#STAYHOME ACTIVITY: HOW ABOUT PLAYING PANDEMIC #WITHME?

No seriously.

It’s a board game. You get to save the world. With your family. It’s true!

My family recently played the game. I went to the basement to look at the board game options, and there it was on the shelf, in between the Simpsons version of LIFE® and the Hitchcock version of Clue®. My first thought was, no, you’ve got to be kidding. But then I looked more closely and discovered it’s pretty wonderful. Here are some reasons why.

It’s a cooperative game.

The players all win or lose together. Sounds like the messaging we’ve been hearing, right? We’re all in this together.

Also, we get to be members of a disease control team and work together to develop cures and prevent disease outbreaks. Each player has a unique role to play. You can be a scientist, a medic, a contingency planner. Or how about a quarantine specialist? You can prevent disease cube placements, yup, and outbreaks in the city you are in and all cities connected to it. That’s fun!

Quarantine Specialist Role card

We get to travel the globe from the comfort of our kitchen table, with popcorn, and an age-appropriate beverage of your choice. Oh, and brush up on our geography!

And it’s available in the App Store for iPhone and iPad if you can’t run out to Toys’R’Us… oh wait, we really can’t run out to… oh nevermind.

A year ago, I would likely have skipped right over this box in the basement. But today, it was calling out to me. And it’s great to have a positive game to play with those older teens and returned college students that taps into the current situation and gives us a feeling of being part of the solution.

And you know what? We are, just by staying at home.