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Pandemic: Rising Tide box art

Pandemic: Rising Tide

Game ID: GID0239101
Game Info
Year
2017
Collection
Ratings
Creator Score
Expansions & Family
Pandemic Pandemic: The Cure Pandemic: Contagion
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Description

It is the dawn of the Industrial Age in the Netherlands. For centuries, the country has relied upon a series of dikes and wind-powered pumps to keep it safe from the constant threat of flooding from the North Sea, but this system is no longer enough.

In Pandemic: Rising Tide, it is your goal to avert tragedy by constructing four modern hydraulic structures in strategic locations that will help you defend the country from being reclaimed by the ocean. Storms are brewing and the seas are restless. It will take all your guile to control the flow of water long enough to usher in the future of the Netherlands. It's time to get to work.

Containing the water that threatens to consume the countryside is your greatest challenge. Water levels in a region are represented by cubes, and as the water containment systems currently in place begin to fail, more water cubes are added to the board. With water levels constantly on the rise, failure to maintain the containment system could quickly lead to water spilling across the board.

To successfully build the four hydraulic structures needed to win a game of Pandemic: Rising Tide, you must first learn to predict and manipulate the flow of water. Failing to maintain safe water levels throughout the country can bring you perilously close to failing your mission. Fortunately, water can be corralled by a strategically placed dike or slowed by pumping water out of a region. Correctly identifying and intervening in at-risk areas can get you one step closer to victory.

Description

It is the dawn of the Industrial Age in the Netherlands. For centuries, the country has relied upon a series of dikes and wind-powered pumps to keep it safe from the constant threat of flooding from the North Sea, but this system is no longer enough.

In Pandemic: Rising Tide, it is your goal to avert tragedy by constructing four modern hydraulic structures in strategic locations that will help you defend the country from being reclaimed by the ocean. Storms are brewing and the seas are restless. It will take all your guile to control the flow of water long enough to usher in the future of the Netherlands. It's time to get to work.

Containing the water that threatens to consume the countryside is your greatest challenge. Water levels in a region are represented by cubes, and as the water containment systems currently in place begin to fail, more water cubes are added to the board. With water levels constantly on the rise, failure to maintain the containment system could quickly lead to water spilling across the board.

To successfully build the four hydraulic structures needed to win a game of Pandemic: Rising Tide, you must first learn to predict and manipulate the flow of water. Failing to maintain safe water levels throughout the country can bring you perilously close to failing your mission. Fortunately, water can be corralled by a strategically placed dike or slowed by pumping water out of a region. Correctly identifying and intervening in at-risk areas can get you one step closer to victory.

Featured Videos
Review
Pandemic: Rising Tide Review - The Broken Meeple

Pandemic: Rising Tide Review - The Broken Meeple

Broken Meeple Jan 20, 2026
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment: pos 1 · mix 1 · neu 0 · neg 2
Mentions per page
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video VwsvSaABpbw Board Games UnLocked Review at 6:09 sentiment: negative
video_pk 116770 · mention_pk 329652
Board Games UnLocked - Pandemic: Rising Tide video thumbnail
Click to watch at 6:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
none
Cons
  • The theme and concept were disliked.
  • Considered 'garbage'.
Thematic elements
  • Dealing with water instead of diseases.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Water management — Players deal with 'water' as the threat instead of diseases.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • It's it's the staple cooperative game.
  • With all the expansions they just become more and more I know the dispatcher is one of the best it's just with all the expansions you everyone feels useless because you you can't do enough.
  • The sticker shock is real but it's not like it's not so bad.
  • I like the fact that you kind of know you're not just going through the entire deck of cards.
  • I like the hinterlands by themself like nothing else you have bass pandemic and then you have the hinterlands when you throw in like the superb oh yeah yeah.
  • I think either of you would like the superbug.
  • I think the lab is is very neat but and that and I do like it I would I would play it right so I itself held no way in hell I would do it with the superbug.
  • I would give regular pandemic an 8 I would say with all the expansions like all the ones that we put in I'd actually put that a 7.
  • We literally in a game of pandemic legacy lost it where there's four players we lost before one round one three.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TiOzR-pXKsQ Gaming with Edo & Jessica Review at 0:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 89252 · mention_pk 236799
Gaming with Edo & Jessica - Pandemic: Rising Tide video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • More approachable theme compared to other pandemic games.
  • Interesting mechanics based on real principles and historical ideas.
  • Challenging due to the cascading nature of flooding.
  • Long-term planning and route management are key.
  • Satisfying to build structures that control the flood.
  • Different roles add variety and strategic depth.
  • One of the reviewer's favorites among Pandemic titles.
Cons
  • Impossible to remove every water cube.
  • Focusing only on stopping water in one area is not effective.
Thematic elements
  • Managing and controlling flooding
Comparison games
  • Pandemic
  • Pandemic Cthulhu
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Action Point Allowance — Standard Pandemic action system implied.
  • Area Control — Players try to control flooding in different areas.
  • cube placement — Uses cubes to represent problems (flooding) on the board.
  • Hand Management — Players manage cards to perform actions.
  • Route Building — Creating paths to manage water flow is a key strategy.
  • Set Collection — Implied through actions like building structures or managing resources to achieve goals.
  • Variable player powers — Different roles with unique abilities affect gameplay.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Pandemic Rising Tide really surprised me.
  • The theme of managing flooding is a lot more approachable to me.
  • It's more about long-term planning and following those routes which makes it a very different sort of pandemic title.
  • I love Pandemic Rising Tide though again of all the pandemics that I've played this one is one of my favorites.
  • Even though it's very basic that is just really nice to go back to and kind of see how it has grown over the years with these different other spin-offs and titles.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AC0OZsvhWXg Foster the Meeple Top List at 8:18 sentiment: negative
video_pk 8303 · mention_pk 103498
Foster the Meeple - Pandemic: Rising Tide video thumbnail
Click to watch at 8:18 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
none
Cons
  • Too many pandemic games
  • Don't care about them
Thematic elements
  • Cooperative
  • Climate crisis
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Cooperative
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • We love trick taking games
  • This game is so much freaking fun
  • I adore GMT games, they are becoming one of my favorite game publishers
  • If you remember Vast Crystal Caverns is in my top five games of all time
  • We bloody love it
  • We can't stop playing
  • It's a blimp game not a train game
  • That's just work
  • I don't think I want to play it
  • I'll get it eventually
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video -VsDZauYPZc The Broken Meeple Review at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 3511 · mention_pk 116085
The Broken Meeple - Pandemic: Rising Tide video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
  • Challenging and engaging cooperative play that pushes strategic planning
  • Innovative flood mechanics that simulate water flow and cascading effects
  • Variable objectives and fixed site bonuses add strategic depth
  • Solid production quality and components
Cons
  • Aesthetics are muted and less visually striking than other Pandemic entries
  • The Dutch regional names can make the board feel busy or hard to read for unfamiliar players
  • Not ideal for brand-new players due to high difficulty
  • Variant rules and population cube mechanic feel fiddly and optional
Thematic elements
  • flood management, water control, and infrastructure construction in a cooperative crisis
  • Netherlands flood disaster scenario with coastal infrastructure focus
  • cooperative, scenario-driven disaster response with dynamic flood mechanics
Comparison games
  • Pandemic Iberia
  • Pandemic The Lab
  • Pandemic The Cure
  • Pandemic Legacy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • actions_per_turn — Each player has four actions per turn to move, build, and mitigate effects
  • building_and_infrastructure — Construct dams, water pumps, and research stations to manage flood risk
  • card_draw_and_bad_things — Players draw cards and suffer 'bad stuff' events that hinder progress
  • dike_and_flow — Dikes can be built and removed, determining how water spreads across the board
  • flood_mechanics — A dynamic flood system where water flow between regions is triggered by card draws and tile states
  • objectives_and_variants — Optional objective decks and a variant mode alter win conditions and add replay variety
  • special_abilities — Certain roles (e.g., Carpenter) grant unique actions like building dikes or pumping for free
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • pandemic is a fantastic co-op game
  • this is starting to get ridiculous anyway
  • water always wins
  • it's a tough pandemic
  • I would probably only gonna go as high as a six for me personally
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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