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Pandemic
The best-known cooperative game there is: everyone plays as one team and develops cures to stop four diseases spreading around the world. Each player takes a role card with a different ability and travels the world map, and you have to find all 4 cures before the outbreaks start to chain.
Rules
Find a cure for all four diseases and everyone wins together in this cooperative game. There are three ways to lose, and one of them is simply that time ran out. Each turn you get 4 actions, and the game is about choosing what to give up.
One way to win, three ways to lose
Victory — the game ends the moment all four cures are found
You do not have to eradicate the diseases. Finding the cures is enough. However many cubes are still on the board, the game ends right there and everyone wins.
| Losing condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| The outbreaks marker reaches the last space of the track | 8 outbreaks — worldwide panic |
| You cannot place as many disease cubes as required | That color has run out — the disease spread too far |
| You cannot draw 2 player cards after your actions | Time ran out |
Of the three, running out of time (the deck) is by far the most common. If you only ever clear cubes, you never collect enough cards and the deck dries up with no cures found. Never treating at all is not the answer either.
Components
| Component | Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Role cards · pawns | 7 each | Every role has a different ability |
| Player cards | 59 | 48 city · 6 Epidemic · 5 event |
| Infection cards | 48 | One per city |
| Disease cubes | 96 | 4 colors × 24 (blue, yellow, black, red) |
| Research stations | 6 | One starts in Atlanta |
| Cure markers | 4 | Start on the “vial” side |
| Infection rate marker · outbreaks marker | 1 each | - |
Setup
- 1Lay out the board, and set the 6 research stations and the cubes, sorted into 4 piles by color, beside it. Place 1 research station in Atlanta — the city with the CDC.
- 2Put the outbreaks marker on the “0” space of the Outbreaks Track, and the 4 cure markers “vial” side up near the Discovered Cure Indicators.
- 3Put the infection rate marker on the leftmost “2” space of the Infection Rate Track.
- 4Shuffle the infection cards and reveal 3 cards, placing 3 cubes on each of those cities, then 3 more with 2 cubes each, then 3 more with 1 cube each. That is 18 cubes. Those 9 cards go face up on the infection discard pile.
- 5Each player takes a random role card and puts the matching pawn in Atlanta. Hand out the reference cards as well.
- 6Set the Epidemic cards aside, shuffle the rest of the player cards, and deal starting hands by player count.
- 7Choose a difficulty. Decide whether to use 4, 5, or 6 Epidemic cards.
- 8Split the remaining player cards into as many piles as there are Epidemic cards, as evenly as you can, shuffle 1 Epidemic card into each pile, and stack the piles into the player deck. Smaller piles go on the bottom.
- 9Whoever holds the city card with the largest population goes first.
| Players | Starting hand | Difficulty (Epidemic cards) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 players | 4 cards | 4 cards — Introductory |
| 3 players | 3 cards | 5 cards — Standard |
| 4 players | 2 cards | 6 cards — Heroic |
Shuffling one Epidemic card into each pile is what spreads the Epidemic cards out evenly. That is why, once one has gone off, you can roughly guess when the next one is due.
A turn — 4 actions, 2 cards, infect
- 14 actions — combine the actions below however you like. You may repeat the same action.
- 2Draw 2 player cards — draw both together. Resolve an Epidemic card the moment it appears, and if you hold 8 or more cards, get back down to 7.
- 3Infect — reveal as many infection cards as the current infection rate and infect those cities.
| Movement action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive / Ferry | Move to a city connected by a white line. No card needed |
| Direct Flight | Discard a city card and move to the city on that card |
| Charter Flight | Discard the card of the city you are in and move anywhere |
| Shuttle Flight | Move from a city with a research station to another city with a research station |
Direct Flight and Charter Flight get mixed up constantly
Direct Flight discards the destination card, while Charter Flight discards the card of where you already are. Charter Flight is the more flexible one because it can take you anywhere.
| Other action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Build a Research Station | Discard the card of the city you are in and place a research station there. If all 6 are on the board, move one of them here |
| Treat Disease | Remove 1 cube from the city you are in. If that color has been cured, remove every cube of that color instead |
| Share Knowledge | Give or take the card of the city you are in, with another player in that same city. Both players must agree |
| Discover a Cure | At a research station, discard 5 city cards of one color to cure that disease |
Discovering a cure has nothing to do with the station's color
You can discover a cure of any color at any research station. It does not have to match the color of that city. The rulebook lists this separately as a rule players often miss.
Eradication
When the last cube of a cured disease leaves the board, that disease is eradicated. Flip its cure marker to the eradication side. Cities of an eradicated disease take no cubes when their infection card comes up. It is not needed to win, but it makes the rest of the game far easier. Removing the last cube of a disease that has not been cured does nothing at all.
The Epidemic card — three steps in order
- 1① Increase — move the infection rate marker forward one space.
- 2② Infect — draw the bottom card of the infection deck and place 3 cubes of that color on that city. If cubes are already there, top it up to 3 and then an outbreak happens in that city. Discard that card.
- 3③ Intensify — shuffle only the infection discard pile and put it back on top of the infection deck.
What makes these three steps frightening
Because of ③ Intensify, the cities you just infected come straight back. If a city that is already stacked with cubes is drawn again, a chain of outbreaks goes off. The stretch right after an Epidemic card is the most dangerous part of the game.
- Epidemic cards are not replaced. Remove each one from the game once it is resolved.
- You can draw 2 Epidemic cards at once. If that happens, do all three steps once, then do them again.
- If the supply runs short of the cubes you need during infection, you lose on the spot.
Infection and outbreaks
- At the end of your turn, reveal infection cards one at a time, as many as the current infection rate. That rate is the number under the marker on the Infection Rate Track.
- Place 1 cube of the matching color on the card's city. Place none if that disease has been eradicated.
- If the city already has 3 cubes of that color, do not place a fourth — an outbreak happens instead.
Outbreak — it spreads to connected cities
Move the outbreaks marker forward one space and place 1 cube of that color on every city connected to the outbreak city. If any of those already has 3, do not place a fourth — a chain outbreak happens there instead.
No city outbreaks twice in the same chain
While you resolve a single infection card, a city that has already had an outbreak takes no more cubes. Without this rule the spread would never stop.
The 7 roles
| Role | Ability |
|---|---|
| Scientist | Needs only 4 cards of a color to discover a cure |
| Medic | Removes all cubes of a color when treating a disease. For a cured disease, cubes come off automatically, with no action, just by being in or entering that city, and no new cubes of that disease are placed there |
| Quarantine Specialist | Prevents cube placement and outbreaks in her city and in every city connected to it. It has no effect on the cubes placed during setup |
| Researcher | May give a card that does not match the city when sharing knowledge. On their own turn, another player may also take any card from the Researcher |
| Dispatcher | Uses an action to move any pawn to a city containing another pawn, or to move another player's pawn as if it were their own |
| Operations Expert | Uses an action to build a research station with no card, or once per turn to move from a research station to any city by discarding any card |
| Contingency Planner | Uses an action to take 1 event card from the player discard pile and place it on their role card. Once it is played, it is removed from the game. It does not count toward the hand limit |
When the Dispatcher moves the Operations Expert's pawn, the Operations Expert's special move cannot be used. The Medic's automatic removal also triggers on other players' turns when the Medic is moved by the Dispatcher or by the “Airlift” event.
Event cards, hand size, and rules people miss
- Event cards are not actions, and anyone may play one at any time. Whoever plays it decides how it is used.
- They may not be played in the middle of drawing and resolving cards, though. If you drew 2 Epidemic cards, you may play one once the first has been fully resolved.
- They also may not be played while a single infection card is causing an outbreak. Once that outbreak is finished, you may play one before the next infection card is flipped.
- The hand limit is 7 cards and counts player cards only. Role and reference cards are not part of your hand.
- If a card brings you to 8, you must discard or play an event immediately.
- Drawing an Epidemic card does not give you a replacement card.
- In a city holding cubes of several cured colors, you need one “Treat Disease” action per color.
- White lines that run off the edge of the board continue on the other side. Sydney and Los Angeles are connected.
Rules people get wrong
Q. Do we have to eradicate the diseases to win?
No. Finding all 4 cures wins immediately. The board can still be covered in cubes.
Q. Can a cure only be discovered at a research station in a city of that color?
No. Any research station can cure any color.
Q. Can a city hold 4 or more cubes?
Not of the same color — 3 is the limit. Outbreaks can mix colors in one city, though, so it can hold 3 of each color, up to 12.
Q. Can a chain of outbreaks go on forever?
No. While one infection card is being resolved, a city that has already had an outbreak does not outbreak again.
Q. Do I draw an extra card when I draw an Epidemic card?
No. It is not replaced. That is the end of your draw for the turn.
Q. Can we share any card we like?
Only the card of the city the two players are standing in together. The exception is the Researcher, who may give any city card.
Q. Can event cards be played during infection?
Not while a single infection card is being resolved. You can play them between cards, which is how people move the Quarantine Specialist into place ahead of time.
Q. Do we reshuffle when the cards run low?
No. If the player deck runs out, you lose right there. The player discard pile is never reshuffled.
History and editions
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designer | Matt Leacock |
| Artist | Chris Quilliams |
| First published | 2008, Z-Man Games |
| Revised edition | 2013 — the Contingency Planner and the Quarantine Specialist were added |
| Major spin-offs | Released | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Expansions, starting with Pandemic: On the Brink | 2009– | “On the Brink” · “In the Lab” · “State of Emergency” |
| Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 | 2015 | A 12–24 game campaign. You put stickers on the board and tear up cards |
| Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 / 0 | 2017 / 2020 | Each plays independently of Season 1 |
| Pandemic: Rapid Response / Iberia / Fall of Rome | 2016– | Standalone spin-offs |
Sources
Official Z-Man Games rulebook (Pandemic, English)Cross-checked against Wikipedia: PandemicCross-checked against Namuwiki: Pandemic (Korean)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-09-08
💡 Master tip
The goal is discovering cures, not treating disease. Spend actions removing cubes only when you need to stop a chain of outbreaks, and plan your Share Knowledge routes in advance so you gather 5 cards quickly.
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