Every Pandemic Board Game Ranked

[@cromanticheer]

I was admittedly a bit of OG Pandemic + Expansions holdout, but you've really sold me on these. Particularly Hot Zones, which I researched immediately and I'm definitely really interested! It seems like a leaner, meaner version of OG Pandemic that mixes and matches expansion content into fun complete games. Which is something that's nice to see.

[@joeferreti9442]

Siberia = the coldest part of the Asian continent in the far east Iberia = the peninsula in Europe where Spain and Portugal are located

[@AlastairGames]

same thing!

[@CarolinaguynTX]

I really enjoyed this video. Your presentation is refreshing. I like your cheerful - not taking yourself too seriously - style. A question: what part of Texas are you in? I live in the Houston area and would really appreciate some advice on where to find other board game fans - and preferably those who wouldn't turn their nose up at a newbie to the hobby.

[@jamesboyce2460]

I just picked up Pandemic Iberia recently it is beautiful and the mechanic of building a hospital for each disease and the closest cubes move toward the hospital a very cool mechanic

[@juanignacio8201]

I have Iberia and I love it! In plans of buying season 1

[@murph-4]

Ok I think I'm convinced! I want to get into this series. Never ever played pandemic at all. Should I just start with legacy season 1 then to help me understand the rules best you think?

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

Good question. I'd say you still might want to start with the original or Hot Zone. That way you can make sure you like it before you dive into season 1.

[@murph-4]

@@TheLightenUpInitiative thanks for the advice!

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

@@murph-4 My pleasure. Come back and tell me how it goes if/when you are able to play!

[@murph-4]

@@TheLightenUpInitiativejust ordered Hot Zone! Like the idea of smaller box and board and can't wait to try it out

[@ProfessorB.]

Hot Zone now has an Europe map. I like the Hot Zone series to play solo. I think Iberia is the best game, but I have not played it enough. So based on my family's prefernces, I would rank the top 4 like this: 4. Hot Zone 3. Iberia, 2. the original Pandemic and 1. Reign of Cthulhu.

[@Stinger420]

Hey, thanks for the vid. Question though, what's the story with the Whataburger shirt? I'm from New Mexico, where are you?

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

I’m a Whataburger fanatic. I’m in the Dallas, TX area!

[@Stinger420]

@@TheLightenUpInitiativewell hey, that's cool. Can't say I share your enthusiasm for Whataburger but hey it's nice to see a familiar logo.

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

@@Stinger420 Ah, well. Fair enough! Glad you spotted it. I was wondering if anyone would notice!

[@BoardGameGran]

You and I need to talk Spencer LOL Great video.

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

Apparently you aren't the only one who has something to say to me haha!

[@jeffreymortag52]

Hey bro loved the sarcasm and found it very enlightening!😊

[@joeferreti9442]

I prefer the original with its expansions over the others, because I prefer general game mechanics with good variability over a one-time story and ripping up cards. Iberia is nice and all but not as good as other people seem to think. For me it feels less thematic for some reason. You can't even cure the diseases! And hospitals just stack the incoming patients. The railroad aspect is good, but more or less the same every game. I also have a special interest in Rising Tide, because I live in Europe somewhat near the Netherlands and been there for holidays and because the (historic) land gaining and flood protection in the Netherlands is fairly fascinating. Not a fan of the small Hot Zone versions. They're just too small and unsatisfying. And yeah, I heavily dislike destructive legacy games.

[@oilusionistaxd]

About Rein of Cthulhu i have a criticism. Because the tarjet public of this game was the players of Arkhan Horror and Eldritch horror. 2 Games very hard to beat. So a guess this version of pandemic should be at least had the same level of dificult than the original first version of Pandemic.

[@scyldscefing3913]

Great list.

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

Thanks for watching!

[@pbabuik]

I call hot zone the Walmart version

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

I guess if you were to consider any of these as the Walmart version, that would be it :)

[@pbabuik]

@@TheLightenUpInitiative well I call it that because it's sold in Walmart

[@davidlove236]

Whoa, there are some controversial rankings here. I enjoyed the list and the reasons why each version landed where it did. I’m excited to hear that the next Hot Zone will be Europe. I heard that they’re going to do all the inhabited continents. I wonder how they’ll do Australia. Will they include it with Asia or make a board with Australia, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean?

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

Interesting thoughts. What's your favorite?

[@davidlove236]

My favorite is Iberia, so we’re pretty close there. The OG and Hot Zone I would put in the upper half. I agree with Rapid Response at the bottom (we don’t talk about Contagion). I would also put The Cure in the bottom half. I was even taught it by Matt Lecock at Gen Con, but it just didn’t have enough of the Pandemic globe-trotting feel for me. Iberia is still high because you still feel like your traveling. Also, it’s not in the present day, so travel has a different scale. Also, the purify water action is a nice addition to Iberia.

[@TheOoiit]

Betewie 😂

[@ValorantRivals]

idk, Hotzone is not better than the original, it’s not as fun

[@freekingfreaking246]

omg you titled the chapter SIBERIA jesus christ americans with the lack of basic geography knowledge

[@pocolashon]

I almost skipped the video because of this. I ran through the chapters and didn't occur to me that "SIBERIA" should be "IBERIA". Wtf, lol.

[@kevinbhieey9188]

Thanks for the humor, which makes up for the epic incorrectitude of your list! I don't care what BGG has to say - ever! Azul is a Top 50 game according to BGG. Azul is NOT a Top 50 game! (Maybe 51st.) #1 is Iberia and no argument suggesting that it is not the case will be accepted. (Zee agrees with me and Zee > BGG. The end. Move on to the next paragraph.) #2 is Original Recipe, (see the comments for Iberia). Seriously, though, I do not like Pandemic as a 2-player game much, and I have a feeling that's how you play it the most. There's far too much luck in the 2-player game, both good and bad. The Infection Deck can turn a winnable game into a disaster with just one card. Similarly, with two players there's a lot less need to trade cards. With 12 of each color, the odds are that one player will eventually just draw 5 of one color, and where's the tactics or strategy in that? The 4-player game is where Pandemic is at. The Infection Deck is far less likely to destroy you because you're far more likely to have a character nearby to take care of it. And you will HAVE to trade cards because the odds of you drawing the 5 you need are not in your favor. The 4-player game is mostly about the puzzle, and whether or not you're good enough to solve the puzzle. When there's just two of us, we play 2 characters apiece. It requires more skill and figuring out how 4 characters can work with each other is just far more rewarding than playing with just the 2. (I have never played 5 characters, not even on the app. 4 sometimes feels like it takes too long to get to your turn as is.) Like most of my Top 10 (or whatever) lists I have ever created, I haven't even bothered to move beyond the first 2. The rest are all a good two rungs below these two, at least, so whatevs with a #3. Fall of Rome and Rising Tide are both fine, but far easier than Original Recipe. (Once you figure out the correct strategy, it's hard to lose.) The level of luck in The Cure is frustrating, mostly because the characters are not as well-rounded as they are in OR. Rapid Response is fine, but only as a solo game. If others aren't as good as I am, I get frustrated. Cthulhu was better than expected. The minis are fun, but it is easily the least replayable of any of the non-Legacy games. And Lovecraft was a garbage human and, frankly not a good writer. I have zero interest in My First Pandemic. I hated Ticket to Ride New York more than anyone should hate anything so I'm pretty certain a devolved Pandemic will not go over any better. And everyone says Contagion sucks, so no. Which leaves Legacy. I have not played 0 yet but I can definitely say I will not hate it more than 1. It was the Original Recipe variants with a bunch of extra rules! I've learned Legacy games are problematic for us because playing them every 6 weeks does not work out very well. You can't remember new rules, or what you should be shooting for. And the "big twist" was easily a Top 5 Worst Gaming Experience Ever (of which, I probably have 3 items, because lists, am I right?). We finished that Season in utter hatred, just wanting it to be over. We are avid readers and that twist was the most random thing ever, the boardgame equivalent of Clarice chomping on brains at the end of "Hannibal" (a book I threw against the wall, by the way). Season 2 at least improved upon the lackluster "storytelling" of Season 1, and it actually gave us mechanics we hadn't seen before. But in the end, it's just a continuation of an unoriginal story featuring one-dimensional characters. If these games could've waited for a story presentation like that of Forgotten Waters, that would've been amazing! Instead we got the equivalent of a studio pitch meeting with all the "fleshing out" to be figured out "after the green light." Of course, everyone's entitled to believe whatever they want. (Except that Iberia isn't #1.) There's nothing here worse than Monopoly, probably not even Contagion. Or My Worst Pandemic. (Oops, I meant My FIRST Pandemic!) Nonetheless, entertaining video, Spencer.

[@TheLightenUpInitiative]

Hey man. 🔥⬆️