The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine (2019)

How to Play The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

The Crew is a unique trick-taking game. Each mission (or round), players face a moving target for winning. The Crew employs standard trick-taking mechanics, such as suits and rules of play (leader plays a suit and all must follow with the same, trump suits beating all, etc…). But it adds some interesting elements that make for tense and satisfying games: cooperation and tasks.

Cooperation may be familiar to some. If you’ve played Fox in the Forest: Duet or even any other team-based trick-taker, like Euchre or Gorus Maximus, you should have a general idea. The difference here, though, is the opponent is the game and what it requires of players each mission changes.

As is true in team-based trick-taking, table talk is a no-no and the same is true here to a degree. Although you can’t blatantly tell others “hey I have that card”, all players are given communication tokens, which they’ll each be able to use once a round. This is done by revealing a card, using the communication token to indicate whether that card is their highest, lowest, or only card of a suit. You’ll still be able to use this card as the round goes on, but now everyone has additional information to help steer things to victory.

The second item The Crew brings to the table that really sets it apart from other trick-taking games is tasks. Tasks are cards revealed at the beginning of a mission, identical cards to those within the main deck. Going around, players will take on these tasks. Whichever tasks players received will be the cards they have to win in order for everyone to complete the round.

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine Review

“The Crew’s cooperative foundation makes trick taking so good that I’m still amazed I haven’t seen it before. Often in a trick-taker the last half of a given hand will be more or less on autopilot as the remaining cards dictate everything that happens. It’s a quick process and doesn’t necessarily bring those games down, but cooperation turns it into a group hold-your-breath moment as you collectively watch to see if the delicate structure you all set up in the first few tricks can withstand gravity’s downward pressure.”

thethoughtfulgamer.com

“To me, The Crew is a good filler game, but not a great one. It plays smoothly and I really like that radio communication mechanic, but the lack of tension keeps it from being a hit. The truth is that right now I’d rather play Spades or Tichu if I’m in the mood for a trick-taking game, and I’d rather play The Mind or Hanabi if I want to play a quick limited communication board game.”

Ronny Alexander, coopboardgames.com

“If you enjoy trick-taking games, The Crew is one you can’t pass up trying out. I think what you get with this game that sets it apart from any other trick-taking game I have played is near-infinite replay value and varying complexity. That alone makes the under-$20 game a no-brainer. With engaging missions and cooperative play that keep your brain working, The Crew one that will remain high on the list for fans of trick-taking games.”

Jason Kelm, boardgamequest.com

The content of this article is originally from Board Game Geek and boardgamequest.com. For more information and a better understanding of the game, you can watch the videos below.