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Covidbuster – A simulation about comprehensive Crisis Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria

Covidbuster is a cooperative serious board game for 1-4 players and was also designed for educational gaming by professionals. In the classroom Covidbuster is best suited for four player teams with 4 participants each and one gamemaster.

The game is based on AFTERSHOCK: A Humanitarian Crisis Game, and so those familiar with that game will recognize many of the mechanics. It is also inspired by core mechanics of virus spread used in the successful Pandemic game series.

Covidbuster has been developed 2020/2021 under real life restrictions caused by Covid-19 involving various professionals from public authorities and science. The project itself started as cooperation between the Austrian Military Academy and the game design label Tablewood Studios.

Covidbuster could be seen already as historical conflict simulation, which covers the first year of nation-wide crisis management after the outbreak of a new virus. It can be used as educational tool to remember the challenges the world was facing during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also to get into the topic as soon as a new virus gets viral. Note: After the Covid-19 pandemics is before the next pandemic. Societies are forgetting all too fast.

The key actors available with Covidbuster are the Health Authorities, the Civil Rescue Organizations, the Police, and the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer), which play in that particular order.

Covidbuster demonstrates the complexity of nation-wide crisis management in Austria at different working levels during a pandemic linked with a simple, but still logical, infection rate. The actors should face the ups and downs of virus spread due to different factors like clusters, lockdowns, limited supplier markets, vaccine research, influencer conspiracies and a variety of other events which drives the situation. The dominant key player is the Health Services with the authority to put a general Lockdown in place (just once per game with a special card the actor has already at hand from the very beginning of the game). The military is the last actor during a game round, since it only acts by request of other authorities like Health Services or Police.

Instead of districts you have the whole state of Austria represented by the nine federal states (Bundesländer). Each game plan for a federal state (Bundesland) includes a “Corona-Ampel” with four different colors (green-yellow-orange-red) reflecting the regional epidemic situation. The Corona-Ampel and the deck of Needs Cards are linked, since the colour of the Ampel increases the needs for critical supplies (+ 1 per type). Players assign teams to different tasks. There are special fields for certain events like Quarantine and Disaster Relief (e.g. due to avalanches or floods) to tie up operational teams.

The four types of supplies are related to the most critical groups of goods needed to manage the pandemic. White cubes stand for personal protective equipment. Blue cubes stand for “disinfectants” and other liquid resources like blood plasma. Green Cubes are any form of test kits and also include medication. Red Cubes stand for intensive care beds and include the whole technology linked to it (e.g. respirators). In the fourth month production facilities could be put in place representing domestic production capacities of critical items.

Since Austria is surrounded by eight neighbouring countries there is an Infection Plan for these countries, too. This plan also includes a “Corona-Ampel” related to the WHO representing the global pandemic situation. The Police and Military actors assign teams to border management which act as a blocker for the cross-border spread of the virus.

In each player turn there is an Infection Phase prior to the concluding Supply Phase by drawing infection cards to define the location of new infections like in the boardgame Pandemic. “Pandemic Cubes” will be placed on the Ampel of the effected “Bundesland” or “Neighbouring Country” and each color/cube stands for a reproduction factor of “1”. There are four “Pandemic Cards” in the deck which trigger an outbreak and could lead to chain reactions of viral spread. 

Logistic and supply chain challenges are simplified by delaying the availability of supplies. With a logistic operation you get ordered supplies from abroad back home into your domestic warehouses. The exchange of items between players and the generation of production facilities is possible. There are certain events in the course of the game which will have an impact on the supply chain, too.  

Cards, cards, cards: The card driven core mechanic needs a lot of playing cards. There are cards for coordination, events, needs and special situations (e.g. Media, Assessment, Social Unrest). In detail they differ very much due to the pandemic situation. Needs Cards (Bedarfskarten) include three different types refering either to a Regional Pandemic situation, a Corona Cluster or special situations like Corona Demos, Travel Warnings, Daily Commuters, Influenza Wave, Lack of Intensive Care Beds, Mask Refuseniks or Cov-Idiots.

The game lasts over 12 months/rounds. Playing time could be longer (5-8 hours), but the game system allows flexibility by reducing the playing time (3, 6 or 9 months) or even play it longer.

Players gain or loose “Government Points” – the final score could be “good” or “bad governance”.

Extra blank playing cards can be used to add new challenges or personal experiences of participants.

This serious board game had a print run of 20 copies (German edition). 

Due to the geographical position of Austria in the heart of Europe with borderlines to many neighbouring countries it may be a game system attracted by a wider audience, since during the global Covid-19 pandemic domestic challenges have been quite similar to each other effected country.

Therefore the designer is looking for a publisher for an English edition to make Covidbuster also accessible for a wider audience.