The exploration of games in this subject so far has been both insightful and bamboozling. Navigating games that aren’t the standard monopoly or uno was complex, to say the least. The process of reading step by step instructions, setting up the game (which can be particularly hard depending on the size of the game) and then even beginning the game alone is a tedious process – however, it can lead to a pleasant experience or disappointing one.

Drawn in by the loud colours and pictures of many games, it was occasionally a letdown to play some games – the loudness of the advertising not meeting the gameplay, which was quite boring. Fear of playing the game wrong and not fully understanding was also a large frustration. This was the case with the game “Pandemic”. The game started off a bad leg – pieces were missing and the instructions, personally, were way too confusing to understand. The idea itself hooked me to the game, playing unique characters and solving a pandemic, much like Cluedo. However, there were too many elements to the game, too many steps and the confusion amongst this added to a very unsuccessful game.

The group I played the game with then decided to watch a YouTube tutorial to help us further understand the structure of the board game along with the gameplay, but yet again due to the many many components, it was still very difficult to understand, even with the graphics and different perspective.

With many attempts of the game, it was fair enough to say – we gave up.

The design of the game had serious potential, and I believe it could have been seriously fun if we knew how to play it, especially with the deep and thorough story world and character backgrounds. With so many elements In the design layout including the many different types of cards, pieces, instruction pamphlets and storyline paths, it was a struggle to even register how to start.

An easier access point would have made the game much smoother and more accessible, even highlighting specifically where to start and end, people’s exact roles and how to win/lose/gain points.

After talking to my group in class some of the comments they made included –

“The many elements were overwhelming”

“Too much going on at once”

“Instructions felt like they were written in another language, too much going on”

“I wish there was any easier way to start the gameplay, It looked like it really had the potential to be fun and immersive”

So much like my own opinion, the group was on the same wavelength. We just wished there was an easier way to play the game, to the point of even an example gameplay in the instructions.

Overall, the game experience was a disappointment and a failure, not with just the game alone but with the countless attempts and the exciting approach due to the loud colours and characters on the advertising of the box. The game itself had an exciting approach, however, was let down by it’s too thorough and tedious set up – will not be playing again.

References:

Abbott, B., 2022. Pandemic board game review: “A psychological shot of espresso”. [online] gamesradar. Available at: <https://www.gamesradar.com/au/pandemic-board-game-review/&gt; (Accessed 21 March 2021)