Pandemic On the Brink Family Board Game:
You are specialists at the CDC/Atlanta where you watch several virulent diseases break out simultaneously all over the world. The team mission is to prevent a worldwide pandemic outbreak, treating hot spots while researching cures for each of the four plagues before they get out of hand. Players must plan their strategy to mesh their specialists’ strengths before the diseases overwhelm the world. But the diseases are breaking out fast and time is running out: the team must try to stem the tide of infection in diseased areas while developing cures. Pandemic is a truly cooperative game: if disease spreads uncontrolled, the players all lose together.
Pandemic: On the Brink is an expansion for the Pandemic Board Game. It includes new event cards, new role cards, rules for five players, and optional game challenges to increase the difficulty of the Pandemic base game. The new challenges include the Virulent Strain challenge, where one disease become particularly deadly in unpredictable ways; the Mutation challenge, which adds a fifth (purple) disease that behaves differently than the original four; and the Bio-Terrorist challenge that pits one player against the others!
Pandemic: On the Brink is recommended for 2-5 players ages 8 and up, and takes approximately 45 minutes to play. You must have the base Pandemic Board Game to play.
B –
Great addition to an already fantastic base game. Pandemic: On the Brink adds a new layer of difficulty and strategy. The epidemic cards now have virulent strains which can have continuing effects throughout the game unlike the base game. The addition of mutations to the game adds another disease cube to the board and is half the quantity of the regular disease cubes; therefore, you run the risk of running out of mutation cubes faster. There are plenty of new roles to experience and there is a decent amount of new event cards too. We have yet to try the bioterrorist component of the game at this time, but it sounds like it would be a lot of fun with a group.
Malbionic –
I love this game! It is the best game you can play as of late that is a team game! Everyone works together, unless you chose to have a bad guy. It really is a great expansion to the awesome original! So many options! Never play the same game twice! And the new additional roles are great as well as the new event cards!
Carl –
Like Pandemic and wish it had more complexity/difficulty? On the Brink is the first (and better) of the two expansions, adding 3 new game variations which all make the game even more hectic than the base game. Add several new roles, event cards and petri dishes for improved storage over the cheapo plastic baggies that the base game comes with, and you have a great expansion which improves on the original game in almost every way.One of my only criticisms of the expansion is the bio terrorist variation, which makes one player actively work against the rest to thwart attempts to find cures. The terrorist is extremely powerful and also has an incredibly annoying power to destroy research stations, which absolutely kills the fun of the game for me and is why I never want to play that variant. The good news is that you don’t have to play with it if you don’t want to, and the other two variants are better in that they make the game harder, but not irritating.My other gripe with this expansion (as well as In the Lab) is that adding/subtracting expansions makes the game setup and storage take significantly longer. This was something that I didn’t feel was an issue with the original game but when you’re adding in and taking out different events, classes, epidemic cards and such it can get to be just a bit of a hassle- but it also displays how much stuff they added to the box to make it worth the money.
Mark N. –
There is relatively high value in this expansion. You might say you get three more games. Combined with the original, each time we sit down to play, we recognize we have at least 4 games to choose from: the original, mutation, virulent, and bio-terrorist (we’ve not yet tried the bio-terrorist with the virulent strain in the same game).The Event cards are a nice addition, but the 8 new cards don’t pack the same value as the original 5, so when we play with just 2 people, we opt for the 5 original Event cards.
One person found this helpful
Megan V –
Loved the Pandemic game and love this expansion. Makes curing diseases a little more challenging.
Jon M –
Grab this expansion for your 2nd printing copy of Pandemic before it goes out of print(!).This is often mentioned as definitive/must-have expansion for Pandemic players. Pandemic is plenty of game for most, but if you’re looking for more and considering the multiple options available this expansion should near the top of your list.
One person found this helpful
EL –
I’ve only tried the mutation and the virulent strain challenge but these definitely add another dimension to the original board game. We loved the original board game and we wanted to try out the expansion pack. The added characters and combinations add variety to the game and definitely makes it more challenging after you’ve mastered the original game. Hours of entertainment and forces the group to work together. Looking forward to trying the bioterrorist version soon.
One person found this helpful
Emme D. –
OTB is the best Pandemic expansion! Great addition and we have loads of fun playing it.
Andy L. –
I’d only been playing the base Pandemic for a couple weeks and couldn’t get enough of it. Really fantastic title that kept us coming back for more; however, the first time I watched some video reviews for On The Brink I was floored. Totally high-quality expansion that adds several new dynamics and challenges, a lot of new roles, etc., etc. The only thing I have a qualm with is that most of the new roles kind of…suck. They’re all really gentle support roles that go well with some of the heavy-stepping stuff from the base game, but on our first play through we all drew new roles and got absolutely destroyed.The game isn’t meant to be easy, and having the variety of roles is fantastic, I was just a little surprised at how weak they are.That being said if you are a fan of Pandemic, don’t even hesitate. Get On The Brink, you absolutely will not regret it.
One person found this helpful
Gen P. –
Absolutely love this game! Bought both the original and expansion pack. It’s our go-to for date nights and always bring it to our friend’s houses for game nights. Hint: To add a bit of extra fun if you’re of legal drinking age, make the person who draws an epidemic card take a shot. Gets pretty interesting with only 2 people playing. 😉 Also, I’d highly recommend watching the instructional video the first time you play. Makes it really simple!
M. Swift –
The Pandemic game has become a Games Night instant classic at our house – LOVE IT!After playing dozens of times we wanted more and this expansion doesn’t disappoint. As often is the case with a good expansion, this add-on deepens the game play with some minor fixes bundled in.The thing I like best is the new box and parts management this expansion offers. You don’t need to carry both boxes around – no! Instead you combine all the parts into this new box and you get nice Petri dishes to carry the virus cubes, pawn slots for the 2x as many roles now included, and nice trays for the other misc pieces. Even the cards fit better!I can understand buying the main game and waiting to expand but in this case, I would recommend buying the main game AND this expansion right away just to have the great parts management. Once you’ve learned the game the expanded play can be introduced in phases making the reply last much longer.CURE THE WORLD!!!
Richard F. Ostrow Jr. –
I picked this up along with the 2nd edition game, but this came in first and I had a 1st edition game available. It turns out that there are some disadvantages in mixing editions. The expansion card backs do not match the 1st edition card backs, so it is rather obvious when the next card to be drawn is an expansion card. This could change player behavior when they see that the next card drawn has a high likelihood to be an epidemic simply because it has a different pattern on the back.That said, it meshes perfectly with the 2nd edition (when that came in later), and adds a lot more complexity that I and my fellow players appreciated.The addition of the BT adds a “scotland yard” twist to the game, though the players tend to have a difficult time adjusting to this – they focus on capturing the BT the first few times, when in reality the BT simply bides his time in capture and escapes… his capabilities are hardly diminished simply because he is captured. The players really need to focus on cures more than the BT, and it’s hard to make that decision (particularly when the BT is thumbing his nose at the other players) :).With the “Virulent Infection” piece of the expansion, epidemics can now have side-effects that change the way you deal with infections. Some of these are immediate effects that are resolved on the spot, while others have on-going effects that continue until the disease is cured. This added complexity meshes well with the base game without necessarily increasing the difficulty by much – yes, it’s more complex, but it’s not necessarily more difficult.The “Mutation” expansion, however, does increase the difficulty quite a bit. You only get 12 mutation cubes, compared to the 24 you get for the other diseases. This means when you run out of mutation cubes in the infection phase, it’s game over… so mutations need to be dealt with quickly. I’ve had quite a few games end early simply because the players forgot about the 12-cube limit until it was too late. On the other hand, I enjoy the game more with the mutation expansion in play, so despite the added difficulty, it’s still a lot of fun to play.
Alicia S –
Makes the game significantly more difficult (in a good way). It offers 3 more ways to play the base game, a different way to hold and store the cubes (in small Petri dishes that are actually very convenient), and 7 new roles. (A few are super useful!)The game also comes with more event cards as well as 2 blank create-your-own event cards and 2 blank roles. My roommates and I are currently creating a role called “Gregory House, MD” or the main character from the show House. His ability is tha after every three epidemics drawn, House can “pull a cure for one disease out of thin air”. His caveats are that he can only make 3 actions per turn due to his limp leg that debilitates him in the show as well and that due to “his unwillingness to be a team player”, he cannot share cards with anyone. We have also created an event card called “Socialized Healthcare”. This card when played causes the infection rate to go down by 1 for three rounds. After playing it, however, we decided that makes it too easy, so we will most likely change it to just one full round.Overall: 9/10. I really like two of the game modes added but the bioterrorist challenge is a bit frustrating with how Overpowered the bioterrorist is. It almost makes the whole point of the game null.
2 people found this helpful
Malix –
Pandemic is a very well thought out and designed game. One of my favorite cooperative games. On The Brink adds some new roles which are all very well balanced and useful in their own way. It forces you to have different strategies to engage the game.It also introduces some new gameplay variants as well. A must have if you are a pandemic fan.
Zigma –
Pandemic to me was always eh. I would play it when others asked me, but it was never my go to. This expansion has changed that for me. With all the new roles, the new random chaos, and the bio terrorist role is a lot of fun. I even made a nice insert for this over on Thingiverse.
ozone –
Awesome game. It adds to the base game extending its life with new challenges. It also includes some really cool petri dishes to store your disease cubes. I can’t stress how great the pandemic game is. It’s cooperative nature is great for people who prefer teamwork to overcome a common problem. This expansion, which is NOT stand alone, really adds to it. I highly recommend it.
Joseph Belanich –
We love this game! We play about 5x/week. We leave it at up on our table, treat to play. This expansion was a Christmas gift that we have enjoyed. We have yet to try the bio terrorist because it’s usually just two of us playing. It is challenging and every game is different. You have to be strategic.
istill –
Bought the “basic” game and the “on the Brink expansion” together. It is a great game, even if we keep losing! We are playing this as a two player, so it seems like an uphill task defeating four diseases, but it sure gets you thinking! Was put onto this from the “Tabletop” Wil Wheaton show. Certainly a good way of working out what games are going to be good!
One person found this helpful
Rno79 –
A must have expansion pack for Pandemic. The virulent strain and/or the bioterrorist additions will have you and your team screaming their heads off at the challenges brought up by these added features. I especially love the bioterrorist concept whether I’m the one playing it or the one facing it. As added “fairness”, I have decided to use the free “empty” event cards to more easily counteract the bioterrorist role. Some of my team members thought that the fact that the bioterrorist stays invisible during the entire game (sorta) and can never be removed from the game (he can always escape) was unfair. I created two cards: one event that renders the bioterrorist visible for the duration of the game (call it a bullseye card) and one that permanently removes the bioterrorist once captured (call it the “high security prison” or something along those lines… You get the idea). Love also the new character cards that come with this particular expansion and the fifth disease!
2 people found this helpful
Zulu Warrior –
On the Brink adds a lot of replay-ability to the base game of pandemic. It’s a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it.If you are looking at which expansion to buy (On the Brink or In the Lab) I would say that you should buy this one first, but ultimately get both. This expansion adds so many new characters, new fun ways to play with special epidemic cards and a new disease. My group loves pandemic and it is played in some fashion an almost every event we host.The In the Lab expansion added a lot of fun to the game for my group as well, and I really just recommend buying both when you get the chance. These games are well worth the money required to buy them. It is worth noting that both of these expansion boxes were designed well enough to contain all the game parts in one box. I currently store the base game and both expansions (all parts, rules, boards etc) in just the In the Lab box, so well done Z-Man Games!
SJ –
I really love board games, and even though I’m very competitive, I really do like the co-op factor of this game. It’s a great game that even my 9 year old has learned to play, and unlike many competitive games, it doesn’t end in tears. For those of you who bought the base game you really should consider this expansion for just the simple fact that all the base game parts, and the expansion parts, and the In The Lab expansion parts will all fit in this one box with cutouts for every piece.
AHC –
My wife received this expansion for Christmas, and I have to say, it is my personal favorite. The two expansions each offer 3 new variations of play. We chose to try the bio-terrorist last. It was my brother who chose to be our ‘terrrist’ first. By the end of the game, feelings were hurt, tears were shed, and people went home mad. The game became so intense because of the cat and mouse of chasing the terrorist that we didn’t hear the phone ring or the 3 knocks on the door. This expansion enables a world of options, and the new characters introduce such amazing variation, I say if you have Pandemic, this expansion is a must.
138 people found this helpful
Lucky Mommy and Daddy –
The photo showed the Spanish version. We still got the English one, which is the one we wanted. Other than that it is a great purchase.Side note, the game has three more additional versions. Only tried one of them, but it added some excellent fun to Pandamic.
J. R. Kaus –
Amazing expansion took a great game and made it even better! Z-man hit a home run with this one. If you are a Pandemic addict, this expansion virtually doubles the game content with customizable game play modes that can be used to tailor the difficulty and challenge of the game. Get it, you won’t regret it!
One person found this helpful
Scottypiper –
My wife and I loved the original Pandemic game and had to try some expansions. This a great addition to the original. You get multiple different game modes and containers now for your disease cubes. I was able to take my original game and fit everything in this box. Now you can choose to play several different variations of my favorite game. We have tried most of them and they are all fun.I would recommend this if you own Pandemic and want to add variation to it. This is a great expansion.
Amazon Customer –
1st expansion to Pandemic.Once you’ve mastered the original game this expansion delivers some great new concepts.There is now a 5th (mutant) strain of disease to combat.There is a virulent strain (more potent) which on each epidemic the disease can become much harder to stop.There is also the bio-terroist option (which I’ve never played – bad guys suck). Where a player is wandering the world spreading disease along with the standard disease additions already in the game.
Juliette –
This is one of the greatest game expansions I’ve ever played! We love the original and when we could consistently beat it on the hardest settings, we bought this. Not only are we back to losing almost every game (which is quite possibly the funnest game to LOSE I’ve ever played!) we’ve only experimented with ONE of the three new challenges! Can’t wait to try our the bio-terrorist role. This is possibly the greatest game of it’s kind!
Jordan –
If you love the base game of pandemic, this is a must have. It adds a lot more variety to the base game and looks great! One of the best features of the expansion is that the base game is made to fit in the expansion box so you don’t have to carry around 2 boxes.
Its Us. –
We love the expansion. We really don’t like most of the new roles, but some are nice to have. But, we still prefer the ones from the original game. The event card to change the role of a player mid game is my personal favorite add on as well. The virulent strain does make the game more challenging but not impossible. It is a well designed expansion!
Matt –
Great game, note that it is an expansion to Pandemic so you must have the original game. Adds new roles and challenges to the game. (And some containers for the cubes, very nice). If you like the original game, it’s worth eventually picking up this expansion.
Bryce –
This is a fantastic expansion and I highly recommend this to anyone who is buying a first expansion for Pandemic. Not only does is add a ton more roles but the box fits all the components from the base game and then some. I also liked how it came with little cases for the cubes…FANTASTIC!!!
One person found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
This was the first game I had ever heard of or played where you are fighting against the game as a team. I played this for hours and hours and hours with my family. We were all addicted to it! If you like board games at all, get this game, you won’t regret it. We played it so much I’m going to have to take a good long break from it for a while before playing it again.
Michael H. Martin –
To put it simply, PANDEMIC is fun game to play with friends. This expansion adds to the already fun experience.Its nice for a change to have a game that requires cooperation to win instead of the usual one one one, cut-throat, win at any cost games.
LaffnStock –
If you have Pandemic: Original Recipe, this is a MUST. The new Characters alone make this worthwhile. While each one isn’t necessarily a game-changer, the number of Character combinations is now multiplied greatly, making each game a fresher experience. Even better are the new Event cards. Like the Character cards, the old ones get boring after awhile. Not only do the new ones add some variety, but the fact that you only use a fraction of the Event cards each game makes each game much fresher. The addition of the purple mutation (Purpes!) is a 4-star expansion, but the Bio-Terrorist game is a 1-star expansion. It’s confusing and too time-consuming, and it’s not like this is a quick game anyhow. But even if you use neither – we play without the Purpes more often than we play with it – it’s a NECESSARY expansion.
10 people found this helpful
Bryce & Jocelyn Parkinson –
Great expansion for the money. Additional roles and challenges add variety to the game to increase replay value. I found the insert didn’t fit all the pieces perfectly, but not a deal breaker for me. The components are excellent and the card backs match the card backs of the base set I have almost perfectly. The petri dishes are really fun to make the game more thematic (I’m a pathologist, so I think they’re super fun).
Chad A. Schmookler –
Pretty cool concept – eradicate viruses from spreading across the world, but wait – we play against the game instead of each other?!? That’s right – up to 4 players each have a role with assigned actions and you team up as a group to take on the game rather than each other.We love playing this game and using the expansion pack to add variety and challenge. It is really fun and forces you to communicate and strategize. If you like teamwork and more serious board games this one is for you.
Benjamin –
Pandemic has become one of my favorite board games, and this expansion is my favorite one for it. Even if you’re not up for the increased challenges the infection cards or virulent strain offer, you can still bring a LOT of variety to your game with the new role cards. The role cards open all kinds of new strategies and complement themselves as well as the old cards well. For game nerds like me, the balance is spot on though, so these aren’t nerfing or overpowering the base game at all.An added bonus is the box insert and containers that come with this expansion. They’ve made cleanup and setup much faster. Despite some of the comments I read on the expansion, both this expansion as well as the core game WILL fit in either the original or “On the Brink” box without issue.
Mike Tumilowicz –
If you enjoy the base game of Pandemic, this expansion is a must!The Expansion provides a rule book for instructions on how to use these new elements, more Role cards, event cards, an additional epidemic card, a more intense set of epidemic cards, new purple cubes for the 5th disease, petri dishes for each color disease and 3 new challenges to increase playability 10 fold as you can mix and match them to make things much more interesting (not to mention difficult). The best thing is that these 3 new elements are able to be played together or individually.The addition of a 5th disease that spreads differently than the others really provides a nice touch.The new epidemic cards really make things harder to achieve victory, but offer a great twist to the original game play.The Bio-terrorist role card pits one player against the rest and is a real game changer.As an added bonus, everything from both the original game and this expansion will fit nicely in the expansion box as there are spots for everything in a plastic tray insert.
C –
To the guy or gal that has played their copy of Pandemic to death and is researching which expansion to get to revitalize their game, let me save you the trouble. This is exactly what you want. all of the modules included in this expansion are fantastic, I’ll be at some are better than others. But there are none included that I would just outright refuse to play. This is exactly what you’ll want in order to add difficulty, complexity, and a breath of fresh air into your copy of Pandemic. I love the new roles, the new modes, and this alone has extended the life of my game by years.
lora roebuck –
I bought this for my son and daughter in law to compliment the Pandemic game they have and we really enjoy it. It adds a whole new dimension to the game and really adds a new level of difficulty. It is challenging but not too hard that the game is not fun. We all really like it and would definitely consider adding another extension.
Amazon Customer –
I’m an enthusiast to share family time more at times like the one we’re living through with the pandemic.I very much appreciate the excellent quality of the products and the state in which they arrived… I can only say that everything arrived on time and in excellent condition.
Richard –
I absolutely love this expansion. As interesting and fun as the original is, this takes it to another level. The increased difficulty of the different modes is great. Adding a 5th player is a great plus as I love having as many friends play as can be. I have not yet tried the bioterrorist mode because I’m not a huge fan of games that put a traitor into play. I recommend this to anyone who has the base game.
TripleOZero –
Everything about this is great. The packaging is superb. The petri dishes for the viruses are great. The plastic packaging to store the disease markers and player tokens is great for keeping everything together.This expansion includes not just 1, but 3 different sets of add-on challenges to add variety to the game. We’ve never tried playing with the bio-terrorist yet, but the addition of the purple disease and virulent strains keep things interesting. The news role cards and event add even more variety.This expansion makes one of the best board games I’ve ever played even better in nearly every conceivable way.
07MINI –
An excellent addition to one of my favorite board games. The additional roles are interesting and add some additional variety to the game. The extra disease and new epidemic cards add more things to pay attention to and are a good addition. We still haven’t played with the bioterriorist, but I’m looking forward to it. A good add on to an already great game.
Gripa3911 –
We have had Pandemic for years and liked it, but never really loved the game. Our 9 year old just discovered it and has been begging us to play it nightly, so I went in search of a good expansion and came across this one. It is fantastic! The new player cards spice up original game play. The virulent strain cards make it bump up in difficulty, but in a really fun way. The added purple strain adds a new challenge, and the addition of the bioterrorist is so creative! The best part is that you can pick and choose how you change up the original game to make your own level of difficulty! It’s basically 4 different games in one, and the rules do not change from the original game, so it is very easy to pick up. So glad we added this to our collection!
2 people found this helpful
maniak_man –
The game rules might seem a bit intimidating at first but once you play a couple of rounds everyone can enjoy the collaborative nature of this game. Even got my nephews to set aside their phones to spend time with the dreaded family!There is an electronic version of this game in the App store that is WELL worth buying. The included tutorial in the app is the easiest way to get the hang of the game in little time.
Amazon Customer –
I love Pandemic! It’s my go-to game on all game nights! Pandemic has a lot of expansions and we did a lot of research before getting this particular one. It comes with a bunch of really interesting roles and event cards. I love the addition of petridishes! Makes it so much easier to store the disease cubes. If you are planning to get an expansion, I would definitely recommend you to start with this one.
DivaChalice –
My friends and I already loved
Pandemic Board Game
. I feel that this expansion is a requirement for anyone who loves the base game. With this one expansion, there are multiple new ways to play, plus the added ability to have 5 players. It is nice to be able to add a certain amount of complexity and intrigue that fits your group. We have tried all the Challenges except for the Bio-terrorists, but we are excited to try it. A nice detail is the added Petri dishes for storing disease cubes.
Taylor Walker –
[Edit: June 2019]New to Pandemic? Considering this expansion? Do not delay!I’m still playing this game and still vouch that this expansion what the base game should have been from the beginning. Of the expansions, this is also my favorite since it’s still basically the base game but with some additional roles, events, and epidemic cards that add diversity and flavor to the game, but it is still played the same (Plus the option for someone to be the bad guy).[Original 2014 review]This addon to Pandemic has done nothing but enhanced the game.So far I prefer to play with the OtB rules all the time instead of just the base game.More choices and interesting roles, and I love the new epidemic cards with the added or persistent effects.The petri dishes are a fun added gimmick to get you into the infection mindset and store the infection cubes well, the box’s internal compartments are made to take and hold all the game pieces in a much more organized manner too.
One person found this helpful
Shannon –
GREAT expansion for one of my favorite board games. It’s a little complicated to learn the new pieces so keep the instructions handy.The expansion comes with a TON of new roles to play. I love that. It feels well worth the price when there’s this many new roles with a variety of skills to choose from and help the game advance.I really enjoy the little petri dishes for the cubes that come in this expansion. I moved all my cubes to these from the little dime bags (lol) in the original game. It gives it an overall feeling of real diseases in those dishes.The new mix of situations is awesome. It makes each play through different and adds fun difficulty depending on how you play.
David P. Hawkins –
I love the original Pandemic game and “On the Brink” adds another layer of challenge. I could play this game 50 times in a row and have! I love the extra 3 added features and combining them just makes the game all that much better. Would recommend the virulent strain part.
Tara Hayes –
I’m a fan of pandemic and this does not diappoiny.
Shopping IS Therapy –
Phenomenal game to play where you HAVE to work together in order to win against the game. My husband and I play this – works well with just 2 players. I actually already bought one expansion pack too… For couples with a competitive edge that leads to arguments and frustrating game nights, this is the solution to your woes!!!
One person found this helpful
Kevin M. James –
One great thing about this expansion is that you can add as little or as much of it as you like. It’s almost worth the price of admission just for the petri dishes, the extra roles and events, and the virulent strain challenge. We’re looking forward to giving the mutation challenge a spin also. (We may not ever get round to playing the bio-terrorist challenge…but this expansion will have been well worth it even so.)
Gumby –
This is a great expansion that adds several modules that can used with the base game. Packaging is awesome and does a good job organizing the many pieces.
Shawn McCarroll –
Worth it to have 1 extra player. New roles are worth it, too. The mutation and virulent strain add-ons are nice when you are ready to push the next challenge.
Alex K –
I picked this up as my wife and I are big into coop board games. It’s been a great expansion to the original so far. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the extra game modes, and find we just enjoy having the extra strain and additional outbreak cards in play.For us it’s made the game even more replayable than it previous was (which is quite a bit).
Julwes –
Well, we love the original game and were stoked to get this one! LOVE the little containers to put the disease cubes in, we had been using some of our bowls from the kitchen but haha, needed those for food really. This is a fun expansion, we haven’t played all of the options it has yet either, just adding in the mutation and trying out some of the new people. Ha, makes me want to play it now just writing about it! What I extra loved too was now all our pieces from the original fit into this box and still room left for other things in the future! If you’ve played and loved the original this is worth getting to add on!
Matt Timmington –
My daughter and I love playing Pandemic and just got the expansion. We love the extra challenge the mutations and virulent strain cards add. We have no plans on playing with the bio-terrorist as we like to work together to win the game. Overall I am thrilled with the insert, petri dishes for storing the cubes and the overall production is just awesome. I can not recommend it highly enough.
Cristina –
I got this for my dad because he’s a fan of the original game. We played with the new event cards and roles, but we haven’t tried any of the three challenges yet (he expressly forbid my brother from playing the bioterrorist, actually). The new events and roles are awesome, and really changed the dynamic of the game for our family. In a surprising turn of events, the Contingency Planner role from the original game became both useful and much more exciting.Everything from the original game and this expansion store neatly in this box, and the petri dishes are great for corralling all those little disease cubes.
12 people found this helpful
Shelley Yuang –
Overview: On the Brink adds a fifth player option and also provides 3 new variants to play with the base Pandemic game. The first variant turns one of the viruses into a Virulent Strain and becomes more difficult to treat. Another variant mutates a virus and adds a new disease (purple color) that the team has to manage. The last variant has a Bio-Terrorist working against everyone else through hidden movements. Even with the added variants, the basic premise of the game is still the same. Treat and cure diseases as you move around the world map.Set-up: The set-up for the On the Brink expansion takes roughly the same amount of time as the base Pandemic game. Just a few minutes to create the player & infection decks, then infecting cities around the world.Difficulty: Having only played the Virulent Strain and Mutation variants, the learning curve was very similar to learning the base game. These variants require the team to remember new conditions that are in play, and are fairly straightforward. The Bio-Terrorist seems to have new rules on movement and actions, and would require the person playing the Bio-Terrorist to understand the rules well since their movements are hidden.Replayability: Each of these variants seem to add more conditions/events in the gameplay, and I believe you are able to include multiple/all variants for added variability. On the Brink also adds more event cards and role cards.Final Thoughts: 9/10The variants that I have played add some refreshing changes to a great game, although the magnitude of the changes greatly depends on the randomness of the draw. I also like the petri dishes that came with the game to hold the disease cubes. Nice touch. With the new role cards and events, I will probably always add elements of the expansion to the game, even if I don’t play the different variants.
Morgan –
I love the new roles that are added with this expansion. Plus, if you want a little more challenge it is great. I do find it a little more complicated to learn the 3 different challenges.
C. D. –
This expansion is essential to the base game of Pandemic with the addition of more roles for the game and better storage. The petri dishes for the viruses are awesome and the whole base game fits in this expansion box. More roles and event cards gives even greater replayability to Pandemic.
Meli –
My friends and I loved playing Pandemic. I decided I had to get the expansion for the cool petri dishes it comes with and the added cards.The virulent strain challenge:It’s fun. It is probably the easier of the three challenges the game comes with. It essentially replaces the epidemic cards with cards with added or continuing effects on one color disease, so it makes it annoying to treat and cure.Mutation challenge:Purple disease cube and can be played with the virulent strain. I enjoyed this one. I thought it would be very hard but if you play with 4 virulent strain epidemic cards it is just beatable. What is nice about it is that it is easy to cure but is difficult to eradicate, plus there are only 12 disease cubes of the purple.Bioterrorist challenge:Good, but not my favorite challenge. Essentially you act as the five disease similar to the mutation challenge. It was really fun to sabotage the other players by removing research stations from the board. However, it was really limiting only having two actions, but maybe that’s the point.If you love pandemic, definitely get this expansion. It allows a lot of options how to play the game.
11 people found this helpful
Amanda L. –
Love this expansion pack! It’s a lot more challenging but it’s worth it and makes it all the more fun. My friend and I LOVE playing the original Pandemic game a lot and it got a bit tiring as it was always just the same thing. So far we’ve played the virulent strain on this new expansion pack and it’s definitely a LOT more challenging but I think that’s what gives it the umph that we needed to make it more fun again. Definitely can’t wait to try out the mutation and bio-terrorist one.
aresultofgrace –
This game is awesome! We already owned the original Pandemic game, but wanted to spice things up a bit. My favorite part (because I am slightly OCD about organization) was that the product came with petri dish containers for all of the new and original diseases. We were also able to fit the new expansion stuff in the old board game box so everything could fit together nicely without having to carry around two different boxes. The new variations to the game are great! Please note that this is an expansion pack, so you will want to also own the original Pandemic board game for this expansion to actually be useful. Also good to note is that this is an intense game. It requires a lot of strategy and cooperation. I would not recommend this game for new gamers. this is definitely a veteran gamer’s kind of game.
7 people found this helpful
Ciara Gavin –
This expansion makes an already great game even more fun. It adds new character classes, new event cards, and new game types and scenarios. My biggest issue with the base game,
Pandemic Board Game
, was that I often had five people who wanted to play, but I was limited to four players. This is fixed here, with the addition of new role and event cards and a couple extra rules. Hurray!There are several new game modes to provide an extra challenge. These are all great fun, but the biggest change is the “Bioterrorist Mode,” which switches this from a straight co-op game to a cooperative competition between the bioterrorist and the CDC team. This is a crazy-fun game mode that has the main CDC team torn between the regular outbreaks and trying to stymie the new strain unleashed by the bioterrorist character. It can get very hectic, and it is very fun.This expansion also serves as an improved storage vessel for the game, with little petri dishes for storing your disease cubes (fun!) and little nooks and crannies built into the box for storing all the other pieces.If you enjoyed Pandemic, you will love this too.
Big B –
A well thought out expansion to the original. Gives you the option to vary the degree of difficulty and add some different play styles and the sorely needed “Bio-Terrorist” to pit a player against other players. Same quality as the original and even includes perfect sized Petri dishes for all your disease cubes. Not going to lie, the dishes were a huge selling point for me. The first edition had them and nothing went more perfect than petri dishes for your disease cubes.Probably way to many new roles, but each of them special in their own right.If the original is getting too easy for you (yeah right) you must have this expansion.If the original is getting boring (yeah right) you must have this expansion.You must have this expansion.For the OCD minded, yes, the box it comes in is the same exact size as the first one.Bottom line- the perfect compliment to Pandemic.
Peter –
As what I said above, it is a very nice expansion. It really gives the game a lot more depth with the new modes added in. I loved the addition of the bio-terrorist; it causes the team to create multiple strategies because not only does the team have to deal with the viruses but they also have to deal with some other person causing havoc for the team. The bio-terrorist is really just another person you love to hate. Also with the new epidemic cards, the difficulty is greatly risen. Pandemic is already a hard game but with these new cards, it is definitely tougher. Working with the team is just so heavy in the game and it brings great joy to accomplish something. The higher the difficulty, the higher satisfaction you will have when accomplishing a goal. The expansion also comes with petri-dishes to hold your diseases, so its easier to access, sort, and clean up the diseases. Over all it is a great expansion and it will bring delight to those who love Pandemic.
Kate Monroe –
It’s great to be able to have an additional person play, and we enjoy all the expanded roles. We use the mutation and virulent strain options less often. Not a huge fan of the bioterrorist. But the expansion pack is definitely worth the purchase if you like Pandemic.
Dave –
Very, very challenging expansion to an already challenging game. Unique in that it pits all players together as a team against the game board and player cards. Makes you think through and collaborate together on each move. It is possible to win, but it takes all you have with wise and then some to try to win before disease breaks out throughout the world. Very highly recommended!!!
Dan –
The Pandemic games have won awards for a reason. I am always in search of new board games to play and read reviews on this series for years before I finally picked up the base game. I was immediately hooked and after a half dozen rounds of the base game I was wanting more. The consensus was to get On the Brink expansion and the consensus was RIGHT! New player roles and the addition of THREE new game modes! Bio Terrorist, Virulent strain and Mutation. I have yet to play the Bio Terror mode, but Mutation and Virulent strain are amazing. Best of all, the additional roles and events can be played in the base game and REALLY add to the base game playability.
One person found this helpful
Chris in Colorado –
Really solid expansion and a must have if you love Pandemic. The nice thing about it is there are several components that can be added or not used depending on what you want to do. Many game expansions are an all or nothing type of thing. You either play the expansion version or the original. With the mutations, additional types of players you can play, modified epidemic cards and even the bio-terrorist element, you can pick and choose which elements you want to play with. It really keeps the game fresh and variable. And of course adding a fifth person means more people can play. Worth every penny.
Phil White –
Look. I know you love Pandemic. You know you love Pandemic. Have you seen anyone not like Pandemic? No. So problem solved. Buy it.Long story: the new roles add more fun when you’ve become tired of some of the old ones *ahem* contingency planner *ahem*. This alone could be enough for a small expansion, but the inclusion of the upgraded virus and bio terrorist make it worth it. Finally, you’ve simply got to have it to get the other expansions anywho. So do it.
D. Perry –
This expansion adds a new virus that mutates, the option of a 5th player as a bio-terrorist, and more roles and Epidemic cards for a more game challenges. This adds a lot of replayability to the game.It also has a storage tray for pieces from both the basic game and this expansion, as well as “petri dishes” to store your virus cubes. This is a nice touch, and much appreciated!
8 people found this helpful
Toby Wright –
I have been waiting for the reprint of this game for a few months. I finally got my hands on this game and it is awesome. It adds a good amount of material and is a great addition to the original game. Don’t hesitate to pick this up. The board and other contents are well made and will hold up in the long run.
DP Esq. –
Pandemic has become a favorite on game nights in my circle of friends, and the On the Brink Expansion improves the experience in several ways. There are new game modes, new roles, new events, and all of them work well. On the most basic level, the ability to have five players is a big improvement. You have to relearn the board setup some to compensate for how many new events are included to keep from unbalancing the game, but none of the changes are so drastic as to be overwhelming.Aside from this, most of the new material boils down to making the game more difficult. The most basic form of this is the addition of an additional Epidemic card to enable “Legendary” difficulty (I think we lost in ten minutes the first time we tried that mode). The Virulent Strain variation to the rules increases the power of one of the diseases. The Mutation variation adds a fifth disease. All of these are good for the increased challenge, but don’t really change the core gameplay too much.The one exceptionally different mode is the Bio-Terrorist variation, which makes one player an enemy to the rest of the group. I, like many of the other reviewers, love this mode. My friends and roommates don’t all agree. It is the type of game mode that certainly has the potential to ruin friendships if you play it too often, but I think it injects some welcome variety into the game. That said, it’s totally optional and the expansion has plenty of other improvements to justify buying it even if this game mode doesn’t prove to be a hit with your crowd.As a last, wonderful feature, the game box comes packaged with a tray that is capable of holding the materials not only for the expansion, but for the original game as well. This way you can actually store the original game and the expansion in a single box. It sounds like a small thing, but little touches and details like that are what separate the good game publishers from the great.
20 people found this helpful
ImisstherainsTZ –
The expansion allows for a 5th player, but also creates variations on the original version. The newly added roles and epidemic cards add a whole new level of tension to the game, allowing also for a 5th virus, bioterrorist, and all manner of further complications on your quest to save the world. If you think you’ve mastered Pandemic, you’re about to go on the brink…