The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is a follow on from the very popular The Crew: The Quest for

Planet Nine.
While I had heard about the first game a fair bit, the idea of a cooperative trick taking game didn’t really
excite me and so I didn’t feel compelled to try it. When designer Thomas Sing, and publisher Kosmos
released The Crew: Mission Deep Sea I finally relented and thought I would at least see what all the
fuss was about. So, did I end up agreeing with all the hype on this one? Absolutely, but… as is often the
case in our household not all of us are on board with this game. You are going to have to read on if you
want to know why, go on it won’t take long so grab a cuppa and enjoy the read.

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea Gameplay Experience

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is a simple game but adds some nice twists to the trick taking formula that
sets it apart. For a start there is just so much variety in the task cards, the combinations and variations
are different every game. This means that not only are the missions getting more challenging with each
game, but they also feel different. I have really enjoyed it and played around 30 games so far. We are
not quite at the end of the mission logbook yet but I am still excited to continue playing the final third
of the missions.

It’s not just the task cards that are varied either, there are also additional restrictions for some
missions. You may be told you can’t use your sonar token, or that you have a time limit, some even
randomise the restrictions depending on a card drawn.

My son and I really look forward to seeing what the next mission will throw at us. ‘What do you think
dad, do you think we are better off trying to play the hand in 6 minutes or sacrifice our sonar tokens?
Can we afford the loss of those sonar tokens for more time?’

I also love the limited communication in this game. It feels different to other cooperative games we
have played in that you have to really pay attention to the non-verbal information as the game
progresses. The great thing about it is it limits the ability of one player to dominate the decisions in the
game, which is often a negative for cooperative games. It means that although you are working
together, each player still has the space to make decisions on their own without too much interference
or other players dictating the strategy.

My son and I started out really struggling with the lack of communication and in our early games there
was often a bit of blamestorming going on if we lost a hand. The great thing is as we have played more
missions, we have both become better at working together by paying close attention to what’s being
played. We have also got a lot better at encouraging each other win or lose after the game.

Although there is a lot to think about here the game is fundamentally quite simple and each mission
can be set up and played in 15 minutes or so. That makes it very convenient to play when you’re short
on time. In our family the shorter and simpler the game the more likely it is going to get played.

Although there is plenty to like here, like a lot of games, we are not all on board with this one. My wife
is not a fan. She is generally not that interested in trick taking games and this one didn’t convert her.
Taking specific cards and winning specific tricks without the ability to communicate didn’t seem like
much fun to her. To be fair she did hang in there for multiple missions before she just said…’hmmm I
don’t really get it, it’s not really for me.’

My daughters (aged 8 and 11) don’t mind a game but aren’t mad about it, I think part of the challenge
is they don’t really find the theme that interesting, and the lack of communication is challenging for
them. I think due to the limited communication the game is probably better suited to an older
audience.

The other thing to watch out for is the first 3-5 missions are very easy. Unfortunately, if this is your first
introduction to the game it may seem a little boring because there isn’t much of a challenge, it could
also put people off playing further missions which is where the real fun is at. When I introduce the
game to new players now, I usually start on mission 4 to ensure there are at least 2 or 3 missions in
play to keep things interesting.

Thoughts on 2-Player Variant

One thing which is a bit of a surprise is how well the 2-player variant works. The box says 3-5 players
which kind of implies that the 2-player game is more of a tack on but not recommended. I have played
this game a lot at 2 players and love it. My son and I both agree it’s a great 2-player game.

It plays quite differently to the standard game because the captain can control the dummy hand. There
is a very cool element of gradually flipping more cards from the dummy hand as rounds progress
which uncovers more information for players. It just makes the role of captain so much more
interesting in my view. I personally think the game plays well at any player count, part of this is because
the tasks are valued differently to balance them for different numbers of players.

Components

The Crew: Mission Deep sea is a pretty compact game. You get 40 large cards, 96 small task cards,
some tokens, and a cool little cardboard captain standee. The artwork from Marco Armbruster is quite
nice too, each card has a nice illustration on it to support the sea theme.

The card quality seems pretty good too. I haven’t sleeved our cards and after around 30 games there
isn’t really any wear around the edges.

Theme
Will this game immerse you in the undersea adventure you are working your way through? Will it feel
like you are navigating the mysterious uncharted depths of the ocean? Well, not really. Despite some
cool artwork and some nice stories weaved into each mission this is still a case of achieving tasks
related to playing cards. I can’t really get too immersed in an undersea theme when my goal is to get
more green cards than pink, or make sure I win the first three tricks.

I think they have done a good job here trying to weave some story around this game and my son really
enjoys the back story for each mission, but I think regardless of what they did here it would still be
hard to make this sort of game feel thematic. It doesn’t really matter to me though I enjoy it for the
gameplay I didn’t really expect an immersive theme.

Final Thoughts on The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is a cool variation on trick taking games. The limited communication and
varied tasks make each game feel like a unique and satisfying challenge. My son and I just love this
game.

We aren’t all on board though, my wife isn’t a fan of trick-taking games, and this game didn’t change
her mind on that. My daughters find it ok, but they wouldn’t choose to play it, the limited
communication is a challenge for them here and they aren’t too interested in the theme.

Is The Crew: Mission Deep Sea easy to learn? The challenge here is remembering that you have to
work together to complete all tasks as opposed to go it alone like most trick taking games. If you can
remember that the rules are not that hard to understand.

What will The Crew: Mission Deep Sea teach my kids? This game is all about paying attention to non-
verbal cues and trying to anticipate what other players might play based on what you know.

What age is appropriate for The Crew: Mission Deep Sea? The box says 10+ and I think that makes
sense as a lot of younger kids may struggle with the limited communication aspect. However, the rules
are simple enough for kids around 8 or 9 to be able to pick up.
Does The Crew: Mission Deep Sea have good replay value? Yes, great replay value. The large variety of
missions and task cards mean every mission feels different. There are 32 missions in the logbook and a
way to ratchet up the difficulty and try again once you complete those.

Pros

• Games can be set up and played in 10-15 minutes

• 2 player variant works very well
• Wide variety of task cards and increasing mission difficulty keep each game interesting and fresh
• Limited communication prevents one person dominating decisions which can be an issue in some
cooperative games.

Cons

• Although there is a story weaved into the missions it doesn’t feel particularly thematic
• If you really don’t like trick taking games this is unlikely to change your mind.