Objective of the Game

Alright, future saviors of humanity! In Pandemic: The Cure, you and your fellow players are a crack team of specialists battling four deadly diseases threatening to engulf the world. Your ultimate goal? To work together and find the cure for all four diseases before it's too late!

But beware, the clock is ticking and the diseases are relentless. You'll lose the game immediately if:

• The Infection Rate Syringe hits the skull space on its track.
• The Outbreak Syringe reaches the skull space (meaning 8 or more Outbreaks have occurred).
• You run out of Infection Dice to draw from the Infection Bag during the Infect Regions step.

So, gather your wits, roll those dice, and let's save the world!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get this global crisis management center set up! Follow these steps to prepare for your game:

1. Place the Treatment Centre ring in the middle of your table. This is where the magic (and the samples) happens!
2. Arrange the 6 Region Tiles in a circle around the Treatment Centre, numbering them 1-6 clockwise.
3. Set the Infection Rate Syringe on the green track of the Treatment Centre to your desired difficulty. Choose wisely!
4. Place the Outbreaks Syringe on 0 on the blue Outbreaks Track of the Treatment Centre.
5. Put all 48 Infection Dice into the Infection Bag and give it a good shake to randomize them.
• Draw 12 Infection Dice from the bag and roll them all. Re-roll any dice showing a 'cross' until all 12 dice show pips (numbers).
• Place each of these 12 dice into the Region corresponding to the number of pips on its face (e.g., 1 pip goes to Region 1, 2 pips to Region 2, etc.).
• Important: No Region can have more than 3 dice of the same color. If you have more, re-roll the extra dice until all Regions comply.
6. Place the CDC Tile and the Cured Diseases Card near the Region Tiles.
7. Shuffle the 10 Event Cards and place them face down next to the CDC. Draw the top 3 Event Cards and lay them face up to form a display.
8. Shuffle the 7 Role Cards and deal one to each player. Players reveal their Role Card immediately and take the corresponding Pawn and Player Dice. Return unused roles and components to the box.
9. All player Pawns start in Region 1 (North America).
10. Randomly determine the Start Player.

You're ready to roll!

The Course of Play

Starting with the designated Start Player, turns proceed clockwise. Players continue taking turns until either all four diseases are cured (Hooray!) or one of the losing conditions is met (Oh no!).

A Player's Turn

On your turn, you'll perform four steps in sequence. Some are mandatory, others are optional, but all are crucial!

1. Roll Player Dice and Do Actions (Mandatory)

This is where you get to decide your strategy for the turn! Roll all your Player Dice. If you roll any Biohazard symbols, resolve them immediately: that die is locked for the turn, and the Infection Rate Syringe moves one space forward. If the Infection Rate Syringe reaches or crosses the 'skull' symbol, an Epidemic occurs! If it reaches the skull, you lose!

For your other dice, you can choose to use their actions or re-roll them as many times as you like, hoping for better results. Just remember, any new Biohazard symbols rolled will also lock dice and advance the Infection Rate Syringe. Once a die's action is used, it's locked for the turn.

• The effect of each die must be fully resolved before taking the next action.
• You don't have to use all your Action Dice if you don't want to.
• If all your dice are locked at the start of your turn, you can unlock one, place its associated Infection die "sample" into the Treatment Centre, and then roll it.

Here's a quick rundown of the basic die symbols and their effects:

• Biohazard: Locks the die, moves the Infection Rate Syringe one space forward. Triggers an Epidemic if it reaches/crosses the skull. Game over if it reaches the skull!
• Fly: Move your Pawn to any other Region.
• Sail: Move your Pawn to an adjacent Region.
• Treat: Either put one Infection die from your current Region into the Treatment Centre, OR put one Infection die from the Treatment Centre into the Infection Bag. If the disease of the chosen die is already cured, you can send ALL dice of that color from your Region to the Treatment Centre, or from the Treatment Centre to the Infection Bag!
• Collect Sample: Take one die of an uncured disease from the Treatment Centre and place it, along with the Player Die used for this action, onto your Role Card (it's now "bottled"). This locks both dice together until a cure for that disease is found. Only possible if there are dice in the Treatment Centre.
• Choice of Actions: If a Player Dice face has a "slash" on it, you can choose one action OR the other, but not both.
• Other Actions: Many Player Dice have special role-specific icons. Check your Role Card for details!

2. Give Samples (Optional)

If you're in the same Region as another player, you can give them as many samples of one disease color from your Role Card as you like. Teamwork makes the dream work!

3. Try to Find a Cure (Optional)

This is your big moment! You can only attempt to cure one disease per turn, and you only get one roll. Gather all the disease dice of one color from the samples on your Role Card and roll them. Add up the numbers (crosses count as 0).

• Success! If your total is 13 or more, you've found the cure! Use one of the Infection Dice you rolled to mark the corresponding box on the Cured Diseases Card. Then, put the remaining Infection Dice you rolled, any samples of that color held by other players, and any dice of that color in the Treatment Centre back into the Infection Bag. Return the "sample bottle" Player Dice to their owners.
• Failure: If your total is 12 or less, the cure eludes you this time. Return the Infection Dice and "sample bottles" back to your Role Card. Don't worry, you can try again later or give them to another player!

4. Infect Regions (Mandatory)

The diseases fight back! Draw a number of dice equal to the current Infection Rate from the Infection Bag and roll them. If you can't draw enough dice, you lose immediately!

• Place all Infection Dice with crosses into the CDC.
• Place all Infection Dice with numbers into their corresponding Region.
• Starting with Region 1 and going clockwise, check each Region for Outbreaks, resolving any that occur.

After this, play passes clockwise to the next player.

Epidemics

When an Epidemic strikes (triggered by the Infection Rate Syringe reaching or crossing the skull symbol):

• Take all dice from the Treatment Centre PLUS a number of dice from the Infection Bag equal to the new Infection Rate. Roll them all.
• Put all dice with a cross result into the CDC.
• Place all dice with number results into their correspondingly numbered Regions.
• Then, starting with Region 1 and going clockwise, check for Outbreaks: if a Region has more than 3 dice of one color, an Outbreak occurs.
• After an Epidemic, the current player continues their turn, spending or re-rolling any remaining Player Dice.

Remember: If the Infection Rate Syringe reaches the Skull, you lose!

Outbreaks

An Outbreak happens when a Region has more than 3 Infection dice of the same color. This can occur during an Epidemic or when infecting Regions.

1. Advance the Outbreaks Syringe 1 space. NB: If it reaches the Skull (8 Outbreaks), you lose!
2. Move the "extra" dice (those above 3 of the Outbreak color) clockwise to the next Region.
3. Chain Reaction! If the next Region now has more than 3 dice of that same color, it also suffers an Outbreak! Advance the Outbreaks Syringe 1 space again and move its extra dice clockwise, and so on.

A Region can Outbreak more than once per turn if different colors Outbreak or if enough Infection dice of one color are added at different times.

Events

Whenever an Infection die is rolled and a 'cross' result appears, place that die in the CDC. These dice are your currency for powerful Event Cards!

• To use an Event Card, place the required number of 'cross' dice from the CDC into the Infection Bag, then follow the card's instructions.
• Event Cards can be used by any player at any time, except in between rolling Infection dice, placing them, and checking for Outbreaks.
• After an Event is resolved, discard it face-down to the bottom of the Event draw pile and immediately draw a new Event to replace it in the display. (There's an infinite supply of events, so keep those crosses coming!)
• You can play Events after rolling Biohazards but before resolving them (e.g., using "Healthy Population" to clear the Treatment Centre before an Epidemic hits).

End of Game and Scoring

This is a cooperative game, so there's no individual scoring!

• You Win! The players win together immediately if they successfully cure all four diseases. Celebrate your heroic efforts!
• You Lose! The players lose together immediately if any of the following occur:
  • The Infection Rate Syringe reaches the skull space.
  • The Outbreak Syringe reaches the skull space (8 or more Outbreaks).
  • There are no or too few dice to draw from the Infection Bag during the Infect Regions step.

Tips for Winning

Saving the world is tough, but here are a few pointers to help you on your way:

1. Manage Outbreaks Proactively: Don't wait for a Region to hit 4+ dice of the same color. Use your Treat actions to keep those dice counts low, especially in adjacent Regions, to prevent devastating chain Outbreaks. Remember, if a disease is cured, your Treat action becomes super powerful for that color!
2. Coordinate Sample Collection: Curing diseases requires collecting samples. Work with your team to ensure players are collecting samples efficiently and passing them to those with higher chances of finding a cure (like the Scientist!). The Researcher can give samples freely, which is a huge advantage.
3. Leverage Event Cards Wisely: Event Cards can be game-changers. Don't hoard those 'cross' dice in the CDC! Use Events like "One Quiet Night" to skip an Infect Regions step when things are getting critical, or "Airlift" to quickly reposition a key player for a cure attempt or to prevent an Outbreak. Timing is everything!