Infection Express
Infection Express Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What You Will Need to Play
- Print outs of the 4 Map Hexes
- 1x Print out of this Rule Booklet
- 14x each of Red, Blue, Yellow and Green Cubes (4-6mm preferable)
- 3x Standard 6-sided Dice
- 1x Player Pawn
Notes on the Use of Dice: The dice utilize included Role Chart, Special Event and Color Die Results to determine roll results.
HINT: Dice of different colors would allow 2 dice to be rolled simultaneously for different charts.
Rolling Cities
This is done both during the Game Set-Up and when playing the Infector. Roll one Colored Die, this is the Color of the City (re-roll Black or White results). Then roll the Numbered Die to get the Number of the City.
Game Set-Up
Take 12 of each of the four Color Cubes and place them in piles next to the board. Then place one Cube of the relevant colors in the Zero Spaces of the Cure Research Trackers.
Place a Cube on the Zero Space of the Outbreak Tracker and on the Start Space at the top of the Infection Tracker.
Now roll for the Initial Infections. If you roll an already Infected City, then re-roll.
- Do 3 City Rolls, each city receives 3 Infection Cubes of the relevant color.
- Do 3 more City Rolls, each receives 2 Infection Cubes of the relevant color.
- Lastly, 3 more City Rolls, each receives 1 Infection Cube of the relevant color.
No City can be Infected more than once during the Set-Up Phase, so re-roll if a City has already been Infected.
Place your Player Pawn in the Start City. This is the City with the Black Number on it, in the case of the US Map it is Atlanta. You don't get a Role until the end of the first round when you first roll the Role Die.
The Turn
On your turn you may take 4 actions. The Available Actions are:
- Treat: Remove 1 Cube from the Current City. (Medic can remove all Cubes of one color.)
- Cure: Mark the Disease as Cured by moving the Colored Cube from the Cure Research Tracker to the relevant Cured Space.
- Drive/Sail/Fly: Move your pawn to an Adjacent City (Dispatcher can also fly to last Infected City and the Start City).
- Pass: Take no Action.
At the start of the turn you take your 4 Actions, then you do a Research Roll.
Roll 3 Color Dice of which 2 will ultimately be kept as your Research Result. You may re-roll the dice, but need to keep at least 1 die each roll, unless none are "Actionable". Any showing a Black Face MUST be kept for your Research Result (if you are the Researcher, you may re-roll them once). Any results for previously Cured Diseases are not considered "Actionable" so cannot be kept for your Research and will need to be re-rolled, if you don't have 2 dice being used for your Research Result.
If you are left with 2 Black Faces then an Infection will always occur. Move the Infection Rate Tracker either 2 spaces or to the next Red Epidemic Icon (whichever is the further).
If the marker on the Infection Rate Tracker finished on, or passes over, a space containing the Red Infection Icon then an Infection occurs. Do a City Roll and place 3 Infection Cubes in the City indicated.
If you have kept 2 dice showing White Faces then a Special Event occurs (see Special Events).
You now update the relevant Trackers. For any faces showing one of the 4 Disease Colors, advance the relevant Cure Research Tracker.
The next step in the turn is Playing the Infector.
Above the Infection Tracker is a number indicating the number of Infections per Round. Do that number of City Rolls, placing 1 Cube in each Infected City.
Lastly, roll the Role Dice to get a new Role.
Outbreaks
An Outbreak occurs when there are already 3 Cubes of a single color in a City and a fourth needs to be added. In this case a fourth is not added, instead an Outbreak occurs and 1 Cube is placed in each adjacent City and the Outbreak Tracker is advanced.
If any of those surrounding cities already have 3 Cubes of the relevant color, then they in-turn Outbreak, however please note that each city can only Outbreak once in any given Chain Reaction.
Role Chart
| Role | Ability |
|---|---|
| 1 Scientist | Only requires 4 Research Points to cure a Disease |
| 2 Emergency Response | Can Fly to Start City or last Infected City as an Action |
| 3 Researcher | May re-roll any die showing Infection (black) after first Research Roll |
| 4 Medic | When Treating, remove all cubes of a single color from the City. If the Disease has been Cured, may remove all cubes of that color as a Free Action |
| 5 Dispatcher | Roll the Numbered Die, you may Fly to any City matching the number show as an Action |
| 6 Choose Role | Choose any of the above Roles |
Special Events
When a Special Event occurs, roll the Numbered Die to determine the Special Event:
| Roll | Special Event | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airlift | Move your pawn to any City |
| 2 | One Quiet Night | Skip the Playing the Infector step |
| 3 | Resilient Population | Remove a single Cube from any City. If the Disease has already been cured then remove all Cubes of that color from the City |
| 4 | Breakthrough | Advance any one Cure Research Tracker by one |
| 5 | Quarantine | Choose a City, that City can't get Infected this turn |
| 6 | Reemergence | Roll the Numbered Die, place 1 Cube in each City matching that number where the Disease has been Eradicated |
Eradicating Diseases
If a Disease has been Cured and you then remove all Cubes of that Disease from the board, then the Disease has been Eradicated. Move the relevant Cube from the Cured to Eradicated side of the space. Now whenever playing the Infector, or in the case of an Epidemic, if a City of that color is rolled then no Infection occurs.
Winning and Losing
To win you just need to cure all 4 Diseases; however you lose if any of the following happen:
- The Outbreak Tracker reaches the Death Icon
- The Infection Tracker reaches the Death Icon
- You need to place a Cube on the board, but there are no more of that color
Too Easy For You?
That's the Introductory Game, if you want more of a challenge then try the Standard Game. In the Standard Game you are only allowed a total of 7 Cure Research Points at any one time (so you'll have to discard some to stay on 7 or less) and diseases cannot be Eradicated.
Component Notes
The following tables are printed on the map hexes rather than on the rule pages. They are reproduced here as printed.
Color Die Results (map legend): Pacific/Northwest = Blue; Southwest = Yellow; Northeast = Red; Southeast = Green; Special Event = White faces; Infection = Black faces.
Infection Rate Tracker and Outbreaks Tracker: printed on the first map hex, with the Infection Rate Tracker labelled Start and grouped as 2 Infections per Round, 3 Infections per Round and 4 Infections per Round. The Outbreaks Tracker runs 0, 1, 2, 3 and then the Death Icon.