A Game you Play

Pandemic Legacy (2015) wasn’t the first legacy boardgame, but it was the breakthrough moment when many players became aware of the format.

Imagine you play a game of monopoly (I’m so sorry) but throughout the game you make permanent changes to the board, adding shortcuts and roadblocks. You tear up some cards and add secret new cards to the chance deck. Next time you play, the game is slightly different, working through a campaign affected by your individual games. After a certain number of games, the campaign ends. 

Pandemic Legacy’s campaign lasts 12-18 games, after which you’re done. You can’t play the game anymore. You can’t even sell it, as you’ve modified and destroyed the components. 

I remember arguments that Pandemic Legacy was unappealing because you could only play it a dozen or so times. Why get this, when you can get the regular Pandemic game for half the price and play it hundreds of times?

A counterpoint stuck with me.

Most boardgames are games you could play a hundred times. Pandemic Legacy is a game you will play 12-18 times.

My shelf is full of TTRPGs, adventures, and campaigns that I could play hundreds of times. What makes a game something that I will play a few times? Despite my usual tastes, I don’t think this is about simplicity. 

What takes a game from “I’ve been meaning to run that some day” to “yeah, I ran that it was great”.

This is brewing for now, but expect more next time.

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