How to Play Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 – The Definitive Guide

Welcome, brave agents. The world is on fire. Four deadly diseases are ravaging humanity, and your team is our last, best hope. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 isn’t just a game; it’s a campaign. Your decisions will scar the world, change the rules, and create a story that is uniquely yours. This guide will walk you through your first mission. Grab your pawns, sharpen your pencils, and let’s save the world.

1. The Objective: Can You Survive the Year?

Your team wins together by completing the number of Objectives required for the current month (shown on the board). You’ll find these objectives at the start of each game, drawn from the Legacy Deck. Some are mandatory; others you can choose to tackle as the game unfolds.

But beware: you lose immediately if...

• The Outbreaks marker reaches the end of the Outbreaks Track.
• You cannot place the required number of Disease Cubes on the board (you’ve run out).
• A player cannot draw two Player Cards after taking their actions.

Every choice matters. This is a cooperative game. You win or lose as a team.

2. Setup: Preparing for the First Game

Before your first game, place the “Open Package 8” sticker next to door 8 of the package box. Then, follow these steps for every game:

1. Mission Briefing: Draw Legacy cards until you hit a “STOP” card. Read it aloud to learn your starting objectives and any new rules.
2. Board & Pieces: Place the board. Separate the 96 Disease Cubes by color into four piles. Put a Research Station in Atlanta (your starting point).
3. Markers: Place the Outbreaks Marker on space “0”. Place all four Cure Markers (vial side up) in the disease tracking area.
4. Funded Events: As a group, choose Funded Event Cards equal to your Funding Level (starts at 4). Shuffle them into the Player Deck.
5. Deal Player Cards: Shuffle the remaining Player Deck (City cards + Epidemics). Deal initial hands: 4 cards for 2 players, 3 for 3 players, 2 for 4 players. Players keep hands faceup.
6. Prepare Player Deck: Divide the rest of the Player Deck into 5 facedown piles. Shuffle 1 Epidemic Card into each pile. Stack them (smaller piles on bottom).
7. Characters & Start: Each player picks a Character Card, gives it a name, takes the matching Reference Card and Pawn. All pawns start together in any city with a Research Station (Atlanta for game 1).
8. Infection: Place the Infection Rate Marker on the leftmost “2” space. Flip over 9 Infection CardsInfection Discard Pile.

3. Your Turn: Actions, Cards & Chaos

On your turn, you get 4 actions. Use any combination of the actions below. Your character’s special ability may change how an action works.

Movement Actions

• Drive/Ferry: Move to a city connected by a white line. Lines that wrap around the board connect cities like Sydney & Los Angeles.
• Direct Flight: Discard a City card to move to that city. Cannot be used in/out of a city that is Rioting, Collapsing, or Fallen.
• Charter Flight: Discard the City card matching your current city to move anywhere. Cannot be used in/out of a panicked city.
• Shuttle Flight: Move between any two cities that have Research Stations.

Special Actions

• Build a Structure: Discard the City card matching your city to place a structure there. In game 1, you only have Research Stations.
• Treat Disease: Remove 1 cube of a disease from your city. If that disease is Cured, remove all cubes of that color from your city. If you remove the last cube of a cured disease from the board, it is Eradicated. Flip its cure marker to the “eradicated” side. Name it! (First eradication only).
• Share Knowledge: Give or take a City card with another player in the same city. The card must match the city you’re in. If the receiver now has >7 cards, they must immediately discard or play an Event Card.
• Discover a Cure: At any Research Station, discard 5 City cards of the same color to cure that disease. Move the cure marker to cover the disease icon. If no cubes of that color remain, it is also eradicated.

Card Draw & Infection

1. After your 4 actions, draw 2 Player Cards together.
2. If you draw an Epidemic Card: Resolve these steps immediately, in order:
   1. Increase: Move the Infection Rate Marker forward 1 space.
   2. Infect: Draw the bottom card of the Infection Deck. Place 3 cubes of that color on that city (unless eradicated). If the city already has 3 cubes, an Outbreak occurs instead (see below).
   3. Intensify: Reshuffle just the Infection Discard Pile and place it on top of the Infection Deck.
3. Infections: Flip over Infection Cards equal to the current Infection Rate (shown on the track). Infect each city with 1 cube of its color. If a city already has 3 cubes, an Outbreak occurs.

Outbreaks, Panic & Scars

• Outbreak: When a city would get its 4th cube, move the Outbreaks Marker forward 1, then place 1 cube of that color on every connected city. If any connected city already has 3 cubes, a Chain Reaction Outbreak occurs after the current one (repeat the process, but don’t add cubes to cities that already had an outbreak this step).
• Panic Level: Every Outbreak increases the Panic Level of that city. Levels are:
  1. Unstable: No effect.
  2. Rioting: Cannot use Direct/Charter Flights in/out. Research Stations are destroyed.
  3. Collapsing: Discard 1 card of the city’s color to enter with Drive/Ferry.
  4. Fallen: Discard an additional card of the city’s color to enter (total of 2).
  If a character is in a city when it Falls, they are Lost.
• Scars: Characters in a city that Outbreaks receive a Scar. If a character has no space for a new Scar, or is in a Fallen city, they are Lost. Destroy their Character card, discard their hand, and take a Civilian Card matching their pawn color. Place the pawn in a city with a Research Station (or Atlanta if none).

4. Game End & Scoring

The game ends immediately when you complete your required Objectives (you win!) or when any losing condition is met (you lose).

After every game, win or lose, you choose TWO Game End Upgrades:

1. Unfunded Events: Place a sticker on any City card in the Player Deck. That card is now both a City card and an Event card (use one ability or the other, not both).
2. Starting Research Stations: Pick a city with a Research Station and add a starting Research Station sticker. All future games will place a station there during setup.
3. Character Upgrades: Add one upgrade sticker to a character who played this game (max 2 per character, except the Generalist who can have 4).
4. Positive Mutations: If you eradicated a disease this game, give it a positive mutation (e.g., “Efficient Sequencing”). This makes curing it easier in future games (sometimes even automatic).

Funding & The Calendar

Use the Game Calendar (back of the rulebook) to track progress.

• If you win: Advance to the next month. Decrease Funding by 2 (min 0). You get a Victory Bonus for next month (from Legacy cards).
• If you lose the first half of a month: Play the second half and increase Funding by 2.
• If you lose the second half: Increase Funding by 2, then advance to the next month.

Funding can never go below 0 or above 10.

5. Tips for New Agents

Based on the core Pandemic mechanics and your first mission, here are 3 crucial tips:

1. Prioritize Curing, Then Eradicating: Don’t just treat symptoms (remove cubes). Use Share Knowledge to efficiently gather cards and Discover Cures. An eradicated disease will never place new cubes again, which is a massive long-term win.
2. Research Stations Are Your Lifelines: Build them aggressively in key cities (like ones with many connections or your current location). They enable Shuttle Flights and are required for discovering cures. Losing one to a Rioting city is a major setback.
3. Use Event Cards at the Perfect Moment: Events like “Remote Treatment” or “Forecast” can prevent disasters. Read them carefully. You can play them at any time except between drawing and resolving a card (e.g., you can’t stop an Outbreak that just happened from an Infection card, but you can stop the next one).

Remember, the first few games are your learning curve. Don’t be afraid to lose a month and try again. The story is in the struggle. Now, go. The world is counting on you.