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 is a very fun, brilliantly designed game! The Crew is a co-operative, scenario based, trick-taking game. If you aren't already convinced or intrigued by that, then let me try again. TL;DR - just get it alteady! Whether you are a fan of traditional trick-taking games or not, this game brings an entirely different dynamic that is rewarding for trick-taking veterans and hospitable for trick-taking rookies. As long as you have a few friends to play with, given the value that is in this tiny box and the price point, there's no reason not to give it a try! If no one in your group is familiar with the trick taking mechanic, it's fairly easy to pick up! Essentially one player, in this case the commander, starts a 'trick' by playing a card. Everyone else MUST follow the suit played (pink, green, blue, yellow, or rocket) if they are able. The highest card of that suit played wins the trick, and that player takes all the cards and then begins next trick by playing a card. If you are UNABLE to follow the suit played you may play a card of ANY suit. Finally, there are 4 trump cards, the rockets, that can be played when starting a new trick or when unable to follow suit - the highest valued trump card always wins the trick! The whole game revolves around that mechanic! That's not to say that this game is simple, however! Quite to the contrary, The Crew offers fun and unique twists utilizing this mechanic that will test your skills and stretch your collective brains! Combine this with the fact that the group can only share limited knowledge, and you've got yourself a great game that will keep finding its way back to the table! Seriously, just get it already!

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.

Bottom line up front: an easy to learn, easy to teach, co-op version of Spades that doesn't let one person dominate the table. If you sat me down and said "we made a thematic Hearts co-op variant where you don't get to table talk," I would would have laughed you out the door. Utter nonsense. My wife and I are about halfway through Crew's 50 missions. I'm not laughing anymore. I'm in awe. This is one of the most enjoyable games in existence. The basic gameplay is as old as Hearts or Spades. You play a card. The other players follow suit. High card in suit wins. Trump cards beat all. Instead of individualistic "winner take all" premise of Spades, however, Crew asks all the players to complete communal tasks by winning tricks in different ways. It's a co-op card game. Most of the time, these involve Player X winning the trick containing Card N in a certain order, but unique variations exist (for example: win a trick with a non-trump "1" card). Complete the tasks, and the group wins the game! And then Crew tells you that you the group can't table talk outside of: - one card reveal - per game - per player. Boom. So many good things to say about this rule. - It forces you to use your logic, not the group's. - It prevents the most charismatic or strategic or obnoxious person from dominating the game, a serious problem in all co-op games. - It adds gobs of tension. Why did they play that card? Are they trying to tell me something? - It forces you outside the box. - It drives your mom batty. This rule should become the standard for EVERY co-op game, bar none. To cap it all off, Crew comes with a campaign of 50 game scenarios, any of which you can simply pick up and play at any time. Tons of variety. Crew will have a place on my shelf in perpetuity. A brilliant, reasonably light game that can find its way to any table. Play it with your game group, play it with your parents, play it with your kids (once they figure out what the word "silence" actually means). ----------------------------------------------------------------- [2-Player review] Okay, so then you tell me that Crew has a 2P variant where one player controls a robot hand. I laugh you out the door again, more cautiously this time. Then the variant works, albeit differently than 3-5 player Crew. I'm in awe again. In 2P Crew, the robot is dealt 7 cards face down, then 7 cards face up, each covering on face down card. This means that you have 7 cards which at the beginning of the game are entirely unknown. The game turns into a even more of a puzzle. To explain: - Both players can, and should, play based on the face up cards. Some information is always known. - You need to dig for the face down cards. Some information is always hidden. - You have to be exceptionally cautious to avoid completing tasks out of turn. Digging for face down cards involves taking cards - some of which you cannot, or should not, be taking. Because of the puzzle-heavy focus, I don't recommend the 2P variant for everyone. You need to enjoy co-op games, card games, and logic puzzles, and you need to be okay with losing. Sometimes, there is literally no way to win. For my wife and I, we enjoy the struggle to make that determination. Others may not. Give this one some thought before you add it to your 2 player collection.

Lite speciellt då man inte tävlar mot varandra utan man ska hjälpas åt att klara av uppgifterna. Bra pris!

Wenn ich das Spiel Freunden erkläre, fallen meistens die Worte: "Wizard, aber in kooperativ". Alle Spieler haben gemeinsam das Ziel eine Runde mit verschiedenen Aufgaben zu schaffen. Dabei werden in jeder Runde alle Karten gleichmäßig an die Spieler verteilt und aus einem Aufgabenheft mit einer Story (Reise zum Pluto) die Aufgaben für die jeweiligen Runden vorgelesen. Der Schwierigkeitsgrad steigt dabei von Runde zu Runde. Es gibt insgesamt 50 Level die man nach und nach erreichen kann, wobei das auf gar keinen Fall an einem Abend möglich ist. Die meisten Aufgaben sehen so aus, dass es zusätzlich zu den Handkarten, noch kleinere Kopien der meisten Karten gibt. Eine feste Anzahl dieser kleinen Karten werden offen von den Spielern ausgewählt, und am Ende der Runde muss diese Karte als Stich bei dem Spieler landen. D.h. wenn ich die grüne 7 in klein vor mir liegen habe, müssen meine Mitspieler und ich es schaffen, dass die normal große grüne 7, die irgendein Spieler als Handkarte besitzt, am Ende in einem Stich landet, der mir gehört. Dabei ist es natürlich nicht erlaubt, über seine Karten zu sprechen, das wäre ja langweilig. Es gibt aber eine schöne Spielmechanik zur Kommunikation, das ganze ist also keinesfalls Glückssache! Durch den aufsteigenden Schwierigkeitsgrad und die abwechslungsreichen Aufgaben der einzelnen Level hat das Spiel definitiv Langzeit- , sowie Wiederspielwert. Unabhängig davon ob man immer in der gleichen, oder verschiedenen Freundesgruppen spielt. The Crew glänzt durch einfache, schnell erklärte Regeln und ein intuitives Spielprinzip, dass trotzdem eine unglaubliche Tiefe ermöglicht. Vor allem in den späteren Runden entwickelt jede Gruppe eigene Strategien und Grundsätze, die zwar nicht offen kommuniziert werden, aber doch Teil des Spiels werden. The Crew ist für mich damit eine absolute Empfehlung für jeden Spielefan, besonders wenn er Klassiker wie Wizard mag.

Warning this game is highly addictive! Everyone we have played it with has loved it. We love that it is collaborative and that we all work together! There are so many different variations to this game that you never get bored! By this game and have evenings full of entertainment and fun with your friends! The other thing we love is that the game gets harder and harder as you go and that as you progress through each level you learn new skills! It’s a lot of fun!

Está entretenido, lo he jugado en la modalidad para dos personas y está bien balanceado, costó un poco aprenderlo con el manual pero está sencillo con algún video. Lo conseguí en descuento entonces vale la pena, son dos barajas de cartas más unos tokens de cartón. Las barajas están de buena calidad, conviene enmicar la principal por el desgaste. El ritmo del juego es bueno y se pueden avanzar varias partidas de una sola vez (son como minicampañas). Vale la pena para jugadores casuales o como filler de jugadores de mesa.

FUN and SIMPLE game with little complex twist and a story teller. Very good response from the seller. Delivered in quality