Z-Man Games | Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu

This standalone game is set in the Lovcraftian universe of other worldly ancient ones trying to break through into reality with the help of cultists, casting madness before them. Having played ‘Pandemic’ or any of the spin-offs is not necessary to enjoy this romp around Arkham, Dunwich, Kingsport and Innsmouth.Each town is connected by both traditional transport and a gate network through which the ancient ones are trying to break. The players take the role of investigators, each with a different ability to aid the team defeat cultists and prevent the shoggoths reaching the gates. Each turn consists of three phases: action, where each investigator may travel, trade cards or possibly use their special ability; draw cards which may be either location, mystical power or one of the four nasty evil stirs cards; and finally the summoning phase where cultists are added to the board and shoggoths may move closer to the gates.The aim of the game is to close all of the gates before all of the six ancient ones waken (which happens when evil stirs or a shoggoth reaches a gate and bad things usually ensue) or the game runs out of further cultists to place. It is a difficult game to win. My wife and I play two players each and it is still difficult to win. The key is co-operation between the investigators and planning ahead so that a player with four location cards can get to that location’s gate and close it. We often play our ‘no sanity’ house rule to make the game easier – investigators don’t lose sanity (when they become insane they are distinctly less useful) and to balance it we don’t have gate travel. After many games playing the house rules we now win more often than lose but it is still not easy and depends a lot on the four investigator characters in play. We have never won playing the ‘proper’ rules.The rulebook is very good with no ambiguities, the board is not enormous and the quality components are detailed and robust. The mechanics are easy to learn and the game flows at a decent pace. A fun game to play but difficult to win. With the range of investigators and the randomness of the card draws, no two games are the same although due to the relative simplicity of the gameplay, it can start to feel a bit ‘samey’ if played too much. Having said that, we do have quite a good collection of two player co-op games so we always have a variety from which to choose and ‘Reign of Cthulu’ does get played quite a lot.Rulebook: 10/10 Complexity: 5/10 Component quality: 10/10 Replayability: 9/10 Gameplay pace: 9/10

Good game, still to beat it!

Simply a fantastic game - like pandemic ? Excellent variation. Like Cthulhu Mythos Games ? Excellent theme and feel to appease the old gods in you. Components are of a very good quality board art is very evocative of the theme. The miniatures are decent quality and detail considering they are not utterly essential - but they do add to the look and feel.The mechanics of game play differ slightly from pandemic , so while it will be familiar to such players it does offer a different experience.A very enjoyable game especially with 3-4 players , good replayability with the selection of Old ones available and the manner in which they are used in the game creates a different flow and effect each time.Was dispatched and arrived very well packaged and very quickly.

This game is amazing. Its not just a reskin of pandemic, the additional mechanics added really help keep the lovecraft theme strong. The miniatures are amazing and component quality is great. The game actually runs a little quicker than regular pandemic which is nice as it keeps the feeling of needing to deal with situations nerve wracking as it should be. It is more challenging than pandemic as things can go downhill fast and thats what makes playing this so addictive and enjoyable.

I first bought a copy of this game from Amazon a year ago but one of the investigators was missing and another one was duplicated. I refunded as I didn't want to risk the same thing happening again and having to do another return.A year later I've ordered it again and this time all of the contents are present and correct. The theme of the Pandemic games never really appealed to me but the Cthulhu theme definitely does. The fact that it can be played solo is a massive bonus.Great components and a great game.

One of the first board games I've played other than the standard monopoly and things, and really have had a blast. The first night we played a 2 player game and absolutely destroyed it - felt really easy and was a bit concerned I'd wasted my money. But then we played a couple of 3 player games the next day and lost both of them! There is a lot of luck in whether the Old Ones you've drawn will mess you up, where the Shoggoths appear, and what clues you pick up. Love the Lovecraftian theme and the board is beautifully designed. Looking forward to more games of this, and will probably pick up the standard Pandemic variant in the near future

We've played Pandemic a few times and enjoyed it. Cthulhu-inspired games (such as Cthulhu Munchin) have long been popular with us as well. So after an Dork Tower cartoon said their was joining of Cthulhu and Pandemic, we had to give it a try. And we really love it! There's many, many bits in the style of Pandemic, but the game is much faster and more frenetic. Movement seems more fluid than the original - for example, in the last game, on one turn 3 of us all ended on the same location (purposefully) - that would have taken a lot more effort with the original.TL;DR: If you like Pandemic, buy this and enjoy!

Love Cthulhu games and love the original "Pandemic" game......So, the cloning works extremely well.However, the price is rather steep. The miniature Cultists are really tiny.If, as I do with all my cards, you wish to sleeve them there will not fit back in the box. I cut out the plastic where the smaller cards were and after sleeving them they fit in very well.

Ce jeu est génial ! Pour tout les amateur de jeux de plateaux et Lovecraft c'est un indétournable.Pour ceux qui ont du mal avec l'anglais le jeu est très simple une fois pris en mains vous n'aurez aucun problème avec les cartes.

It took me about a month to win my first beginner's match of Pandemic on my phone. Its a pain. I play exclusively on the lowest difficulty and I lose more than I win. Trading cards is restrictive. The time limit via the Player Deck is short. Bad draws can end a game prematurely. I once experienced a Turn 1 Epidemic into 4 Outbreaks. Why would I play such a torturous affair with friends would I could play the far more accessible and reasonable Forbidden Desert?Since I gained a better grasp of Pandemic, I bought my first physical copy of Pandemic via its latest Lovecraftian sequal and have found it far more enjoyable. It is easier, has effective use of its done to death Lovecraftian horror theme, and has cool figures.For those who play the original Pandemic, Events are now Relics, the Medic is now the Hunter, the Scientist is now the Detective, Disease Cubes are now Cultist figures, and Cures are replaced with sealing Gates. "Epidemics" and "Outbreaks" are merged into an Awakening event, in which one of eight Old Ones are activated, permanently inhibiting the players. This means, at a minimum, there will be four Awakenings in a perfect game! Failure conditions happen more quickly and the game can spiral out of control faster. There are no buildings to build, but there are fixed transportation stations. Cultists are universal in color, and have a much smaller supply. There are also Shoggoth enemy units that can speed up Awakening if not defeated.Like every Lovecraft board game ever, each character has a Sanity limit, and when it reaches zero, your character becomes insane, trading their current ability for a new one, usually an inferior one.And most importantly, my favorite change: trading is easier! In the original, you had to stand in the exact spot to trade a card, making the Researcher a crutch. Instead, players merely have to stand in the same colored region to trade cards. Life is sweet!This feels like a true and better sequel to Pandemic, and if you like the original at all, you can't go wrong with this.

I gave this as a gift; it was a huge hit.Loads of fun for family and friends to play.Great quality.

The game itself is fun. Good mix between strategy, randomness and design.We like cooperative game and this is definitively mandatory to play it through.Instructions are a bit messy but straightforward.First game with rules learning was around 1h30 for two players. Next games around 40 minutes.Board and pieces quality are amazing.Definitively a must have even if price is a bit high.

An awesome rendition of the pandemic game!