Z-Man Games is taking advantage of the immense popularity of Pandemic by releasing a dice game, Pandemic: The Cure, based on the board game and designed by Matt Leacock. A look at the prototype components leads one to believe the game will be playable by up to seven players and attendees of the BGG Con this week will have an opportunity to check the game out long before it hits stores. Pricing information isn’t available yet but indications are Pandemic: The Cure will hit stores sometime in Q3 2014.
From Z-Man:
Pandemic: The Cure sets up in less than a minute and plays in 30 minutes. As in the board game, four diseases threaten the world and it’s up to your team to save humanity. You and your team must keep the world’s hotspots in check before they break out of control, while researching cures to the four plagues.
Players roll dice each turn to determine the actions available to them. They can fly and sail between the six major population centers of the world, treat disease in their current region, collect samples for further study, and exchange knowledge to help them in their goal of discovering cures. Each player takes on a different role that has its own unique set of dice and abilities — and players must take advantage of their specializations if they are to have any hope of winning the game. The Dispatcher, for example, can spend dice to fly others around the board, while the Medic is particularly adept at treating disease. Players can roll their dice as often as they like, but the more times they re-roll for the perfect turn, the more likely the next epidemic will occur.
At the end of each turn, new “infection dice” are rolled to determine the type and location of newly infected populations. If any region on the board is infected with more than four dice of a given color, an outbreak occurs, spreading disease into an adjacent region. If too many outbreaks take place, too many people get infected, or the rate of infection gets too high, all the players lose. If, however, the players can discover the cures to the four diseases, they all win and humanity is saved!
Pandemic: The Cure will be premiering at the BGG con from Novembre 20th to the 24th. It will be available in stores in the second half of 2014.