Dissertation Procrastination

What do I do when I'm not in a graveyard? Lately, I've been playing a lot of board games with Pete and my Am Civ friends. One of our recent favorites is Pandemic, a cooperative game in which players race to eradicate four deadly diseases. On each turn, you turn over cards to find out how the diseases have spread, then you rush all over the map trying to prevent outbreaks and contain the epidemics long enough to find a cure.

Each player in the games has a role that gives him/her special powers:

• Dispatcher: moves pawns around
• Operations Expert: builds research stations
• Scientist: can cure disease at a 1-card discount
• Medic: cures more people
• Researcher: can exchange cards with others
  

It rained today, so Pete and I stayed in and played a few rounds. I always forget what my role is and don't use it to the best advantage (especially if I'm the Dispatcher, which is of limited usefulness in a 2-player game). Part of the problem is that the pawns are not very evocative of the role they signify. To remedy this, I made my own little meeples:

Each figure is about an inch and a half tall and is made out of Sculpey clay.

The Medic (a bit old-fashioned):

The Operations Expert (with hard hat, walkie-talkie, and clipboard):

The Researcher (with ID badge and test tube):

The Scientist (with graph — my initial attempt at a microscope did not go well):

The Dispatcher (with headset and coffee):