Pandemic: the new drug

by Brett Holbrook

When the outbreak in Mexico City triggered an outbreak in Los Angeles, the yellow virus had taken over. And we were just one move from curing all four diseases! Such was the drama last night as I played Pandemic with my two boys. Pandemic is one of my favorite new designer board games that I got at the end of last year. It is part of a fairly new genre of cooperative-style games where either all players win or all players lose, it's you against the game. It's an intriguing concept, and very likable for some people who hold disdain for overly aggressive competition pitting players against each other (which I don't mind!). Basically each player plays a role as a scientist, researcher, medic, etc. on a team trying to find cures (and even eradicate) 4 different diseases all over the world, while at the same time trying to halt their spreading and preventing outbreaks.

Every game I have played has been intense and nail-biting. Last night we were sure we had the game won as we had cured three diseases, and on the next move my son was going to a research station to cure the last one and win the game. That is the only way to win, but one of the many ways to lose snuck up on us as a single infection caused multiple outbreaks on the last turn that put victory out of reach. Ugh!

Pandemic is great for family play as it builds communication and it requires everyone to work together. Moves cannot be made haphazardly without effecting everyone else. The game is unique in its approach, and I am geek enough to have watched this video of a speech by the designer to explain game design and some of the mathematical models behind it. Its 50 minutes and not for the faint of heart, but there is one part in it that really struck a chord with me as I identified with what he was saying and seemed to reveal part of me. At 21:30 of the video he quoted Raph Koster in his book A Theory of Fun who said: "Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun." When we solve a problem, the brain kicks off endorphins. In other words, Learning=Fun. I get that kind of kick in solving things, figuring things out. In fact, when there is no longer a need to solve, I can get bored quite quickly. Not only in games, but with projects and tasks. Add a challenge and I can't put it down.

We were recently moving rooms around over the holidays, and I found a complex puzzle, a "Triazzle", that I had completed over a decade ago. It depicted deep seas creatures on triangle pieces that could be put together in a variety of ways, but only one correctly. When I had solved it I wrote a code on the back of the pieces that told me how to put it together. But of course when we found it I could not remember how the code worked. I sat on the floor for an hour and struggled with it. When I couldn't figure the code, I just set about to solve the puzzle again. I mean, I couldn't just let it sit there! So I picked it apart in a soduku-like fashion and got it done. WooHoo! The endorphins kicked in and I was stoked. Games are my drug of choice.
Saturday night Update:
VICTORY!!! We couldn't just let the diseases take over. We played again and this is just before Caleb on the left cures the last disease in Europe.