It’s back and sexier than ever! My family’s favorite deck building game – Pathogenesis – expands to include an “adult” version as it launches a 2^nd printing on Kickstarter February 12, 2019. No longer is your custom-created microbial army limited to attacking skin, gastrointestinal (GI), or respiratory (lung) systems. Instead, Pathogenesis gets sexy with specialized sexually transmitted disease (STD) microbes attacking the Genitourinary tract (GU). In turn, the human body comes to version 2.0 with a strengthened immune system that makes it harder than ever to beat. Which tract will you colonize? Will you succeed in penetrating the body’s barriers and dismantle the active immune system? Play and see.

What is Pathogenesis?

Pathogenesis is a deck-building game where you are tasked with creating a pathogen to *cue scary music * attack and destroy an organ system of the human body. In Pathogenesis everyone starts with the same number of starter cards (a mix of DNA cards and microbes). Each turn you can select a new trait (that enters your draw pile for future turns), add traits from your current hand to your pathogen pile, attack, and redraw. As you successfully attack the human body, you gain DNA points that can be used to buy more traits, toxins, or environmental conditions. You win when all the body “damage tokens” are gone. In 2016, the first edition of Pathogenesis was fully funded and blew through its expansion goals. Games bought for reselling on gaming sites were sold out within months. Now it’s BACK and stronger than ever!

Version 2.0: A stronger immune system and a new site of attack?

Game designers, Loren and Dr. Jamie Cunningham, originally created Pathogenesis as a fun way to teach students in Jamie’s college classes about immunology and microbiology. In real life, randomness is part of the reason that some people survive severe epidemics and why other times people die from normally non-threatening microbes. Thus, version 1.0 included a degree of chance in how the immune system worked. While that randomness is more realistic to the human-microbial interaction, it frustrated human players.

Version 2.0 has tweaked the cards to create a “less random, more dangerous immune system”.

Changes to four of the immune response cards make for a more consistent attack level in the body’s second phase of defense. Antibody tokens are also updated, so now they have their own attack value. I can vouch for that! With version 1.0, my husband and I could pretty reliably find a strategy for one of us to take down the body when we were playing against each other. With version 2.0 – it took several rounds of being beaten by the body before either one of us were successful! The immune system is certainly stronger! Now playing cooperatively – us against the body – is more successful than playing competitively to see who can take the body down first.

Pathogenesis STD adds a fourth body site, the genitourinary tract, up for attack.

Pathogenesis 2.0 now has an X-rated aspect to it. In keeping with the “adult” theme, the cards and game pieces for the GU system are in a black box separate from the rest of the game. As parents of young children, the Cunningham’s were concerned some players might be uncomfortable with the GU material.  However, they couldn’t resist the cool science! The GU colonizing microbes and their methods are unique to that body tract. Students in my college classroom certainly perk up when sexually transmitted diseases are discussed, so there’s another boon. But as a parent, I appreciate it too. Talking about sex, much less sexually transmitted disease, with my kids is awkward, but important. Having a scientific and educational backdrop like playing Pathogenesis STD provides a relaxed space for sex education discussions to emerge. 

Why I love Pathogenesis

1. Fun, fun, fun. Pathogenesis is a solid deck-building game developed by two avid gamers. It’s a good combination of strategy with a little chance. With multiple ways to play it (single or multiplayer; collaborative or competitive) it’s perfect for a diversity of settings. We took version 1.0 on a rainy summer retreat, where it quickly became a family favorite. I, of course, had to geek out about some of the microbes and their traits. We’ve now play tested version 2.0. The immune system certainly is stronger and harder to beat. The game still loads of fun.
2. Accessible science for all. From setting up gameplay to beating the body (assuming you do), the scientific details and the educational aspect of Pathogenesis is clear. Do you need to know or even be interested in microbiology or immunology to play? Not at all and that’s the beauty of this game. The game is accessible to anyone. If anything, playing this game might make a person respect their body’s many defenses (and take care of themselves) more. The accessibility also means that Pathogenesis is good for family game night, a science classroom, or maybe a STEM game night. Will you learn something from playing Pathogenesis? I’d be surprised if you didn’t!
3. The perfect conditions for pathogenesis or “Why do you get sick sometimes and not others?” Here’s where science and strategy meet in this game. There are really three facets of host-pathogen interactions. 1) Specificity – which microbe, what traits they have, where they are attacking, 2) Context – the condition of the body (fever, poor diet, beneficial microbes), 3) the multi-pronged immune system of the body – barrier, innate, and adaptive responses. To defeat the body, you need to figure out the right combination of the three. In Pathogenesis 2.0, the “Sex-spansion” re-emphasizes the solid science of host-pathogen interactions in yet another part of the body.

Why I personally purchased 2.0 + expansion. 

After test playing Pathogenesis 1.0, I supported the Kickstarter by purchasing a game for my family. A good move on my part, as it’s now a family favorite. This year, we’re purchasing 2.0 and the expansion for our 1.0 copy. Now that I’m teaching microbiology each Fall semester at Towson, I’m looking forward to trying to “flip” my classroom using the game. There are fabulous classroom kits, too that allow up to 16 students to play at one time! (Yes, I’m very tempted and hope to get some funding for that). You can even order additional starter decks for only $5. Since Dr. Jamie created Pathogenesis for her classroom, she’s looking forward to working with other educators to get the game into their classrooms.

Pathogenesis version 2.0 and the “sexpansion” make for fun, challenging game play with solid microbiology and immunology science at its core. Make your pledge now, while you can!

Disclaimer:  The game developers lent me a reviewer’s copy to test. I purchased an update for my family’s 1.0 version and a new copy of version 2.0 for my classroom. I have not received compensation for the game or promoting it.