At first glance, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine seemed to be an oddity; it’s a cooperative trick taking game. Trick taking games, by their very nature, are typically competitive – you’re trying to outmaneuver your opponents. However, after nearly 8 years of family gaming, I’ve come to learn that the games that seem to defy logic and appear to be mutually exclusive can often times be the best games ever created.
That is precisely the case here. Two years ago, we were recommended The Crew by another parent at Lily’s soccer practice (who knows how many games are recommended to families at random places?). The Crew, was a total game changer for how I view family games. What The Crew did was to take a classic trick taking mechanism and transform it into a cooperative game where you’re all astronauts working together to accomplish space missions.
The game itself has a very simple setup, which instantly earned major points in my book. All you’ll need is a standard deck of cards with some space themed suits, a mission manual with 50 different challenges, and some communication tokens. That’s it – no large board to unbox, no hundreds of components to sort, no elaborate set-up that will take as long as the actual game. Dave can get this game started in less than two minutes, which is HUGE when you’re trying to sneak in a game on a week night.
Where The Crew truly excels is in how it fundamentally changes the way you think about trick taking games. Unlike traditional trick taking games, you’re all working together to accomplish specific objectives. Perhaps you need to win exactly 3 tricks, or someone has to capture a specific card, or you need to win tricks in a specific order. The only caveat is that you can barely communicate with one another. The Crew allows players to pass tokens that allow for one tiny hint regarding one card in your hand – that’s it.
When we first played, Max was frustrated as to why they couldn’t simply tell one another what cards they had. “It would be so much easier if I could simply state I have the rocket card!” he exclaimed. And that is precisely the point – the limitations on communication create both tension and excitement. You’re constantly trying to figure out what everyone else is thinking and how you can coordinate your moves without actually communicating.
Lily gravitated to it quickly because she enjoys puzzles and strategic gameplay. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Max took to it as well. Max is normally more interested in games with bright and flashy themes and a lot of player interaction, but there was something about The Crew that connected with him. I believe it is because each mission is akin to solving a puzzle together – you’re all detectives working together to figure out how to fit the pieces together.
The mission format of The Crew is ideal for family gaming. Your initial objectives are basic and designed to teach you the fundamentals of the game, followed by increasingly complex objectives. After two years of playing, we have only completed about half of the 50 missions available. Each mission presents a unique problem to solve and each one feels distinct.
When a mission fails to meet its objective, failure never feels frustrating – it feels like a puzzle that hasn’t yet been solved. We immediately want to try again because we can clearly see what didn’t go right and how we can potentially correct it. There is rarely that sense of frustration that can occur when playing games that are reliant on chance.
I enjoy the space theme as a backdrop for our family gaming. It is not overwhelming or intimidating, similar to many sci-fi themed games can be, however it provides enough context to provide a rich experience when completing each mission. You are not simply trying to win 3 tricks – you are navigating through an asteroid field or collecting samples from a distant planet. The mission manual does a good job of creating a narrative around each challenge that helps to add to the overall experience.
What I think is impressive is how well The Crew functions across all age groups and skill levels. This is ultimately the biggest test for our family – finding a game that will challenge Lily, without frustrating Max, engage Dave, without boring me. The answer, in this case, is absolutely yes. Since you are all working together to achieve a common goal, the stronger players will naturally lend assistance to the weaker players without it appearing to be patronizing or obvious.
In a more surprising way, the communication constraints create a somewhat level playing field. For example, Dave may have a greater advantage in terms of mathematical probability and/or remembering which cards have already been played, but that knowledge is irrelevant if he cannot effectively communicate his thoughts to the rest of the group. At times Max will pick up on subtle signals that the rest of us will completely miss. It truly feels like a collaborative effort, where each person brings a different element to the table.
Lastly, I’m pleased with the short length of time that each mission takes to complete. Most missions take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to complete – which is perfect for our attention span and scheduling. We can easily fit in a game of The Crew after dinner without having to commit hours to play.
Another key aspect of The Crew that has been a significant plus for our family is its portability. Everything needed for the game fits within a compact box that is easy to toss into a bag to travel to vacation destinations or family gatherings. We have taken The Crew to the beach house, my parents’ home during holidays, and even to restaurants while waiting for food (although you do receive curious glances from other patrons when you are intensely analysing your cards and using hand signals to communicate with your fellow astronauts).
If I’m being honest, I think the only drawbacks to The Crew are that the game does require all players to be actively engaged and paying attention, as well as strategize throughout the game. This is not a game that you can play while simultaneously watching TV, or continuing conversations about other topics. Every player needs to be fully focused and engaged to get the full experience, which can be a challenge depending upon the fatigue levels of the children and the type of day we’ve experienced.
Additionally, the communication restrictions can be a source of frustration for younger players who are not accustomed to operating under these constraints. Max still sometimes forgets and attempts to give verbal clues, only to become frustrated when reminded of the communication restrictions. Honestly though, Max has improved significantly in this regard, and I think this game has helped him develop a greater awareness of non-verbal communication and planning ahead.
Over the past two years, The Crew has become one of our top-gamed titles, which speaks volumes for how well it has worked for our family. The Crew achieves that magical balance of being easy to teach, yet difficult to master, short in duration, yet highly replayable, and cooperative, yet challenging. If friends ask for suggestions on family games, The Crew is one of the first games I recommend since I am confident that it can work for a wide variety of groups and experiences.
Ultimately, I believe what sets The Crew apart is how it fosters wordless connections between players. The moment when everyone understands what needs to happen and coordinates perfectly, there is a wonderful sense of being in tune with your teammates. These moments of unity and mutual accomplishment are exactly what I seek out in family games, and The Crew delivers them time and time again with each mission.
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