
Throughout the campaign, cities and players will retain some lasting effects from how they were battered during each previous game. For example, when a city experiences an Outbreak, the city’s Panic Level increases. At first, there is no effect. But as the city panics more and more, it becomes harder to travel to that city, creating a downward spiral which will almost certainly end in the city’s downfall.
Similarly, characters who are present during an Outbreak will gain scars. These scars will remain with the character throughout the whole campaign. They could be physical scars which hamper their mobility, or mental scars like PTSD. Either way, it’s bad news.
So this all sounds pretty bleak. But, good news! There are presents! Between each campaign scenario, the players will open a mysterious box filled with goodies. By the nature of the legacy format and won’t spoil any of the contents of these boxes. But rest assured they are what make the Pandemic Legacy so popular.
Throughout the campaign, players will attach permanent stickers to the board, rip up cards, and add new ones. The final result will be a game board unlike anyone else’s. To play through Pandemic Legacy is to create your own unique game. For a group that plays through whole campaign together, it will create memories that last as long as the scars on the characters they played (which is to say forever).
BoLS might make a few bucks on anything you buy from these links. But, be honest, you don’t enjoy randomly browsing online stores. So let us do the annoying part for you. Help us help you.
