Matt Leacock (lefft) and Jesús Torres Castro (Credit: JESSONSO BGG)

WHO IS MATT LEACOCK?

Matt Leacock has been a full-time board game designer since 2014. Prior to this, Matt was an experience designer in the community and communications sector. Although he only went full-time in 2014, Matt has been designing games throughout his career.

His major breakthrough came with the original Pandemic game in 2008. This saw players working together in order to prevent the spread of deadly diseases around the world. Matt Leacock has become known for family and co-operative games over the years.

Matt Leacock is an independent designer who will license his work to global board game publishers.

MATT LEACOCK BOARD GAMES

Matt Leacock's most famous board game franchises are Pandemic and the Forbidden Trilogy. The original Pandemic sees players working together as disease-fighting specialists whose mission is to treat disease hotspots while researching cures for each of four plagues before they get out of hand.

A groundbreaking Legacy edition of the game was released in 2015, with the help of Rob Daviau. This was a campaign game where new rules and components would be uncovered in each session, as well as cards being physically destroyed.

The Forbidden Trilogy is also a co-operative challenge, which players working together to survive in various settings. The trilogy includes; Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert and Forbidden Sky.

WHO IS MATT LEACOCK?

Matt Leacock has been a full-time board game designer since 2014. Prior to this, Matt was an experience designer in the community and communications sector. Although he only went full-time in 2014, Matt has been designing games throughout his career.

His major breakthrough came with the original Pandemic game in 2008. This saw players working together in order to prevent the spread of deadly diseases around the world. Matt Leacock has become known for family and co-operative games over the years.

Matt Leacock is an independent designer who will license his work to global board game publishers.

Matt Leacock (lefft) and Jesús Torres Castro (Credit: JESSONSO BGG)

MATT LEACOCK BOARD GAMES

Matt Leacock's most famous board game franchises are Pandemic and the Forbidden Trilogy. The original Pandemic sees players working together as disease-fighting specialists whose mission is to treat disease hotspots while researching cures for each of four plagues before they get out of hand.

A groundbreaking Legacy edition of the game was released in 2015, with the help of Rob Daviau. This was a campaign game where new rules and components would be uncovered in each session, as well as cards being physically destroyed.

The Forbidden Trilogy is also a co-operative challenge, which players working together to survive in various settings. The trilogy includes; Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert and Forbidden Sky.

DID YOU KNOW?

Before becoming a full-time board game designer, Matt Leacock worked as a user experience designer in Silicon Valley. He worked for huge companies such as AOL and Yahoo. Whilst still at Yahoo, Leacock would test early versions of Pandemic on his lunch break!

READ THE REVIEWS

Forbidden Sky Review

By Martin Lockett | 08/11/2018

Forbidden Sky is the third installment in Matt Leacock’s Forbidden series. It launched at Tabletop Gaming Live to huge fanfare, but is it good?

Forbidden Island Review

By Chris Scully | 15/05/2024

Forbidden Island is a solo or multiplayer co-op game in which the team of players work together to save explorers and recover relics from a sinking island.

Forbidden Desert Review

By Thomas Gorner | 22/06/2018

Forbidden Desert is a co-operative game designed by Matt Leacock and is the follow-up to 2010’s Forbidden Island. Is it worth your time? Let’s find out.

Pandemic Legacy Season 2 Spoiler-Free Review

By Selwyn Ward | 14/02/2018

Pandemic Legacy Season 2 is set in a world where all efforts to ameliorate the ravages of the dominant Season 1 plague were unsuccessful. Read our review.

Pandemic Review

By Martyn Poole | 21/03/2017

Have a read of our Pandemic Review. In this game you must work together in order to prevent the outbreak of four deadly diseases.

Pandemic Iberia Review

By The Game Shelf | 18/05/2022

Pandemic Iberia is set in 1848, in the Iberian peninsula, and players take on the roles of nurse, railwayman, rural doctor, sailor, and more.

Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu Review

By Ashley Perryman | 19/04/2017

Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu is a re-implementation of Pandemic with many of the same mechanics, and players take on the role of investigators.

MATT LEACOCK GAMES

PANDEMIC

£29.49Add to basket

Pandemic is a co-operative game where you must work together to identify and carry out the best strategy to getting the cures, while also fighting off the disease, managing its spread and keeping track of which cities could be infected next. This is the original in the now hugely-popular series from Z-Man Games.

PANDEMIC LEGACY S1

£61.99Add to basket

Pandemic Legacy Season One adds a progressive story with unlockable elements, rule additions, stickers and many secrets…as you progress through the story, your copy will become unique to you and your friends. This is a legacy game, co-designed by Rob Daviau. Along the way you'll be uncovering new rules!

PANDEMIC ANNIVERSARY

£44.62Out Of Stock

Celebrate a decade of curing diseases with the game that started it all! This 10th Anniversary edition of Pandemic includes new art, a special briefcase box, and more top quality components. A limited amount of copies also include painted character miniatures! This is a must-have game for fans of Matt Leacock and Pandemic.

FORBIDDEN ISLAND

£18.95Add to basket

The first game of the Forbidden Trilogy. Forbidden Island is a co-operative game where you and your team must work together to grab all four treasures before sprinting to Fool’s Landing, where you’ll fly off into the sunset. This island is constantly sinking in order to thwart your plans though.. so beware!

FORBIDDEN DESERT

£23.79Add to basket

The second game in the Forbidden Trilogy. In Forbidden Desert, players take on the roles of brave adventurers who must throw caution to the wind and survive both blistering heat and blustering sand in order to recover a legendary flying machine buried under an ancient desert city. This game introduces brand-new mechanisms.

FORBIDDEN SKY

£20.75Add to basket

The latest release in the Forbidden Trilogy. Forbidden Sky sees players working as a team to explore a mysterious platform that floats at the centre of a savage storm. Connect a circuit of cables to launch a secret rocket.. before you're all struck by lightening or blown off the platform to the depths below!

THUNDERBIRDS

£33.11Out Of Stock

In Thunderbirds, you and your friends take on the role of International Rescue - a secret organisation formed to render aid when all other means have failed. The Hood is threatening to trigger terrible disasters around the world in an effort to learn your secrets. You must work together to foil the evil scheme.

PANDEMIC: FALL OF ROME

£16.40Out Of Stock

The latest in the Pandemic series. Fall of Rome  takes players back in history to the time of the world’s greatest empire: Rome. A weakened military has left the borders open to invasion from countless tribes. You must recruit armies, fortify cities, forge alliances, and face off the invading hordes in battle.

PANDEMIC: RISING TIDE

£38.20Out Of Stock

In Rising Tide, it's your goal to avert tragedy by constructing four hydraulic structures in strategic locations that will help you defend the country from being reclaimed by the ocean. Storms are brewing and the seas are restless. It will take all your guile to control the flow of water long enough!

£33.11Out Of Stock

£16.40Out Of Stock

£38.20Out Of Stock

PANDEMIC

£29.49Add to basket

Pandemic is a co-operative game where you must work together to identify and carry out the best strategy to getting the cures, while also fighting off the disease, managing its spread and keeping track of which cities could be infected next. This is the original in the now hugely-popular series from Z-Man Games.

£29.49Add to basket

PANDEMIC LEGACY SEASON 1

£61.99Add to basket

Pandemic Legacy Season One adds a progressive story with unlockable elements, rule additions, stickers and many secrets…as you progress through the story, your copy will become unique to you and your friends. This is a legacy game, co-designed by Rob Daviau. Along the way you'll be uncovering new rules!

£61.99Add to basket

PANDEMIC 10TH ANNIVERSARY

£44.62Out Of Stock

Celebrate a decade of curing diseases with the game that started it all! This 10th Anniversary edition of Pandemic includes new art, a special briefcase box, and more top quality components. A limited amount of copies also include painted character miniatures! This is a must-have game for fans of Matt Leacock and Pandemic.

£44.62Out Of Stock

FORBIDDEN ISLAND

£18.95Add to basket

The first game of the Forbidden Trilogy. Forbidden Island is a co-operative game where you and your team must work together to grab all four treasures before sprinting to Fool’s Landing, where you’ll fly off into the sunset. This island is constantly sinking in order to thwart your plans though.. so beware!

£18.95Add to basket

FORBIDDEN DESERT

£23.79Add to basket

The second game in the Forbidden Trilogy. In Forbidden Desert, players take on the roles of brave adventurers who must throw caution to the wind and survive both blistering heat and blustering sand in order to recover a legendary flying machine buried under an ancient desert city. This game introduces brand-new mechanisms.

£23.79Add to basket

FORBIDDEN SKY

£20.75Add to basket

The latest release in the Forbidden Trilogy. Forbidden Sky sees players working as a team to explore a mysterious platform that floats at the centre of a savage storm. Connect a circuit of cables to launch a secret rocket.. before you're all struck by lightening or blown off the platform to the depths below!

£20.75Add to basket

THUNDERBIRDS

£33.11Out Of Stock

In Thunderbirds, you and your friends take on the role of International Rescue - a secret organisation formed to render aid when all other means have failed. The Hood is threatening to trigger terrible disasters around the world in an effort to learn your secrets. You must work together to foil the evil scheme.

£33.11Out Of Stock

PANDEMIC: FALL OF ROME

£16.40Out Of Stock

The latest in the Pandemic series. Fall of Rome  takes players back in history to the time of the world’s greatest empire: Rome. A weakened military has left the borders open to invasion from countless tribes. You must recruit armies, fortify cities, forge alliances, and face off the invading hordes in battle.

£16.40Out Of Stock

PANDEMIC: RISING TIDE

£38.20Out Of Stock

In Rising Tide, it's your goal to avert tragedy by constructing four hydraulic structures in strategic locations that will help you defend the country from being reclaimed by the ocean. Storms are brewing and the seas are restless. It will take all your guile to control the flow of water long enough!

£38.20Out Of Stock