Have you ever found a board game deal that's so good, it almost feels like a trick? This might be one of those cases. Pandemic: Hot Zone - North America takes the original experience and breaks it down to a smaller, easier-to-play version, while also spinning the focus onto a cure rather than complete eradication. Like the 2008 core game, it's a neat two-to-four player experience that gives your team tactics a serious workout, and you can grab it for the low price of $1.99 right now. For reference, that's 10% of the retail price.
We've long since enshrined Pandemic in our all time list of the best board games around, as it's still the finest co-op game you can buy: a tense and evolving puzzle that constantly forces you and your friends or family to work together (socializing, ew). No surprise, then, that an intense, zoomed in version would work excellently too. Hot Zone - North America is a race against time as you pray you'll find a cure and save humanity, or fail in doing so, as a team. No pressure, of course.
Our Pandemic review praises the co-op experience, with Tim Linward scoring it a 9/10 and saying it "Lives up to the hype". Hot Zone - North America is a succinct and simplified adaptation that shares much of its older, bigger sibling's DNA, while shaking things up with different set character actions. We also get new Mutation Cards that affect how the virus spreads, making your efforts to control the situation even more difficult.
All this boils down to a svelte 30 minutes (or less) of playtime, shaving at least 10 to 15 minutes off the full fat original game. It does, of course, narrow the focus to just one continent - but there's a Hot Zone: Europe version to try for a change. Plus, if you own both, Z-Man Games has published rules that let you combine them to enable new play modes.
Pandemic: Hot Zone - North America might not have the same landmark prestige (or outstanding reviews) as its ol' papa Pandemic - but it remixes the formula nicely and still nails that cooperative spirit that's fueled so many people's entries into the board games hobby.
However, even if I haven't fully convinced you, the fact that it's so cheap should make it a lot easier to purchase. Right now, Pandemic: Hot Zone - North America is just $1.99 at Miniature Market. That's the kind of discount that makes you think someone made a typo when writing out the price - but we didn't! Click that button to buy it, you'll see!
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