PANDEMIC

Okay, I screwed up. I didn't notice that the game discarded Cairo instead of Jakarta when I moved the Scientist (this is what happens when I'm trying to run a turn fast).

I've done that. It's so easy to not notice it.

As for the next move, I agree with putting it all on red.

PANDEMIC

The Medic will proceed to:

Move to Montreal

Fly to Beijing

Move to Shanghai

Move to Taipei

The Medic takes a train to Montreal. Then charters a flight on Gulfstream G650ER to Beijing. Then he goes on a voyage of curing all the way to Taipei.

Next, he draws Lima, and an event... Forecast!

That means we have the option to use use Forecast before drawing infections, so I will pause for consultation.

I don't think we want to use Forecast (or Airlift) unless we get an epidemic, but I'll open the floor just in case.

PANDEMIC

I don't think we want to use Forecast (or Airlift) unless we get an epidemic, but I'll open the floor just in case.

I think it's generally best to use right after an epidemic to get max value (and make sure an epidemic doesn't effectively cancel it), however in this case it may buy us the time we need by getting better cards in the discard pile.

PANDEMIC

Not a bad idea, but if we don't get the epidemic on the next turn then all six cards will end up in the discard anyhow. I guess I'm thinking of holding onto it until we get an epidemic to make sure the city hit by the epidemic doesn't come up immediately.

I guess I'm thinking of holding onto it until we get an epidemic to make sure the city hit by the epidemic doesn't come up immediately.

You can't ensure that. To do so, you'd have to play it in the middle of resolving the epidemic, which is only possible with Resilient Population card. And, IME over the last week, I'd say half the time the epidemic city gets hit immediately on the reshuffling of the discard pile. Or at least so frequently that I'm very suspicious of the shuffling mechanism.

PANDEMIC

You can't ensure that. To do so, you'd have to play it in the middle of resolving the epidemic, which is only possible with Resilient Population card.

Is that true? I was under the impression you could play any of the event cards like that. We did so with One Quiet Night too, as I recall.

And, IME over the last week, I'd say half the time the epidemic city gets hit immediately on the reshuffling of the discard pile. Or at least so frequently that I'm very suspicious of the shuffling mechanism.

Yeah, it's been a bit suspicious.

PANDEMIC

I think you can play an event card before each infection card so we can't change which city gets the three cubes for the epidemic, but we can change the next infection cards drawn after that.

PANDEMIC

You can't ensure that. To do so, you'd have to play it in the middle of resolving the epidemic, which is only possible with Resilient Population card.

I've gone hunting for a ruling on this, and this is what I have. A quote from Matt Leacock:

I need to post a correction. The final rules state that "at any time" means "any time" except between revealing a card and resolving it. So, an Epidemic consists of 1 "event" not 3 "events". However, the revised Resilient Population Event card now has an explicit exception on that card, stating that it can be played between steps 2 and 3 of an Epidemic.

So Resilient Population is indeed the only event that can interrupt resolving an epidemic. However, resolving the epidemic ends with having reshuffled the discard pile and putting it back on the top of the deck. At that point you could play an event card prior to doing the "Infect Cities" step, so you could play Forecast at that point. I think.

PANDEMIC

Yes, that's what the computer game lets you do.

PANDEMIC.

Huh, that's weird. I definitely feel like I have had Quiet Night and Forecast in hand and it didn't give me the option to pause before Infect Cities.