Last year, Asmodee and Z-Man Games released what was likely the most eerily timely game of 2020: Pandemic: Hot Zone North America. In the cooperative game, players race to cure and contain the spread of viruses that are moving across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
That title was the first in the “Hot Zone” series, designed to offer shorter, more portable versions of the popular Pandemic board game (which launched back in 2008 and has inspired more than a dozen spin-off titles). Now, a year after Hot Zone North America hit shelves — and as a very real pandemic continues to impact our world — Asmodee and Z-Man games have revealed the next title in the Hot Zone series, and it’s taking players across the pond.
Pandemic: Hot Zone Europe will be on sale starting on July 9 for $19.99. In the game, players work together to discover cures to three different diseases, while moving across a map of Europe. Mutation cards dictate the difficulty of the game.
Along with revealing the newest Hot Zone game’s location, today’s announcement explains that players can mix and match components between any current (and any future) Pandemic: Hot Zone titles. There are also special new “Hemispheres” rules, which combine two different Pandemic: Hot Zone titles for a larger, more complex game experience.
In light of the continuing global pandemic, game designer Matt Leacock and Z-Man Games Head of Studio Steve Kimball posted an interview that discusses the new game, its development, and the real-world parallels.
As with Hot Zone North America, players can try out the game ahead of its release with a print-and-play version, which is available to download now. The game rules and new Hemispheres rules are also available to download on zmangames.com.
