Simple Solo "Pandemic" style game

Sorry to beat a dead horse guys... hope this still gets read.

Game Setup/Turn order:
1. Lay out 6 limb cards, intact side up, amputated side down with green "Path of Contagion" arrows alligning.
2. Lay out Threat Track card, place marker on 1.
3. Separate all 12 "Positive Effect" cards from deck. Draw one at a time placing corresponding cube on limb, starting at Head, counter-clockwise to torso last.
4. Add above cards to discard pile and shuffle the rest into deck.
5. (Infection Phase) Draw one card to discard pile, and roll D6, adding corresponding disease type color to corresponding limb. (If Outburst is drawn, no dice roll, add one cube of that disease type to all 6 body parts.)
6. (Research Phase) Draw 2 cards to hand, Discard any 1 card. If a "Negative Effect" is drawn, play ability and discard (in order drawn). These count as your 1 discarded card. Outburst card goes to hand and is played as if a "Neutral Effect" card.
7. (Treatment Phase) Play a max of 2 cards. Specialists are played next to "Patient," not discard pile. You may play 4 cards of ONE color, or 4 of EVERY color, to discard pile as a single Wild "Neutral Effect" card.
8. Repeat steps 5, 6, & 7 until Draw Deck is out of cards. If fewer than 3, draw remaining, skip "discard 1 card." Move "Threat Track" forward, finish Treatment Phase, end turn, and Reshuffle Deck. Remove and discard any Outburst cards from your hand before reshuffling the deck.
*** There can only be a max of 3 cubes per disease type per limb, if Infection Phase rolls to place on such limb, use "Amputated Limb" rules***
*** During Infection Phase, Place cube on limb BEFORE applying card's effect***
*** The Head may not be treated with medicine and cannot be amputated (see "Lose Conditions")
*** Max hand size of 4 cards at end of Treatment Phase***

Amputate Limb= When there are all 4 disease types on a single limb (besides Head and Torso), remove all cubes and flip the card over. All further disease cubes post-amputation are to be placed on 'mirrored' limb; if mirrored limb is amputated, place on Torso.

*Positive Effect Cards*
Specialist= Play next to Patient. When matching color Contagion card is drawn, the corresponding Specialist is infected with these instead and is removed from the game. May also be played from hand as a "Neutral Effect" card.
IV= Remove ONE cube of matching color from ALL limbs
Medicine= Remove ALL cubes of matching color from ONE limb (may not be played on Head)

*Negative Effect Cards*
Contagion= Add one cube of corresponding color limb already infected to each adjacent limb marked with a green arrow. Max of 1 added per limb per color per turn, including matching Specialist in play.
Outburst= Add ONE cube of matching color to ALL limbs (special rules with going to hand might change)
Outbreak= Add ONE cube of matching color to each limb already infected with that disease type

*Neutral Effect Cards*
Draw to hand (Treatment Phase) or discard pile (Infection Phase) with no special effect. Play to discard pile.

Win Conditions:
* Last all 3 rounds (Days) on Threat Track until you cannot draw any more cards. If there are less than 3 cards to draw during Treatment Phase, draw rest of cards, play max of 2, and end game. Score yourself. The Patient survived and is discharged from the hospital!

Lose Conditions:
* The Head or Torso are AT ANY TIME infected with ALL 4 disease types
* ALL limbs are infected with 3 cubes of ONE disease type AT ANY TIME
* Final score is over 100 Pts (?)

Scoring: (Pts)
Total cubes on Patient X number of infected disease types
PLUS:
5 Pts- Each Specialist infected (removed from play=killed)
5 Pts- Each limb with 3 cubes of a single disease type for each Disease infecting it.
10 Pts- Each limb amputated

(Cheers)

My reply must not have gotten submitted correctly :(
Just want to say thanks for the enthusiasm and feedback about the game let-off studios! I really do...
I think there has been a bit of confusion with the gradual rule changes as well, and don't worry about the wall of text.. my mileage does vary :P I will start a Game Journal and transfer things over, and link it here. Just a heads up. ( all intensive purposes... Draw Phase=Research Phase.... Turn order in phases: Infection->Research (draw)->Treatment)

1. Yes. You must discard a card every turn. This has multiple benefits for the game as a whole. Of course you do not have to discard anything if one or more Negative Effect cards are drawn drawn. I have play tested this both ways and it is just best to discard a card every turn if no Negative Effect card is drawn. It is just too easy to fight off the diseases with few cubes without it.
- This helps cycle cards out of hand and back into the deck for the Reshuffle at the end of each "Day"
- It helps balance the difficulty of the game as well... It is already pretty darn hard by itself, but it keeps some disease types in play.
- It is a choice the player makes, it is a solo game, so it is all about singular choices. If you discard the wrong card then it leads to an emotional response later. "If only I didn't discard that damn black card!!! The Outbreak wouldn't have taken the Patient over!!"

2. Color/Set matching. This is interesting as it is actually not very advantagious to "collect" sets in your hand. Whether 1 of every color or 4 of a kind. This rule was made to flush the cards that aren't useful from your hand and back into the deck.
*The rule is: You may discard any 4 cards of ONE disease type, or 4 cards of EACH disease type from your hand as ONE WILD Neutral Effect card.
What was happening is that I would start getting a lot of (for example) Yellow cards in my hand, and not being drawn during the Infection Phase. Not many were being drawn during Infection Phase, because I had 4 sitting on the bench in my hand that I couldn't use because Yellow was not infection the Patient. The initial rule was to remove from the game, but I have since decided that they just go to the discard pile.
- Your idea is also interesting, to remove one of the cards from the game to alter the ratio of colors drawn. I have been trying to keep it a pretty close ratio myself, being Specialists are the only ones that really alter it.

3. Specialist: This is interesting, as I have not considered them to save a limb from amputation... I have also changed the rules for the cards, and altered the Specialist ability to better balance the powers of the Negative Effect cards. These rules are much simpler and add more depth of strategy

**Current "Special" Cards Abilities:**
Outburst: Place ONE cube (of matching card color) on ALL limbs that are NOT infected
Outbreak: Place ONE cube (of matching card color) on All limbs that ARE infected
Contagion: Follow "Path of Contagion" (green arrows on limbs) to place one cube on ANY NON INFECTED adjacent limb of an already infected one of that color. Max 1 per limb. If the matching color Specialist is in play, Specialist forcibly counters this card's effect (absorbing all cubes) and dies (remove from game). Only if Patient is infected with the color.
*Sounds complicated but is really super simple*

Medicine: Remove ALL cubes of card color from ONE limb
IV: Remove ONE cube from ALL limbs of card color
Specialist: Place next to Patient as an action. Remove Specialist from game (sacrifice) to COUNTER Outbreak or Outburst card effect of your choice of the same color as Specialist. (regard Contagion Rules)

* These rules actually play much easier. The Contagion/Specialist contrast is interesting as well. The Specialist absorbs all cubes.. the thing is, if Contagion's Effect is used during player's Draw Phase, and there are no cubes of the Contagion color, then the Specialist of that color would remain in play. You may also choose when to use the Specialist's ability. So if an Outburst card pops up that is not detrimental to the Patient, then you can risk keeping it in play. This also keeps the player from immediately putting the Specialist in play, as a Contagion card of the same color could pop up and kill the Specialist, with no real positive effect.
I found Contagion to be too weak of a card, there was no use for the Specialist to only counter it. Outburst and Outbreak were too strong with the previous rules.
This makes things more of a RPS sort of mechanic:

***RPS***
(R)Specialist->(P)Contagion->(S)Outburst/Outbreak

and IV works well against Outburst, Medicine works well against Outbreak... and vice versa.

The new rules also make it so the Specialist might not be needed if, for example. a Red Outburst is drawn, and infects every single limb with one cube, since none are infected. a Red Specialist is in play, but you have a Red IV card in your hand, you decide to play that instead... Attempting to keep your score higher as it costs 10 points to your final score for each Specialist removed from play.

These new ability changes also keep you on your toes. My last play test, I fought off Red and Black in the end of Day 2, only being infected with Blue and Yellow. I had 2 amputated limbs and thought I could make it through Day 3. I had a card draw of the 2 Outbursts, Yellow and Blue, infecting the Torso and Head with all 4 disease types, losing the game instantly. I could have countered one or both, but my Specialists had died in Day 1 of those colors. I used them prematurely which was a mistake.

So yes..... you are correct, during Research Phase (card draw) if the Patient is not infected with that color, no cubes are added and any Specialists live. But in the Infection Phase, you would add a cube to the rolled limb location, then add cubes from Contagion's card effect.
Same applies for Outbreak and Outburst. You ALWAYS add a cube to the limb rolled, THEN the card effect (If negative effect card only... positive effect cards are just discarded- including specialist)

So in response to your last advice, since we are both play testing the same game, I think we were basically having the same thoughts. Outbreak and Outburst have been changed and are indeed very lethal, especially Outburst.
You can taylor this to your liking of course... even when I do put this up on The Game Crafter as well. The card # and abilities are set... I just need art and a final, proofread rules after some blind play testing. (let-off studios is play tester #1 :P)
* It is pretty difficult as it is now. Try the newer card abilities, with force discard during Research Phase if no negative effect cards. Remember not to double up cubes... only 1 cube per limb per card effect (different from initial rules). But you have the game down pretty good. Thanks!!!
And to anyone else interested, I will write up a consolidated, revised set of rules in a new Game Journal soon.

Thanks again!

*edit* link to Game Journal: http://www.bgdf.com/node/15406

@let-off studios: I gave you a "grant" on it since you seem involved. Not sure what that does exactly.... but if it let's you post stuff, feel free! :D