Interview with Matt Leacock, game designer of Pandemic: “A virus knows no borders”.

“You are too old to waste time behind these silly games!”

How many times have we all heard these words?

Past a certain age, society wants us to play games that suit adulthood, like chess, Risk, or Monopoly. Competition-based games, then. But the all-kind-of-entertainment lovers’ community knows very well how some games can be educational as well as entertaining and engaging.

It is the case of the multi-award-winning cooperative board game Pandemic, described as “the best board game ever created” by The Guardian itself.

The title published by Z-Man Games puts the player in a skilled-members team committed to eradicating epidemics and keeping humanity safe from lethal outbreaks, which could result in a real pandemic. Teamwork is vital. Cooperation is fundamental.

So the same things should happen in reality. But these are strange times, and I asked Matt Leacock, the author himself who game designed Pandemic, what he thinks about it.

Hi, Matt. Thank you for having taken your time to answer. First of all, I would like to ask how came into your mind the idea of Pandemic?

I played a cooperative game in 2000 with my wife and we really enjoyed the experience — we both had a great time regardless of whether we won or lost. This was in direct contrast with some of the heavier competitive titles and negotiation games that we played together which sometimes lead to bitter feelings. I thought it’d be fun to come up with a cooperative game of my own.

I started designing Pandemic in 2004, not long after SARS had broken out. Pandemics were very much in the news and I thought that disease would make a great enemy: they’re unfeeling and uncaring and I thought that I might be able to model them simply with a deck of cards.

In all these years, what do you think your job with Pandemic taught you, and what were the surprises you received from this experience?

I’ve begun to realize how strange how often people equate games with competition. We cooperate so much in daily life when working out our problems. It’s only natural that we should have games that reflect this and let us explore that space.

The biggest surprise for me was how much the game took off and how much it’s changed my life to date. I was able to make a career shift as a result and have now been designing games full time for nearly six years.

As Pandemic’s game designer, what do you think of the current health emergency caused by COVID-19 around the world?

When I developed the game, pandemics seemed like a theoretical thing that could happen to some people, somewhere. But now, it’s all too real.

Did you find some differences between how players deal with pandemics in your game and how governments behaved?

The game assumes that the players will cooperate — that in order to defeat an enemy that threatens humanity, the players will obviously work together: communicate, coordinate, and cooperate in order to defeat it. Unfortunately, we’re not seeing that spirit reflected by many of our leaders. Some are more worried about public perception or have spent time and energy trying to tie it to a particular country — when in fact, the virus knows no borders.

Does this scenario change something for you or inspire you somehow?

Yes, it’s inspired me to create new cooperative games that tackle other issues.

During the great crisis, people often entertain themselves with games such as Pandemic, and the interest in the theme of apocalypse or catastrophes is higher than ever. Knowing this, what do you hope people can get from using these forms of entertainment and specifically from using the one you have designed?

At the very least, I’d hope it would provide them some entertainment or release while they’re sheltering in place with family. Some folks have mentioned that it helps them process what’s going on or even helps them feel empowered as they battle the disease on their table.

And nowadays, what is the biggest challenge faced by socially engaged game designers as you are?

I’m happy that this game has gotten people thinking and talking about the importance of cooperation when facing a grave threat. It’s important to note that my first priority when I designed it was to create an engaging and entertaining experience.

I think it’s a lot more challenging if you start from the other direction, when you’re trying to create social engagement and engender change. If you want to reach a broader audience, your game has to be entertaining and fun first and then ideally you communicate your message through the actions a player can take and via the framing you choose. It’s a similar challenge when designing “educational games.” Kids can smell them from a mile away and won’t seek them out because their first motivation (understandably) is to play and have fun.

Thank you again for your kindness, Matt.

My pleasure. Thanks!