The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

The Empire Strikes Back of trick taking games. How do you take a great and fairly innovative game and make it even better? Mission Deep Sea takes the same formula from Quest for Planet Nine, but introduces enough new elements to make it feel fresh and exciting.

Year of Release: 2021
Number of Players: 3-5
Playing Time: 20 min
Listed Age: 10+
Mechanics: Trick-taking, cooperative
Theme in a Nutshell: Deep Sea Exploration

What I like:

I love the first crew game a whole bunch, and this second game is a great sequel. Though there are less missions to achieve in this edition, the way the new tasks are built makes every mission different every time you play it in very meaningful ways.

The new tasks are varied and well thought out, with some of the goals to be really tough to figure out. Having their difficulty vary based on the number of players is an excellent, and well needed touch.

Some missions change up the way tasks are assigned, which is a great way to get around some frustrations from the first game where people could be forced to take tasks they had very slim chances of winning.

Plays great on BGA, and it was available to play before I could even get my physical copy.

My Rating: 10/10

What I don’t like:

The timed missions are not to our taste. We always play with the alternate rules instead.

Might be too hard for some people at the higher levels. It’s gets pretty gnarly trying to figure out how some of it is even possible. Not for the faint-hearted.

I don’t like this as the only “The Crew” game you should own. I firmly believe you should play the first crew game first; it’s still really great and is a good introduction on how these games should play. Don’t deprive yourself of the awesome experience by skipping it.

Is it good for kids and families?

Only if you can successfully play the original crew with them first. Not only should this not be your first trick-taking game with your kids, it also shouldn’t be your first “The Crew” game with them.

Learn more about the game:

• The Crew Mission Deep Sea in about 3 minutes (video)
• The Crew(s!) Review – A Trick-Taking Triumph (video)
• The Crew: Mission Deep Sea on BGG
• Where to buy The Crew: Mission Deep Sea online in Canada