THAMES & KOSMOS The Crew - Quest for Planet Nine | Card Game | Kennerspiel des Jahres Winner | Cooperative | 3-5 Players | Ages 10+ | Trick-Taking | 50 Levels of Difficulty | Endless Replay

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine is an exceptional cooperative card game that offers a unique and engaging experience for players of all levels. Here’s why you might like it too:1. Innovative Cooperative Gameplay:The Crew stands out with its cooperative trick-taking mechanics. Players work together to achieve specific objectives, making communication and teamwork crucial. This innovative approach to a traditional card game format keeps every round fresh and exciting, requiring players to strategize and collaborate effectively.2. Challenging and Engaging Missions:With 50 missions to complete, The Crew offers a progressive challenge that keeps players engaged. Each mission presents unique objectives and increasing difficulty, ensuring that the game remains interesting and challenging. The variety of missions also adds to the replayability, making each game session a new adventure.3. Accessible Yet Deep:The rules are straightforward and easy to learn, making it accessible to new players while still offering depth for seasoned gamers. The game’s gradual difficulty curve allows players to develop their skills and strategies over time. It’s the perfect blend of simplicity and complexity, suitable for both casual and hardcore gamers.4. Compact and Portable:The Crew comes in a compact box, making it easy to take on the go. Whether you’re heading to a friend’s house, going on a trip, or just looking for a quick game at home, its portability is a significant advantage. The small size doesn’t compromise the quality or depth of the gameplay.5. Beautiful Artwork and Quality Components:The game features stunning artwork that enhances the theme and immersion. The cards are of high quality, durable, and visually appealing. The attention to detail in the design and presentation adds to the overall enjoyment of the game.6. Strong Replay Value:The combination of diverse missions and the cooperative nature of the game ensures high replay value. Each playthrough feels different, with new challenges and strategies to explore. The game’s design encourages multiple sessions, making it a great investment for long-term entertainment.7. Perfect for All Group Sizes:The Crew works well with various group sizes, accommodating 2-5 players. The flexibility in player count makes it versatile for different gaming groups and occasions. Whether you’re playing with a small group or a larger gathering, the game adjusts well and provides a satisfying experience.Overall, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine is a must-have for any board game collection. Its innovative cooperative gameplay, challenging missions, and high replay value make it a standout choice. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or new to the hobby, this game offers a unique and rewarding experience that will keep you coming back for more. Highly recommended!

OVERVIEW: The Crew is a trick taking game for 2-5 players, similar to Euchre, Hearts, and Spades. The innovative aspect is that all of the players are working cooperatively towards a common goal that becomes progressively more difficult with each success. This cooperative environment makes the game easy to teach as it encourages players to help each other succeed in completing each mission. The missions generally involve getting specific players to win tricks involving specific cards. The fifty included levels ramp up in difficulty as multiple missions and mission order restrictions are added to increase the complexity of each round.COMMUNICATION: In most trick taking games, there are heavy restrictions on communicating undisclosed information from your hand of cards, commonly known as 'table talk'. The Crew adds a unique element of communication to the players, affording them advantages if used properly. This allows players to reveal one of their cards, that is not trump or the subject of current missions, and indicate with a token weather it is the highest card in it's suit, the lowest card in it's suit, or it is the only card in it's suit. This information can be quite invaluable and necessary to the success of any given mission, creating a clever dynamic for players to exploit.SCALABILITY: The Crew is enjoyable at every player count, but becomes much more difficult as it scales up. As most missions involve specific players winning specific tricks, more players increases the likelihood of missions failing. Therefore the chances of getting through all fifty missions decreases. However the joy in this game is in the journey, not the destination, and sometimes coordinating five people to unify as one group can be much more rewarding than with two.PROS: The Crew is incredibly accessible to a large variety of players as it is easy to teach as well as learn. The puzzle solving aspect makes this game more engaging than other trick taking games in the genre, while the cooperative nature of the game emotionally invests players in the success of the everyone involved as a united team, or in this case a crew. The Crew is quick to set up and get started, and can be ended quickly by marking your place in the provided chart within the rule book.The higher levels are complex enough to challenge the most skilled players, and home brewed missions are easy to create.CONS: The theme of the Crew is irrelevant to actual game play, and could have easily been replaced by any conceivable genre. The cards themselves are standard stock, but the printing on them are less than ideal for color blind players or those with weaker eyesight. The featured art on each card is irrelevant to the game and lackluster at best. It is a missed opportunity not to use this space to make the important information the card (the suit and number) much more identifiable. The cards could be better, but they could also be modified or improved easily enough. I don't personally think that this is a deal breaker considering the price point and value of the product.CONCLUSION: The Crew offers one of the most accessible and innovative gaming experiences I have ever enjoyed. Practically anyone can pick up on the rules fast, and the fact that you are asking them to help you win, as opposed to challenging them to defeat you, brings enthusiastic players to your table. Once they taste the sweet success of completing each mission as a team, the drive to progress forward and relive that experience pushes them to continually deal the next hand. It is incredibly portable, with minimal set up, and the ability to quickly end the game and bookmark your place for the next session. It is a fantastic filler game, but is also substantial enough to continue long into the night.