Pandemic Legacy Season One - January First Gameplay (Spoiler Free)

After a long time of deliberating whether to invest in this game, I finally took the leap! I decided to go solo, as it would be quite troublesome to assemble and keep a regular group going for 12 weeks (minimally) to complete the game. I've heard nothing but good reviews for this game, so... why not?

Right out of the box, there's intrigue - a set of dossiers labelled 'Top Secret', a rulebook, a big sticker sheet, and a set of instructions to immediately follow.

One of the first instructions was to stick a sticker on Packet 8, which is a sealed, perforated box: 'Open only if you lose 4 games in a row'. Ooooh mystery. I aim to never open this!!

Board looks similar to regular Pandemic, with some extra things.

Ok I'm going to talk abit about my experience, and I'll keep it spoiler free in the sense that I won't reveal anything that is only revealed later in the game. Meaning I'll only mention things outright described in the rulebook at the start.

One of the key new mechanics is panic level - everytime an outbreak occurs, that city's panic level goes up by 1 permanently. There were some really shitty permanent effects if the panic level got too high, so I tried my best in my first game to control all outbreaks - unfortunately I still got one. Oh well.

The first game went fairly ok - I decided to go with 3 characters, Medic, Dispatcher, and Researcher, which I deem to be the most powerful. I read online that 2 was too easy, and 4 felt abit clunky due to the card passing required and I thought I would more easily lose track and mess up given I was playing solo.
I won without too much difficulty (was never close to losing), and even managed to eradicate two diseases, which net me some cool upgrades for the future (you get 2 upgrades after every game which makes things easier for you in your next game).

But I did find myself spending A LOT more time thinking about each move, as I felt that each decision was many times more important than before, since things that happen are permanent and have lasting effects on the rest of your 12-24 games. I think playing this with friends may be slightly easier, as you can bounce ideas off each other, and weigh the pros/cons of certain decisions. After this first win, I even ran to my wife (who wasn't playing, but played Pandemic before) to ask for her inputs for an upgrade decision I had to make.

One of the new mechanics is a 'Legacy deck', which you are supposed to draw cards that have instructions on them that may change how the game is played; there is a preset order to draw them, and you will know exactly when to stop and draw. The first Legacy deck effect was mindblowing - it fundamentally changed how the game was played and I was just reeling from it. I wonder how it will affect future games?!? And if this was only the first thing, how else could the game be modified? I can imagine by the time I hit November/December, the gameplay would be REALLY REALLY different from the base game. I can't wait!!

First impressions - really good. I love the creative angle of the 'Legacy' style gameplay, which adds weight to every decision. From the first 'twist' of the Legacy Deck, I'm already super stoked to see what further twists the game makers have for me. The whole feel of the game just feels amazing and fresh, the components are well made; would have loved some better compartments for the cubes instead of ziplock but I guess I'll get a Plano box to resolve that myself.

Looking forward to February!