Pandemic: Rising Tide
- Players
- 2-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 3 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 45 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 8+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.5 / 5
- Year
- 2017
About the game
Pandemic: Rising Tide reimagines the classic Pandemic system in Industrial-Age Netherlands, where players must build four hydraulic structures to save the country from encroaching floodwaters. Rising water levels are tracked with cubes across regions, and failing containment systems threaten to spill water across the map. Using action points, hand management, and unique player roles, teams must predict and manipulate the flow of water while racing to complete their engineering feats. It's a fresh, tense reinterpretation of cooperative crisis management.
Hobbli's Notes
Rising Tide takes the tried-and-true Pandemic formula and gives it a clever new twist with water flow replacing disease spread, which feels surprisingly fresh even for series veterans. The tension of watching regions fill with water while racing to build structures captures that same just-one-more-turn cooperative urgency. A strong choice for fans of the Pandemic series wanting a new challenge with a similar core feel.
What we like
- Fresh water-management twist on the familiar Pandemic system.
- Variable player roles encourage teamwork and specialization.
- Engaging tension as water levels constantly threaten to spill over.
- Solid solo mode for single-player play.
Keep in mind
- Downtime can build up as players calculate optimal moves.
- Similar core mechanisms to other Pandemic games may feel repetitive to series veterans.
- Losing can feel abrupt if water spirals out of control.
Who it's for
Great for groups of 2-5, ages 10+, who enjoy cooperative crisis-management games and are already fans of the Pandemic series.
