Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu – What Gamers are Saying…

Opinions are like crippling existential doubt; something everyone has, but often not something they’re willing to scream confidently about in the street. Zatu Games commits itself daily anew to eking them out, often with unparalleled levels of success.

Here are some on this year’s Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu from gamers around the web.

The Positive

Eskimosam says:

I love Panthulu! My girlfriend and I are pretty big Pandemic fans with multiple expansions and I was most excited to test this game at Gen Con last August.

I'm very pleased with just about everything this game brings. It does not feel like a blatant re-coloring of Pandemic. I would compare it to almost like a really elaborate expansion.

The game is still played very similarly. You travel around the board trying to keep the spread of something negative in check while assembling a hand of 5 same color cards.

However with the Elder Gods coming out and creating permanent effects, the shoggoths trying to summon the Elder Gods, the introduction of the sanity dice, and traveling changed to fit the 1920's theme makes for a different experience that I am extremely happy with. I would encourage any fan of Pandemic to check it out.

Mik0ri says:

It's more thematic and fun than vanilla Pandemic, and I will always prefer to play the Cthulhu version over vanilla. It's a really good game.

Bremic says:

I have played this twice in the last week. Both have been good games; have really enjoyed it. I think this is a better gateway co-op than Pandemic, and I really like the Awakening mechanic that makes every game different.

I think this is going to hit the table a lot over the coming months.

The Negative

decaffinatedplease says:

I've played it a couple times at my FLGS. I enjoyed it somewhat. As someone who finds Eldritch/Cthulhu theming kind of bland, I wasn't enraptured by it, but it's got some neat mechanical differences from Pandemic, and plays pretty tightly.

I think I'd only recommend it to someone who loves the theme, or loves Pandemic. It's fun, but ultimately unnecessary, and I could see it getting a few plays then being permanently shelved.

ccxvii says:

I wish it wasn’t called “Pandemic”. It feels like a cheap cash grab, abusing a well-known name for easy marketing.

jello_aka_aron ripostes:

Except it is Pandemic.. the gameplay is a very close variant on standard Pandemic. If anything the Cthulhu part is the cash-grab end, not Pandemic.

ccxvii finds common ground:

It may very well be “Pandemic” the game, but the name doesn’t fit Pandemic” the theme. At least you agree that is sounds like a cash grab.  

Elder Gods, thematic disagreements and the word ‘Panthulu’: a comprehensive overview of Reign of Cthulhu courtesy of actual real people.