Pandemic: The Cure – Experimental Meds Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview
• Setup
  • Event Cards
  • Persistent Effects
  • Roles
• New Events
  • Infection Zone Travel Ban
  • Commercial Travel Ban
• New Roles
  • Archivist
  • Celebrity Activist
  • Epidemiologist
  • Field Director
  • Field Operative
  • Operations Expert
    • Special notes regarding Operations Centers
  • Quarantine Specialist
  • Troubleshooter
• The Mutation Challenge
  • Before Your First Game
  • Setup
  • Object
  • Infecting with the Purple Disease
    • Purple Dice Resolution Example
  • Finding a Cure to the Purple Disease
    • Try to Find the Purple Cure Examples
• The Hot Zones Challenge
  • Object
  • Setup
  • Epidemics and Hot Zone Dice
  • Spending Hot Zone Dice
  • Re-rolling Hot Zone Dice
  • Hot Zone Die Effects
  • Fine Points
  • Hot Zone Effects Examples

Components

• 8 Player pawns
• 8 Role cards
• 40 Player dice in 8 colors
• 11 Event cards
• 3 Blank Event cards for creating your own
• 12 Purple Infection dice for the Mutation Challenge
• 1 Purple Cured Diseases card for the Mutation Challenge
• 1 Mutation Reference card
• 1 Sticker sheet
• 11 Hot Zone dice (green) for the Hot Zone Challenge
• 5 Hot Zone reference cards

Overview

To get started, play the base game with the new roles and events. You may also add a challenge to vary the game some more. We suggest you try the two challenges in this order:

• Mutation Challenge: add a 5th (purple) disease that behaves differently from the original four.
• Hot Zones Challenge: different regions of the world are affected each time there is an epidemic.

Both challenges can be played separately or together. If you decide to play with both challenges, we suggest playing on Intro (I) difficulty.

Setup

Event Cards

Shuffle the new Event cards with those from the base game during setup.

Persistent Effects

Some events have effects that stay active for a full round. If an Event card has the Persistent Effect symbol, place it near the current player's Role card when it is activated, then draw a replacement card to bring the total number of available Event cards back to 3. Discard the Persistent Effect Event card immediately before the current player begins their next turn.

(The PDF prints "Persisent Effect" in one place; it is read here as "Persistent Effect".)

Roles

Replace step 9 of the base game setup as follows:

Shuffle all Role cards together (base game and expansion) and deal 2 to each player. Players then look at their roles, choose 1, and take the corresponding dice and pawn. Players can look at each other's Role cards and discuss strategy while choosing them. Return the unused roles to the box. Place the pawns in region 1 (North America).

New Events

Infection Zone Travel Ban

The cost of this card is always equal to the number of players. For example, it costs 2 crosses with 2 players and 4 crosses with 4. This card does not affect outbreaks of Hot Zone dice.

Cost: players in the game.

Card text: Ignore outbreaks until the start of the current player's next turn. Return any dice that would produce outbreaks to the infection bag. Persistent Effect.

(The card's title is partly hidden in the PDF image; the card text is shown on the back card of the two-card stack illustrated beside the Event section and is read here as Infection Zone Travel Ban's ability.)

Commercial Travel Ban

Cost: 2 crosses.

Card text: Reduce the infection rate by 1 until the start of the current player's next turn. Persistent Effect.

New Roles

This section covers the new roles. You may skip it for now and refer to it should you have any questions.

Role cards are shown in the PDF with their names and abilities; the rules below are the text printed beside them.

Archivist

The Archivist may use the magnifier result to take 1 Infection die from the Treatment Center and add it to an existing sample of the same color. When spent, set the magnifier to the side; it does not get "locked up" like the Collect Sample result does.

The sample may be held by any player in any region (including the Field Operative and the Epidemiologist's two-vial samples). There is no limit to the number of Infection dice that can be stored in a sample in this way. The resulting sample may be transferred normally (except those held by the Field Operative).

Celebrity Activist

The Celebrity Activist may put dollar-sign results on her Role card. Before rolling Infection dice drawn from the bag, she may spend a dollar-sign result to change 1 drawn Infection die into a cross that is put on the CDC.

Unused dollar-sign dice can be picked up and rolled along with the other available dice at the beginning of the Celebrity Activist's turn.

The Celebrity Activist may use the double-Fly result (two planes) to fly to a location and then immediately fly to another location. She may not spend other dice between these flights, but she may (for example) bring one pawn with her on her first flight, drop him off, and then take a different pawn with her on the second flight.

Since the Celebrity Activist cannot Try to Find a Cure, she cannot be given or collect samples.

This role works best with 3 or more players.

Epidemiologist

The Epidemiologist may use the two-vial result to bottle up a sample of 1 or 2 dice of the same color from the Treatment Center. The resulting sample may be transferred normally.

You may take samples from any other player(s) in your region at any time (with permission).

Use a two-vial result to Collect a Sample of 1 or 2 dice of the same color from the Treatment Center.

Field Director

The Field Director may use the Treat result (a pencil) to Treat Infection dice in an adjacent region instead of his current region or the Treatment Center.

During your turn, move pawns to your region from adjacent regions for free.

Field Operative

The Field Operative may not Give Samples to other players, and the Epidemiologist may not take samples from him. The Sample Delivery event cannot be played to transfer samples from him to a different player.

Whenever you Collect a Sample, put just the Infection die on your Role card, setting aside the spent Collect Sample result. You cannot Give Samples to other players.

Like every other role, the Field Operative may hold samples of more than one color at the same time. Samples on the Field Operative are "locked up" like any other samples.

Operations Expert

The Operations Expert must remove all dice with Operations Center results and roll them with his other player dice at the beginning of each of his turns.

Place an Operations Center in your region, then (optionally) move to any other region. All players may move to regions with an Operations Center for free on their turn. At the beginning of your next turn, take all Operations Centers back to roll.

This role works best with 3 or more players.

Special notes regarding Operations Centers

The Containment Specialist may only use his power to remove 1 die of each color with 2 or more dice when entering a region the first time he uses an Operations Center to travel there on his turn. If he re-enters that region by again using the Operations Center to travel there, no dice are removed.

The Mobile Hospital event lets a player remove a die each time they enter a new region on their turn. So you cannot bounce between two Operations Centers repeatedly to remove all the Infection dice in them, since you're not entering a new region when you return to one you've already visited on your turn.

Quarantine Specialist

If an outbreak sends Infection dice into an adjacent region containing the Quarantine Specialist, place these dice into the infection bag (the outbreak still happens).

Immediately before the "Infect Regions" step of your turn, you may move to any region on the board for free.

The Quarantine Specialist may move to any region on the board immediately before the "Infect Regions" step of your turn (and after the "Try to Find a Cure" step), thus protecting a new region from infections. Because this happens after the "Give Samples" step, she cannot Give Samples after moving this way.

Troubleshooter

The Troubleshooter may put Response Team results on her Role card as a Response Team. Before rolling Infection dice drawn from the bag, she may spend a Response Team result to return up to 2 drawn Infection dice to the bag.

Unused Response Team dice can be picked up and rolled along with the other available dice at the beginning of the Troubleshooter's turn.

Use a combined Fly and Treat result (the die face showing both symbols) to Fly and Treat, in either order.

The Mutation Challenge

In the Mutation Challenge, a fifth unpredictable disease infects the world and it must be cured before humanity is saved. This challenge makes the game a bit harder, so we recommend starting on an easier difficulty level.

Before Your First Game

Apply the stickers to one side of each of those regions: 2, 4, 5. This updates the region to show how many times these numbers appear on the purple dice.

Setup

Add the 12 purple Infection dice to the bag during step 4 of setup. When placing purple dice during step 5 of setup, re-roll any dice with a cross, a -1, and a x2 result until each of them shows a 2, a 4, or a 5. In step 7, use the Purple Cured Diseases card.

Object

In addition to the 4 normal diseases, players must also cure the purple disease in order to win.

Infecting with the Purple Disease

The purple dice have two new faces that have the following effects if rolled when infecting regions:

• x2: Draw another Infection die from the bag and roll it. Then, re-roll this die.
• -1: Draw another Infection die from the bag and put it into the box. Then, re-roll this die.

Note that the -1 and x2 results may come up again when re-rolling a purple die, so multiple dice may end up being added to the board or removed from the game as a result of rolling a single purple die.

Important: resolve all -1 and x2 results before placing any Infection dice into regions.

Important: if there aren't enough dice in the infection bag when drawing these dice, the players lose the game!

Purple Dice Resolution Example

Adele infects. She draws and rolls: a purple 2, a purple -1, and a black 4.

The -1 result: she must draw an Infection die from the bag and return it to the box.

Then, she re-rolls the -1 and gets a x2.

The x2 result: Adele must draw another Infection die (black) and roll it along with the x2. She re-rolls the x2 die and gets a purple 2. She rolls a black 3.

Finally, Adele places the rolled Infection dice in the corresponding regions.

Finding a Cure to the Purple Disease

When trying to find a cure to the purple disease, roll your purple samples, adding the results normally (counting cross results as zero), then subtract one from your total for each -1 result. After finding this sum (and adding any bonuses such as the one provided by the Scientist), multiply the total by 2 for each x2 result.

Try to Find the Purple Cure Examples

• Donna rolls a 5, a 5, a cross, and a -1. She adds everything up normally (5+5+0=10), then subtracts 1 to get a total of 9. She then multiplies this by 2 to get 18. Cure found! (5 + 5 + 0 - 1) × 2 = 18
• Phil rolls a 4, a -1, and two x2 results. He subtracts 1 from 4 giving him 3, then multiplies that by 2 twice, giving him a total of 12. Not quite enough! (4 - 1) × 2 × 2 = 12. Failure.
• Adele (who is in the same region as the Scientist) rolls three 2s. She adds everything up (2+2+2+2=8, which includes the bonus for the Scientist) and then subtracts 1 to get a total of 7. She then multiplies this by 2 to give her a total of 14. Cure found! (2 + 2 + 2 + 2 - 1) × 2 = 14

The Hot Zones Challenge

In the Hot Zones challenge, the different regions of the world are affected each time there is an epidemic. Can you cope with these hot zones and save humanity? This challenge makes the game harder, so we recommend starting on an easier difficulty level.

Object

The game is won or lost normally.

Setup

Before choosing Role cards (step 9):

1. Put 1 Hot Zone die on each segment of the Infection Track (as shown), except the first segments, depending on the chosen difficulty.
2. Roll the remaining Hot Zone dice, one at a time, placing a die first in the region with the most red, then the region with the most blue, then yellow, and then black Infection dice. If you're also playing with the Mutation Challenge, place a Hot Zone die in the region with the most purple Infection dice.
3. Place the remaining Hot Zone dice (if any) back into the box. You'll have extra Hot Zone dice if you're playing the Normal (II) or Heroic (III) games or if you're playing without the Mutation Challenge.

If two or more regions have the same number of Infection dice of a color, the players may choose one of the tied regions. If the regions don't have any Infection dice of a particular color, the players put the Hot Zone die for that color in any region.

Epidemics and Hot Zone Dice

When an epidemic occurs:

1. Resolve the epidemic as usual (see Epidemics in the base game rulebook, page 5).
2. Roll the Hot Zone die in the new section of the Infection Rate Track and place it into the region with the current player.
3. If that region already has 3 Hot Zone dice, the Hot Zone dice outbreak normally. Place the die just added into the next region (clockwise), without rolling it, and mark an outbreak on the Outbreaks Track.

An outbreak will occur if another Hot Zone die is placed into this region.

Spending Hot Zone Dice

You may spend only Hot Zone dice from your region. The Evacuation and Isolation Ward results are spent during the "Do Actions" step of your turn, and the Hazardous Samples result during the "Try to Find a Cure" step of your turn.

After completely resolving the effect, roll the Hot Zone die and return it to your region.

Re-rolling Hot Zone Dice

You may spend a cross from the CDC to re-roll a Hot Zone die in your region during the "Do Actions" step of your turn. You may do this repeatedly – your only limit is the number of dice you have to spend. The re-rolled die is placed into your region.

Hot Zone Die Effects

Some Hot Zone results are helpful, while others cause problems for your team. Effects are cumulative.

• Evacuation: Spend this result to move an Infection die or Hot Zone die (possibly this one) in this region to an adjacent region.
• Isolation Ward: Spend this result to re-roll a player die showing a biohazard before it takes effect.
• Hazardous Samples: Spend this result to add 1 to your roll after rolling samples to Try to Find a Cure. After finding the cure (and returning any dice from the Treatment Center to the bag), advance the infection rate syringe by 1.
• Transportation Lockdown: When spending a Fly or Sail result to move into this region, you must spend an additional Fly or Sail (of the same type).
• Influx of Patients: If this region outbreaks, draw 4 Infection dice from the bag, without rolling them, and put them in the Treatment Center.
• Rate Effect: If 1 or more Infection dice are added to this region, change the Rate Effect die to its Evacuation face and then draw and roll 2 Infection dice from the bag, adding them immediately.

Fine Points

• Event cards and Hot Zone dice may not be spent in between rolling and resolving either Infection or Hot Zone dice.
• Rate Effect can add dice in the middle of resolving outbreaks. Add the new dice before continuing to resolve outbreaks clockwise from the current region being resolved. This may result in additional outbreaks in regions that were resolved earlier; simply proceed clockwise until all outbreaks are resolved.
• Hot Zone dice are never put in the infection bag or the Treatment Center.
• The Troubleshooter may combine multiple combined Fly and Treat dice to enter a region under a Transportation Lockdown. The Treat portion of these results can be used in the origin and/or destination regions.
• Hot Zone dice are not Infection dice. As such, any effect that refers to Infection dice does not affect Hot Zone dice. This includes the Containment Specialist's first power. (In the base game and this expansion, Relocation Orders is the only event that affects Hot Zone dice.)

Hot Zone Effects Examples

• John spends 2 Hot Zone dice with Hazardous Samples results in his region to add +2 to his roll for a cure. After finding the cure, he advances the infection rate syringe by 2. He then rolls these 2 Hot Zone dice and places them back into his region. (The PDF's example shows his dice plus the two +1 Hazardous Samples bonuses totalling 13.)
• Beth must spend 3 Fly results to fly into a region containing 2 Transportation Lockdown dice since each result requires her to spend 1 more Fly.
• Chris adds 8 Infection dice to the Treatment Center after a region containing 2 Influx of Patients dice outbreaks.
• Susan:
  1. Susan adds a blue Infection die to Region 2, containing a Rate Effect die.
  2. She changes the Rate Effect die to its Evacuation face and draws and rolls 2 dice from the bag, a blue die and a black die, adding them.
  3. She then resolves one outbreak in Region 2, advances the outbreaks syringe 1 space, and moves the extra 2 blue dice to Region 3.
  4. This triggers the Rate Effect in Region 3. Susan changes this die to its Evacuation face and draws, rolls, and adds a black die and a red die to Region 4.