Can you play an Event card on another player's turn in Pandemic?
Yes. Any player can play an Event card at any time, on any turn, and it doesn't cost an action. The only exception is the moment between drawing a card and resolving it.
The rule:
Yes, in Pandemic any player can play an Event card at any time, including on another player’s turn, and it costs no action. The one exception is that you can’t play it between drawing a card and resolving it.
- Any player, any turn. The player who plays the Event card decides how it’s used.
- Not an action. It doesn’t use one of your 4 actions.
- One exception: you can’t play an Event between drawing a card and resolving it.
- Two Epidemics at once: you may play Events after resolving the first one, before the second.
After playing an Event card, discard it to the Player Discard Pile. Exception: when the Contingency Planner plays the Event stored on his role card, it’s removed from the game instead.
Example:
During Ben's turn he draws an Epidemic. After it's resolved, Ana plays One Quiet Night from her hand, whose card text skips the next Infect Cities step.
Why players argue about it:
Events look like actions, so players think they can only use them on their own turn. They're free and can be played almost any time.