Z-Man Games helped introduce players to a new world of Pandemic this year with Pandemic: Survival. Pandemic: Survival is an “extreme” version of the original Pandemic where 20 teams of 2 players go head to head in an epic battle to save the world. What are the goals of each team? Well, to either be the first team to find all four cures or end up being the last team standing.
In this tournament-style version of the game – that you won’t find anywhere else – all teams will face the same problems: their player cards will all be placed in the same order before the game; the infected cities are the same for everyone; the Epidemics strike at the same time for all teams; every team has the same role cards. The only difference comes in the decisions each team makes! Their strategic choices will lead each team in different directions, and one strategy will pay off in the end and lead to victory. The game master will call out the Infection cards, while other scour the tables to see if any of the team have succumbed to the Pandemic. You will never know what other teams are up to, because a screen separates each board, immersing you in your own game.
The World Champion team will be named in Essen in 2015, where the final leg of the championship will take place. There will be 3 preliminary rounds, the first of which took place last week at Gen Con. Players came from all over to participate in the event, and it proved a great time. The next round will take place at Fan Expo in Toronto, Ontario on Friday, August 29th and Saturday, August 30th.
The Grand Prize winners will snatch their team a free Airlift to a vacation spot from the Pandemic board of their choice! You’ll get to enjoy a whole week in your selected location, all thanks to Z-Man. Other prizes include t-shirts, passes to other legs of the championship, and more. To find out more information on the Pandemic: Survival World Championship, head over to the Z-Man website where you can sign up to participate.