Hidden cards

[BenInJapan]

I'm not sure if I got the rules right, but is there any reason to play with hidden cards?

I mean as I understand the game and its rules, we're actually encouraged to talk to each other and develop strategies to win. So even when playing with hidden cards, nothing would stop me from announcing my cards on every turn, right? So why should I even bother not playing with open cards right from the start, or did I misunderstand something?

[ViolentSilence]

In the rules, your cards are hidden - so in part the version on here is just trying to match the rules.

The big game play effect is trying to mitigate an alpha player. If someone is being too aggressive in trying to direct other players, they can withhold information to limit what the alpha player can tell them, so it maybe exists for that reason too. If you have a healthy relationship between the players, there is no need to hold back the info, but that's not always the case

[bananasplay]

In the rules, your cards are hidden - so in part the version on here is just trying to match the rules.

For complete context, here's the relevant text from the rules (p. 7) in its entirety:

When playing the Introductory game (4 Epidemic cards), place your cards face up in front of you, for all players to see.

When playing the Standard (5 Epidemics) or Heroic (6 Epidemics) games, keep your cards private, so everyone has information to contribute to play discussions.

Experienced groups may decide to play with open hands, if desired, in these games.

I'm not sure if I got the rules right, but is there any reason to play with hidden cards?

Only if you prefer to waste time verbally exchanging information that is far more easily conveyed visually. :-p And that's if you're playing in person or online with voice chat; if you're playing with people and communicating via the in-game chat, I can only guess at the tedium involved with typing out this basic info every turn... :-/

[MoiMagnus]

I'm not sure if I got the rules right, but is there any reason to play with hidden cards?

I mean as I understand the game and its rules, we're actually encouraged to talk to each other and develop strategies to win. So even when playing with hidden cards, nothing would stop me from announcing my cards on every turn, right? So why should I even bother not playing with open cards right from the start, or did I misunderstand something?

Don't play with hidden cards by announcing them every turn, that's the worst way to play Pandemic. There is two typical ways to play:
(1) Total collaboration. Cards are open, and decisions are often made unanimously. This make the game significantly easier, but can run into the following problem: one experienced player can end up playing for everyone, as the other players are unable to make meaningful suggestions and are just following orders.
(2) Casual collaboration. Cards are closed and players are expected to make their own decisions alone. They might ask for information (or even advice) or synchronise with another player (since players are still allied with each others), but they're still expected to play the game by themselves. This make the game significantly harder, and some players will definitely dislike the fact that they're playing "suboptimally" on purpose by not sharing all the information they could. On the other hand, beginners can more easily try and learn from their mistake without being constantly told what is right and what is wrong by a more experienced player.