Infection: Humanity's Last Gasp Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
  • Parts Inventory
  • Game Board
  • Game Pieces
  • Cards
• Setting up the game
• Sequence of Play
• Status Report Phase
  • Mutation Section
  • Lab Section
  • Deaths Section
  • Status Report Deck or Molecule Pool is Exhausted
• Player Action Phase
  • Harvesting Proteins
  • Targeting and Destroying a Molecule
  • Lab Equipment & Personnel Cards
  • Placing and Using Personnel Card Tokens
  • Using Lab Equipment Cards
• Containment Phase
  • Containment Check
  • Dismissing Continuous Effect Status Report Cards
• Clean Up Phase
  • Reset Incubator
  • Available Lab Cards
  • Reset Exhausted Equipment Cards
  • Income
• Game End
• Variants
• Special Event Tokens
  • Good Events
  • Bad Events

Game Components

Parts Inventory

• One 24-page rules booklet
• 1 11" x 17" double-sided game board
• 31 Status Report Cards
• 12 Lab Equipment Cards
• 7 Lab Personnel Cards
• 31 5/8" round game pieces - Molecules
  • 18 three-protein Molecules
  • 8 four-protein Molecules
  • 5 five-protein Molecules
• 12 5/8" round game pieces - Special Event Tokens
• 16 3/4" square game pieces - Proteins
• 16 9/16" hex game pieces
  • 3 Harvest an Extra Protein Tokens
  • 1 Harvest All Proteins Token
  • 3 Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens
  • One 2 Additional Lab Equipment Uses Token
  • Three +2 on Containment Check Roll Tokens
  • One +3 on Containment Check Roll Token
  • 4 Status Report Card Tokens
• 1 Round Death Toll Marker
• 1 Round Funding Marker
• One 6-sided die (boxed edition only)

If any of these pieces are missing or damaged, please email us at [email protected].

Game Board

The game board has 2 sides for 2 levels of difficulty: Bacterial (Easy) and Viral (Hard). The player should initially start with the Bacterial side, then switch to the Viral side when they feel they have the hang of Infection. Both sides have the same basic layout. The left part of the board contains the Virus Area, the Incubator, the Death Toll Track, and the Funding Track. The right part of the board contains the Vaccine Area.

Death Toll Track The Death Toll Track marks how many deaths the Virus has caused and when the game ends.

Virus Area This 19-hex area is where the Virus is displayed. This is where you will be placing the round Molecule game pieces.

Funding Track The Funding Track shows the funds you currently have available to spend on Proteins, Lab Equipment and Lab Personnel.

Incubator This area is comprised of 4 spaces, each with a different cost: 0, 1, 2, and 4. The available Proteins to harvest for the current Turn are displayed in these 4 spaces.

Vaccine Area This area contains the 12 possible Antibodies that can be discovered to combat the Virus. Each Antibody matches a Molecule of the Virus. This area is where you will be placing the square Protein game pieces.

• Bacterial Level: There are 6 three-protein Molecules, 4 four-protein Molecules and 2 five-protein Molecules.
• Viral Level: There are 3 three-protein Molecules, 4 four-protein Molecules and 5 five-protein Molecules.

Game Pieces

The game's pieces are used to create and mutate the Virus, create the Antibodies to defeat the Virus and track the status of the Death Toll Track and Funding Track.

Molecules These are the basic building blocks of the Virus. They come in three, four and five-protein configurations.

Proteins These are the basic building blocks of the Vaccine. There are 5 different Proteins that can be used to create the Antibodies. There are 16 Protein pieces and in the corner of each piece it tells you how many there are of that piece.

Death Toll Marker This is a marker placed on the Death Toll Track to indicate game progression.

Funding Marker This double-sided marker is placed on the Funding Track to indicate the amount of available funds; one side has the symbol for funds while the other has that symbol and a +10 to allow for funds to reach the cap of 20.

Special Event Tokens There are 12 Special Event Tokens: 6 with positive effects and 6 with negative effects. These will be mixed in among the Molecule tokens as described in Setting up the game, pg. 6.

Status Report Card Tokens There are 4 Status Report Card Tokens: the Mutation, Lab and Death tokens are used with the Dr. Amanda Brown Personnel Card and the Any token is used with the Dr. Adam Schlinker Personnel Card. See Placing and Using Personnel Card Tokens.

Harvest Additional Protein Tokens There are three Harvest an Extra Protein Tokens, which are used with the Dr. Eugene Monroe Personnel Card, and the Harvest All Proteins Token that is used with the Dr. Sylvia Goldstein Personnel Card. See Placing and Using Personnel Card Tokens.

Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens There are three Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens, which are used with the Dr. Robert Foster Personnel Card, and the 2 Additional Lab Equipment Uses Token that is used with the Dr. Sylvia Goldstein Personnel Card. See Placing and Using Personnel Card Tokens.

Containment Check Tokens There are three +2 on Containment Check Roll Tokens, which are used with the Dr. Melinda Yee Personnel Card, and the +3 on Containment Roll Token that is used with the Dr. Adam Schlinker Personnel Card. See Placing and Using Personnel Card Tokens.

Cards

There are three different types of cards used in the game: Status Report Cards, Lab Equipment Cards and Lab Personnel Cards.

Status Report Cards These 31 cards are used to potentially mutate the Virus and alter gameplay each Turn. They can increase the size or change the complexity of the Virus based on the Mutation Section. The Lab Section can have positive or negative impacts on Lab Personnel or Lab Equipment Cards depending upon the Status Report Card drawn. The final section of the Status Report Cards, the Deaths section can impact progression on the Death Toll Track. Some Status Report Cards will have a continuous effect, marked by a clock symbol in the corner. Each Status Report Card is unique. Each card shows a Card Title, a Mutation Effect, a Lab Effect and a Deaths Effect.

Lab Equipment Cards These 12 cards are used to aid in the researching and creating of Antibodies to target the Virus. There are 6 card sets with 2 cards per set; owning both identical cards in a set guarantees your equipment will work successfully. You can have as many Lab Equipment Cards as you can afford. Each one has a cost that must be paid out of the Funding Track. There are 3 levels of equipment: Mark I, Mark II and Mark III. Each card shows an Equipment Name, its Mark number, Special Rules, Cost & Success Chance and space for Acquired Tokens.

Lab Personnel Cards These 7 cards are also used to provide aid in defeating the Virus. Each one has a cost that must be paid out of the Funding Track. Some personnel benefit from working together, while others cannot work in the same lab at all. Each card shows a Personnel Image, Personnel Name, Background Text, Funding Value and Special Rules.

Setting up the game

Follow these steps to set up the game:

1. Place the board in front of you. Place the Bacterial side up for playing the Easy level game and the Viral side up for the Hard level game.

2. Place the Death Toll marker on the Death Toll Track (1) and place the Funding marker on the Funding Track (place the Marker on the 5 space with the +10 side up).

3. Depending upon which difficulty you are playing:

   • Bacterial: Remove the M, N and O Molecules from the game.
   • Viral: Remove the A, B and C Molecules from the game.

   Place the remaining Molecules into a cup to create your Molecule Pool.

4. Draw 1 Molecule at random and place it on the center hex of the Virus Area (A1) face up. Randomly select 6 more Molecules and place them face up on the hexes of the middle ring (B1-B6). This is your starting Virus.

5. Divide the Special Event Tokens into two piles, one for the 6 positive tokens (blue) and the other for the 6 negative tokens (red); mix these piles separately and then draw two tokens from each and add them to the Molecule Pool. Set aside the remaining 8 Special Event Tokens, as they will not be used during this play through.

6. Shuffle the Status Report Cards and place them face down to the left of the game board, below the Molecule Pool.

7. Take all the square Protein pieces and place them in a second cup to create your Protein Pool. Then draw out 1 token at a time and place one face up in each of the 4 Incubator spaces (0, 1, 2 and 4), starting with 0. These will be the 4 Proteins available for you to harvest on your first Turn.

8. Shuffle the Lab Equipment and Lab Personnel Cards together and place them face down to the right of the game board to create your Lab Deck. Then, without looking at them, draw the top 5 cards and set them aside; they will not be used during this play through of the game. Now draw the next 3 cards and place them face up next to the Lab Deck. These will be the cards available for you to buy or hire in your first Turn.

9. Take the 4 Status Report Card Tokens, 4 Harvest Extra Protein Tokens, 4 Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens and the 4 Containment Check Tokens and place them near the Lab Deck.

The Viral board is on the reverse side and has a red color scheme to distinguish it from the Bacterial side.

Sequence of Play

A Turn represents a round of play. Each Turn consists of a number of "phases" conducted in the order listed:

1. Status Report Phase: You must flip over the top card of the Status Report Deck and perform—if possible—its actions. Then place the card, face up, beside the deck. This will create the discard pile.
2. Player Action Phase: You can now perform a series of actions in any order you wish in order to research and create the Vaccine.
3. Containment Phase: You will roll a die to determine if you stay in the same space or advance to the next space on the Death Toll Track.
4. Clean Up Phase: Reset all the components in preparation for the next Turn.

Repeat this sequence, playing all the Turns required to finish the game.

Status Report Phase

You must flip over the top card of the Status Report deck and perform—if possible—its actions. Each card has a unique title, plus 3 sections: Mutation, Lab and Deaths.

Mutation Section

Place Molecules on the Virus Area The Mutation Section of the Status Report Card will instruct you to draw 0, 1, 2 or 3 Molecule(s) from the Pool and place them on the Virus Area. There are 3 different types of instruction when it comes to placing Molecules:

1. Place Molecule on a specific hex: Most commonly you are instructed to place new Molecules on a specific hex; if the specified hex already contains a Molecule, then you must place the existing Molecule face down in a discard pile and draw a new Molecule to replace it.
2. Place Molecule on a vacant hex: Some cards will instruct you to place Molecules on the lowest vacant hex(es) of a specific ring; as an example, if the card says to place a Molecule on the lowest vacant C-hex and C1, C2 and C5 are occupied, place the Molecule on C3. If the entire specified ring is occupied ignore the Mutation action this Turn.
3. Replace an existing Molecule: Some cards instruct you to replace a Molecule on the highest occupied hex of a specific ring; as an example, if the card says replace the highest occupied B-hex and B1, B3 and B5 are occupied, place the new Molecule on B5 and put the old Molecule in the face down Molecule discard pile. If there are no occupied hexes in the specified ring ignore the Mutation action this Turn.

Drawing a Special Event Token If 1 or more of the tokens you draw from the Pool is a Special Event Token, then refer to Special Event Tokens and follow the instructions. You must then keep on drawing tokens until you find a Molecule which you can place on the Virus.

Lab Section

On each Status Report Card you will encounter two different types of Lab events: Lab-Wide Effects and Personnel Disputes.

Lab-Wide Effects The Lab Section of the Status Report Card can affect the Player Action Phase of your Turn. The effects only last for a single Turn unless noted on the Status Report Card by a clock symbol in the corner. There are 4 different types of effects:

1. Positive Effects: These are effects that are beneficial to the player, such as allowing a player to harvest 3 Proteins from the Incubator this Turn. These benefits are optional. You do not need to employ the person mentioned on the Status Report Card to gain the benefit.
2. No Lab Event: The description in the Lab Section has no impact on the Turn.
3. Negative Effect: These are effects that are detrimental to the player, such as not being able to use Mark III Lab Equipment this Turn. These effects are not optional. If a Lab Event says that you cannot use specific Personnel or Equipment Cards—and you own them—then Turn them sideways for this Turn to remind yourself you cannot use them.
4. Continuous Negative Effect: These are negative effects that can last for several Turns until the player can dismiss the card; Effect Cards with a Continuous Negative Effect have a clock icon in the upper right corner of the card. Only the Lab Section is continuous. This card will be placed in front of you as a reminder of the effect. See Dismissing Continuous Effect Status Report Cards for more information.

Personnel Disputes If the Lab Section of the Status Report Card describes a personnel dispute between two Personnel Cards, you may lose the ability to use one of your Intern Personnel Cards this Turn. If at any time during this Turn you have or acquire both Personnel Cards mentioned then you are affected by the Personnel Dispute in the Lab Section; this means a purchase made during this Turn that results in you having both Personnel Cards causes the effect to begin immediately. Place the Status Report Card on top of the affected Intern Personnel Card so it slightly overlaps; this will remind you that you cannot use the power of this Intern Personnel Card associated with the stated Lead Scientist until the effect ends.

Deaths Section

Containment Check Modifier The Deaths Section of the Status Report Card can modify the player's die roll during the Containment Phase. See Containment Phase for more information.

Status Report Deck or Molecule Pool is Exhausted

Status Report Deck is Exhausted If you drew the last Status Report Card from the deck at the beginning of this Turn, reshuffle the discard pile and place it face down by the board to create a new Status Report Card Deck.

Molecule Pool is Exhausted If you took the last Molecule from the Pool while fulfilling the Mutation Section of the Status Report Card then take the Molecules from the discard pile, place them in the Molecule Pool and mix them up. If there are no Molecules in the discard pile ignore the Mutation Section of the Status Report Card.

Player Action Phase

It is during this phase that you can perform a series of actions, in any order, to research and create the Funding.

Harvesting Proteins

Each Player Action Phase you may harvest 1 or 2 of the available Proteins displayed in the Incubator; there is a harvest limit of 2 Proteins per Player Action Phase unless you have a Lab Equipment or Personnel Card specifying otherwise. Above each Incubator space is the cost to harvest that particular Protein, ranging from 0 to 4 funds. You may harvest a Protein at any point during your Player Action Phase; as an example, in a single Player Action Phase you may harvest a Protein, use a Lab Personnel Card and then harvest another Protein.

Paying for Proteins After selecting the 1 or 2 Proteins you wish to harvest, move the Funding Marker to accurately reflect the amount of funds spent. For example, if you harvested the Proteins on the 1 and 2 spaces, then move the Funding Marker so you have 3 less Funding than you had prior to your harvest.

Placing Proteins After you harvest a Protein you must immediately place that Protein on an unoccupied space of an incomplete Antibody in the Vaccine Area. You cannot set the Protein aside and place it later.

Completing an Antibody: If you complete an Antibody by placing a Protein in its last unoccupied space you may be able to target and destroy the matching Molecule(s) on the Virus.

Targeting and Destroying a Molecule

You may target and destroy an unlimited number of Molecules each Player Action Phase if you meet 2 criteria:

• You must have completed the corresponding Antibody (each space is occupied by the appropriate Protein or there is a Molecule(s) stacked on it or a Lab Equipment or Personnel Card allows for an exception) and
• The matching Molecule in the Virus Area must have at least 3 exposed sides on the hex it occupies; this means that of the six possible hexes that border the Molecule's hex, only three of them may be occupied by another Molecule. Note that the "corner" hexes of the C ring always have 3 exposed sides.

Targeting Molecule Example: You have completed Antibodies for the B and G strains of the Virus. The Molecules with the blue circles are viable targets this Turn. The Molecule with the red "X" is not a viable target this Turn. This G Molecule is a viable target once the B Molecule next to it is removed; it will then have 3 open spaces adjacent to it and fulfill the targeting requirements. This B Molecule fulfills all needed requirements of being a target. Molecules on the corners of the "C" ring have 3 open spaces next to them at all times therefore this B Molecule is a viable target. This G Molecule does not have 3 empty spaces adjacent to it and therefore is not a viable target.

Use the following scenarios to determine what to do with the Molecule once it is targeted and destroyed by your Vaccine:

• First of its Kind: If this is the first time a Molecule of this kind has been targeted and destroyed by your Vaccine, take the round Molecule piece and place it face up in the center of its matching Antibody in the Vaccine Area. Remove the Proteins from that Antibody and place them in the Protein discard pile. You have successfully created an anti-viral that attacks one of the deadly strains of the Virus!
• Been There, Done That: If this Molecule type has been targeted and destroyed by your anti-virals before (indicated by the corresponding Antibody having a Molecule game piece on it) then stack the Molecule on the previous Molecule in the Vaccine Area of the board. If you have stacked the last copy of that Molecule then you have successfully wiped out one of the deadly strains of the Virus!

Collect Funding: You only receive Funding from targeting and destroying Molecules on the same Turn you complete the Antibody. Using the Antibody to target Molecules on subsequent Turns after its creation does not generate Funding. After targeting a Molecule with your vaccine, collect Funding equal to the number shown on the hex the Molecule was occupying; the A-hex is worth $6, all B-ring hexes are worth $4 and C-ring hexes are worth $2. Your total Funding may not exceed $20 at any time. You can receive funding for multiple copies of the same Molecule on the same Turn as you completed the Antibody by targeting each one. For example, if two copies of the B Molecule are on the Virus when you complete the B Antibody and both can be legally targeted, then you can collect Funding for both. If another B Molecule is placed on the Virus the next Turn, you cannot receive Funding for targeting and destroying the new instance of the Molecule.

Funding Values ($20 Max.)

• A-Hex: $6
• B-Hexes: $4
• C-Hexes: $2

Lab Equipment & Personnel Cards

Purchasing Cards Each Turn, from the 3 available face-up Lab Cards, you may purchase 1 Lab Equipment Card or hire 1 Personnel Card. Each card has a Funding value listed that must be deducted from your available Funding in order to claim the card. You cannot claim more than 1 card per Turn whether or not you have Funding to purchase more cards. If you are buying the first copy of a Lab Equipment Card, then pay the 1st Unit cost; if you are buying the second copy, pay the 2nd Unit cost. Identical Lab Equipment Cards can be stacked so they overlap each other; this creates a set and shows that you may use the 2nd Unit benefit.

NOTE: You cannot have both the Dr. Amanda Brown and the Dr. Melinda Yee Personnel Cards at the same time; if you have one of the cards and wish to acquire the other, the one you currently own must be removed from the game.

Placing and Using Personnel Card Tokens

The Six Personnel Cards (four Lead Scientists and two shared Interns) have tokens that are available immediately on purchase. Note: You must have the associated Lead Scientist to use an Intern's power token. However, you cannot use the Lead Scientist's token and the associated Intern's token on the same Turn. Also you cannot use both of an Intern's tokens on the same Turn. You may use the power token of more than one Lead Scientist in a Turn. For example, you could purchase an extra Protein using Dr Monroe and add +2 to your Containment Check roll using Dr Melinda Yee on the same Turn.

Status Report Card Tokens: Hiring Lead Scientist Dr. Amanda Brown gives you access to Status Report Card Tokens that can be used to ignore events. You place the Mutation, Lab and Deaths Status Report Card Tokens on her card; after drawing a Status Report Card you may use one of these tokens to ignore that specific section, at which point the token is discarded.

If you have Dr. Amanda Brown then also having the Intern Dr. Adam Schlinker gives you access to the Any Status Report Card Token, which allows you to discard the token to ignore any one section of the current Status Report Card. You place the Any Status Report Card Token on this card.

Harvest Extra Protein Tokens: Hiring Lead Scientist Dr. Eugene Monroe gives you access to the Harvest Extra Protein Tokens that can be used to harvest extra Proteins from the Incubator. You place the three Harvest an Extra Protein Tokens on his card; on your Turn you may discard one of these tokens to harvest a 3rd Protein, providing you have sufficient Funding to afford it.

If you have Dr. Eugene Monroe then also having the Intern Dr. Sylvia Goldstein gives you access to the Harvest All Proteins Token, which allows you to discard the token to harvest all available Proteins that Turn. You place the Harvest All Proteins Token on this card.

Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens: Hiring Lead Scientist Dr. Robert Foster gives you access to the Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens that can be used to grant additional Lab Equipment uses on your Turn. You lay the three Additional Lab Equipment Use Tokens on his card; on your Turn you may discard one of these tokens to use a 2nd set of Lab Equipment Cards.

If you have Dr. Robert Foster then also having the Intern Dr. Sylvia Goldstein gives you access to the 2 Additional Lab Equipment Uses Token, which allows you to discard the token to use up to 3 sets of Lab Equipment cards during that Turn. You place the 2 Additional Lab Equipment Uses Token on this card.

Containment Check Roll Tokens: Hiring Lead Scientist Dr. Melinda Yee gives you access to the Containment Check Roll Tokens that can be used to add +2 or +3 to your Containment Check die rolls for a given Turn. You place the three +2 on Containment Check Roll Tokens on her card; on your Turn you may discard one of these tokens before rolling your Containment Check to add +2 to the die roll for that Turn.

If you have Dr. Melinda Yee then also having the Intern Dr. Adam Schlinker gives you access to the +3 on Containment Check Roll Token, which allows you to discard the token before rolling your Containment Check to add +3 to the die roll for that Turn. You place the +3 on Containment Check Roll Token on this card.

NOTE: Once you have used up all of the tokens of a particular Personnel Card, they cannot be renewed. Remove the now cleared Personnel Card from the game. You can keep Intern cards if they have not worked with both their associated Lead Scientists.

Using Lab Equipment Cards

You may only use 1 set of Lab Equipment Cards per Turn unless you also have the Dr. Robert Foster card. Once you choose to use a set of Lab Equipment Cards take the following steps:

• Exhaust the Card Set: show the card set has been used by turning it sideways. Exhausted cards are refreshed during the Clean Up Phase, as detailed in Reset Exhausted Equipment Cards.
• Determine Success: see if you effectively used the equipment:
  • 1 Card of Set: roll the 6-sided die; succeed on 4 or higher.
  • Complete Set: Automatic success.
• Apply Results: if the roll is successful, apply the effects of the Lab Equipment Card set. If the roll fails, you are unable to use the effects of that card set and cannot attempt to use another set this Turn unless you have the Dr. Robert Foster card.

Containment Phase

Containment Check

After you have performed all possible player actions, determine if you can contain the Virus. Three factors influence the result:

• The Deaths Section on the current Status Report Card
• Current Stage of the Death Toll Track: Outbreak, Epidemic or Pandemic.
• Virus Modifier: if there are any Molecules on the C ring of the Virus.

First, check the Deaths Section of the current Status Report Card; if it says "You must move the Death Toll Marker forward one space this Turn" then this occurs instead of rolling.

If you are not forced to move forward on the Death Toll Track, roll a 6-sided die and modify the roll as necessary.

NOTE: Rolling a natural 6 is always successful, regardless of the modifiers.

Virus Modifier: If there are any Molecules in the C-ring then you subtract one (-1) from the die roll.

Deaths Section Modifier: Apply any modifiers from the Deaths Section of the Status Report Card.

Containment Check Difficulty: Check which stage of the Death Toll Track you are currently on to determine the outcome of the Containment Check roll:

• Stage I - Outbreak: roll of 3 or higher
• Stage II - Epidemic: roll of 4 or higher
• Stage III - Pandemic: roll of 5 or higher

If the Containment Check roll is successful, then the Death Toll Marker remains in place.

If the Containment Check roll is unsuccessful, then move the Death Toll Marker ahead one space.

If the Death Toll Marker reaches the final space on the Death Toll Track then the game ends and the player loses.

Example: The Death Toll Marker is on space 5 of the Death Toll Track, which means the player is in Stage II - Epidemic and must roll a 4 or higher to remain in the same spot. They roll a 5. Next they check if there are any Molecules in the C ring; Hex C5 contains a Molecule, which means they subtract 1 from the current die roll, resulting in a 4. Next they check the Deaths section of the current Status Report Card, which says to subtract 1 from your roll on the Death Toll Track this Turn. This brings the roll down to 3, meaning the player failed the Containment Check roll and must move the Death Marker ahead one space to square 6 on the Death Toll Track.

Dismissing Continuous Effect Status Report Cards

If you have a Continuous Effect Status Report Card in play then you must roll to dismiss it after resolving the Containment Check above. Roll the 6-sided die; on a roll of 4 or higher remove the card. If you fail, then the card remains in place for the next Turn.

Clean Up Phase

After you have performed all possible actions, reset all the components for the next Turn.

Reset Incubator

Remove the remaining unharvested Proteins from the Incubator and place them in the discard pile. Then draw 1 token at a time out of the Protein Pool and place one face up in each of the 4 Incubator spaces (0, 1, 2 and 4), starting with 0.

If there are not enough Proteins in the Pool to fill all four Incubator slots then take the Proteins from the discard pile and use them to refresh the Protein Pool; after mixing them well, draw Proteins one at a time to fill the remaining spaces.

If there are no available Proteins to restock any of the spaces in the Incubator then see the Game End outcome Out of Options.

Available Lab Cards

If you purchased a Lab Card this Turn, then draw the top card from the Lab Deck and place it next to the 2 face-up cards. If you did not purchase a Lab Card this Turn, you may choose 1 of the 3 face-up cards to discard and then replace it with the top card from the Lab Deck; any cards removed in this way are placed at the bottom of the Lab Deck for future reuse.

Reset Exhausted Equipment Cards

If any of your Lab Equipment Card sets were exhausted (turned sideways) during the Turn, reset them (turn them vertical again).

Income

While playing the Bacterial difficulty your lab will gain Funding at the following rates:

• Stage I: Add $2 to the Funding Track; this is your base income for this Turn.
• Stage II: Add $1 to the Funding Track; this is your base income for this Turn.
• Stage III: No base income this Turn.

NOTE: There will be no income when playing the Viral difficulty.

Game End

The game can end in one of four ways:

Death Toll in the Billions The final space of the Death Toll Track is reached and the Virus still exists. If even one Molecule is left in the Virus Area you lose: the disease runs rampant and destroys all of humanity in hellish pain.

Virus With A Brain If all 19 hexes in the Virus Area are populated with Molecules at the end of the Player Action Phase, the game ends. The disease has mutated beyond the ability of scientists to combat it. See above for repercussions.

Out of Options If you reach the end of your Turn (Clean Up Phase) and there are no available Proteins to restock the Incubator—because they are all placed on Antibodies in the Vaccine Area that have yet to target a Molecule—then you lose due to lack of resources.

The Masses Rejoice You have created an anti-viral cocktail that has cleared the Virus before the Death Toll Track reached the final space. Yay! You have successfully squashed the disease and save humanity, paving your way to a Nobel Prize.

Variants

Lab Equipment Rental Because of severe budget cuts your DPC lab is leasing its Lab Equipment instead of outright purchasing it. In addition to paying the upfront cost of the Lab Equipment Cards, you must also pay $1 Funding for every use of a Lab Equipment set, regardless of success or failure.

Severe Mutation The Virus is mutating at an alarming rate, with multiple strains occurring within the same Molecule. In the regular rules, you only receive Funding from targeting and destroying Molecules on the same Turn you complete the Antibody. During Severe Mutation, on subsequent Turns after its creation you must recreate the Antibody using newly harvested Proteins to target a new copy of the same Molecule; targeting new strains of the Molecule in this way will give you additional Funding, unlike in the regular rules.

Tightening the Belt Begin the game with a funding of $10 instead of $15.

Special Event Tokens

There are 12 Special Event Tokens: 6 with positive effects and 6 with negative effects. The Tokens' face up side displays an icon which the player can look up on the lists below for its meaning. After performing the action required by the Special Event Token, set the token aside; it will not be used for the rest of the game.

Good Events

1. Anti-viral Cocktail: By creating a mixture of various anti-viral drugs, you manage to hold off the disease for a while. Keep this token and play it to stop one advancement on the Death Toll Track, then discard it.
2. Incubator Bonus: For a limited time Protein production is better and cheaper. Keep this token and play it to harvest all 4 available Proteins for free and then discard it.
3. Celebrity Cause: Celebrities raise money for research by making this a "disease celeb." Receive $5 in Funding, up to $20, and discard this token.
4. Molecule Swap: You may swap one Molecule in a C-hex with a Molecule on a B-hex. Keep this token and discard it when you want to swap Molecules.
5. Equipment Bonus: For a limited time the Lab Equipment is guaranteed to work. Keep this token and play it to successfully use 1 Lab Equipment Card without having to roll for it. Discard after use.
6. Lab Bonus: For a limited time you are able to buy equipment or hire a scientist at half the cost, rounded down. Keep this token and play it to buy/hire an available Lab Card at half the cost, rounded down. Discard after use.

Bad Events

1. Local Government Interference: Various local governments instruct their citizens to take preventative measures that only exacerbate the spread of the contagion. Place this token on the next space of the Death Toll Track. When you land on it, subtract 1 from your next Death Toll Track roll (refer to Containment Check; combines with the other Death Toll modifiers), then discard it. Ignore if already on space 9.
2. Budget Cuts: The Viral outbreak has affected the economy and has caused budget cuts. Subtract $5 from your Funding and discard this token. Ignore if at $0 Funding.
3. I Quit!: One of your scientists cannot work under all this pressure and resigns. Immediately remove 1 Lab Personnel Card of your choice from those you own from the game, then discard this token. Ignore if you do not have a Personnel Card.
4. Critical Malfunction: One of your pieces of Lab Equipment breaks down and cannot be repaired. Immediately remove 1 Lab Equipment Card of your choice from the game, then discard this token. Ignore if you do not have a Lab Equipment Card.
5. Clerical Error: Double checking your data you discover 1 of the Antibodies you thought was successful really wasn't. Immediately select 1 of your completed Antibodies and return all the Molecules stacked on it to the Molecule Pool and then discard this token. Ignore if you have not completed an Antibody that has successfully targeted a Molecule.
6. General Strike: Your scientists are sick and tired of the working conditions at the lab and have gone on strike. You cannot use the powers of any of your Personnel Cards this Turn. Discard this token at the end of this Turn. Ignore if you do not have any Personnel Cards.