Another Game that Changed My Mind
For the longest time, if you said, “trick taking”, I suddenly remembered I had somewhere else to be. I did not grow up on Spades, and the competitive, mathy vibe always felt more stressful than fun. Then I played The Crew The Quest for Planet Nine and everything changed.
All it took was swapping competition for cooperation. With 40 pretty space themed cards and a totally different objective, you aren't trying to outplay your friends. You’re astronauts hunting for a mysterious planet, communicating entirely in silence. The game is deceiving. It looks calm and friendly, but five minutes in, the table is dead silent and everyone is desperately trying to read each other's minds. It’s stressful in the best way. When you lose. Warning, this will happen A LOT! It’s usually your fault, but the rounds are so fast that there is always time for a redo.
I used to avoid games like this, but I knew The Quest for Planet Nine was a keeper the night we promised to play one mission, so we could get home early. Suddenly it was past midnight. Whoops.
What is in the box
No fluff, no fillers, just vibes:
The deck
- 36 numbered cards 1-9 in four suits
- 4 trump cards called rockets
- Mission cards that tell you exactly how you are going to fail this round
- A mission log with 50 missions that slowly steal your confidence
- tokens for the Captain (first player), tasks, communication and distress signal
How it Plays
If you’ve played Hearts, Spades, or The Fellowship of the Ring, you are halfway there! Players follow the suit led, and the highest card wins the trick (Rockets are the trump suit and beat everything)
1. Determine the Captain: whoever gets the 4 rocket starts the game
2. Set the Mission: flip over task cards. These show specific cards, and in clockwise order players will pick which missions will be won by specific players
3. Play the Trick: players must follow the suit led
4. [Barely] Communicate: Once per mission, you can place a token on a card in your hand to tell the team it’s your highest, lowest, or only card of that suit
To win, every mission card must be fulfilled. Every trick feels like a puzzle. Every mistake feels personal
The Campaign
The game comes with a logbook of 50 missions that tell a story. It starts off easy, but it quickly ramps up the difficulty. You’ll find yourself dealing with radio silence or having to win tricks in a very specific order. It’s the kind of game you can’t just play once; you’ll fail a mission, look at your friends, and immediately say, "One more try."
Pros
- Easy to teach
- Family friendly
- Language independent
- Brilliant cooperative twist on a classic genre
- Forces teamwork without quarterbacking
- Genuinely clever missions that scale beautifully
- The campaign has the perfect learning curve
- Small box. Huge game
- Budget friendly
Considerations
- You need at least three players, I like this game at 4 the best
- Analysis paralysis can sneak in
- If your group hates silence this will feel intense
- Theme is light. The puzzle is the star
- If you didn't grow up with these games (like me), it takes a few rounds for the strategy to make sense
Bottom line
The Crew makes you feel like a genius when you win and leaves you starving for a rematch
when you lose. It is quiet, tense, and wildly satisfying when a plan comes together without a single word spoken. If you like cooperative puzzles, or if you just like staring at your friends and wishing you could read their minds, this is for you.
Mission accepted
If you loved the cooperative chaos of The Crew...
● Same Vibes: The Mind and Bandido
● Want More? The Game and Beacon Patrol
● For the Fantasy Fans: The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game
(warning, I am recently obsessed with LotR, and we just picked up the sequel to that,
and I’m beyond hooked)
About the Author
Coty is an avid reader, board gamer, reviewer, and playtester who enjoys everything from fine-tuning rulebooks (even in Spanish!) to designing 3D print upgrades. Follow her on Instagram. More thoughts and favorites are shared at KaCoPlays.
