# The Crew: Mission Deep Sea ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2021 - **BGG Rating**: 8.0 - **BGG Rank**: #45 - **Players**: 2-5 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 20 min - **Weight**: 2.05 / 5 - **Designers**: Thomas Sing - **Artists**: Marco Armbruster - **Publishers**: KOSMOS, 999 Games, Devir, Galakta, Giochi Uniti, GP Games - **Categories**: Adventure, Card Game, Mythology, Nautical - **Mechanics**: Communication Limits, Cooperative Game, Deduction, Hand Management, Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game, Trick-taking ## Verdict If you're a fan of cooperative trick-taking and love a good challenge, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea will have you silently strategizing your way to the lost continent of Mu. Its ingenious communication limitations make every mission a unique puzzle to solve with your crew. Ingenious cooperative trick-taking with limited communication Engaging underwater theme and mission structure High replayability with 32 unique missions Rewarding silent strategic card play Requires players who enjoy trick-taking Can be frustrating with miscommunication HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready to dive deep into The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, the sequel that takes cooperative trick-taking to a whole new level! Here, you and your crew become underwater explorers, on an epic mission to find the legendary lost continent of Mu. But make no mistake, this journey is not for the faint of heart, as success depends entirely on your ability to work as a team with extremely limited communication. Sounds easy? Not at all! Each of the 32 missions presents a unique puzzle, with tasks ranging from one player having to win a specific card to another having to avoid another at all costs. And the big challenge? All of this needs to be done using classic trick-taking rules, but with your mouth practically sewn shut! Each round transforms into a strategic card dance, where silent coordination is the key to not sinking. If you enjoyed The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, you'll love what's new here. This version brings a more dynamic mission system, with variable difficulty levels, a brand-new deck of task cards, and improved scalability for different player counts. Whether playing as a duo or with a full five-person team, every game is a tight tactical challenge through the depths. With progressively more difficult missions and countless combinations of tasks, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea guarantees incredible replayability and a rewarding immersion into the unknown. It's the perfect game for anyone who loves a good trick-taking game with a twist of cooperation and that delightful pressure of a well-crafted challenge! ## How to Play Objective of the Game Welcome aboard, deep-sea explorers! In The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, you're not just playing cards; you're embarking on a cooperative, trick-taking adventure beneath the waves. Your ultimate goal is to work together, without revealing your hand, to ensure the right players win the right tricks to complete specific Task cards. If you successfully complete all assigned tasks, you'll conquer the mission and emerge victorious! Preparation (Setup) Getting ready for your underwater expedition is straightforward. Here’s how to set up your game: Choose a Mission: Select a mission from the logbook to determine your objective. Deal the Large Cards: Shuffle the deck of 40 large cards (36 colored cards in four suits, numbered 1-9, plus 4 Submarine cards). Deal them out to all players. In a three-player game, one player will receive an extra card, which will remain unplayed at the end of the mission. Assign the Captain: The player holding the Submarine card with the value of 4 receives the Captain token. Distribute Player Tokens: Each player gets a Sonar token (green side up) and a gray Reminder card. Place the Distress Signal: Put the Distress Signal token face down on the table. Prepare Task Cards: Shuffle the deck of 96 small Task cards. Draw Mission Tasks: Draw Task cards until their total difficulty value (indicated by the lifesaver symbol) matches the mission's difficulty. Discard any cards that exceed the mission's difficulty. If playing multiple missions, don't reshuffle the Task deck until it's exhausted. Display Tasks: Place the drawn Task cards face up in the center of the table. Select Tasks: Starting with the Captain and moving clockwise, each player selects one Task card to place in front of them until all tasks are claimed. If there are fewer Task cards than players, a player may pass, but all tasks must be selected before the turn returns to the Captain. Verify Task Feasibility: If a combination of tasks is impossible (e.g., "I win the first trick" and "I win the first two tricks" assigned to different players), discard the most recent Task card and replace it with another of the same difficulty. If tasks cannot be completed because one player holds all necessary cards (e.g., all Submarine cards and the specific colored card needed for a task), re-shuffle and re-deal the 40 large cards. Optional Distress Signal: Players can collectively decide to send a Distress Signal by flipping its token to the active (buoy) side. If they do, each player must pass one card to their neighbor in a direction chosen by the players. The Turn of Play The heart of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea lies in its trick-taking gameplay. Here’s how a round unfolds: Starting a Trick: The Captain leads the very first trick. After that, the player who won the previous trick leads the next one. Playing Cards: When it's your turn, you must follow suit (play a card of the same Color or Submarine suit) as the card led at the start of the trick. No Follow Suit: If you don't have a card of the led suit, you can play any other card from your hand. Winning a Trick: The highest card of the led suit wins the trick. However, Submarine cards are trump cards and will always win against any colored suit. If multiple Submarine cards are played, the highest Submarine card wins. Collecting Tricks: Place each completed trick face down next to the player who won it. Completing Tasks: A Task card is completed when its conditions are met by the player who selected it. Flip the completed Task card face down. A player can complete multiple tasks with a single trick. Communication (and Lack Thereof!) A crucial element of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is limited communication. You absolutely cannot show, tell, or hint at the cards you hold. However, you have one special tool: Sonar Token: Once per mission, after tasks are selected and before any trick is played, you can use your Sonar token. Take a Color card (not a Submarine card) from your hand and place it face up in front of you. Place your Sonar token (green side up) on the card to indicate: At the top: It's your highest card of that color. In the middle: It's your only card of that color. At the bottom: It's your lowest card of that color. The Sonar token cannot be repositioned. Place your Reminder card into your hand to remember the card on the table is still part of your hand. When you play that card, discard the Reminder card and turn the Sonar token to its red side. Specific Task Card Interpretations Some tasks have specific rules: "Exactly" or "At least" a number of cards are determined at the end of the mission. "Total value less than" or "whose card values are all greater than" tricks cannot include any Submarine cards. Winning a trick with "as many" of certain colors as others or "as many" of one color as another requires winning at least one of each specific color. Winning "more" of one color than another allows for zero cards of the smaller color. Winning a trick with "just odd-numbered cards" or "just even-numbered cards" cannot include any Submarine cards. Mission Symbols and Specific Missions The game features various mission symbols that alter gameplay: Currents (Red Question Mark): Communication is disrupted. You can still place a Color card (not a Submarine card) face up to indicate highest, only, or lowest, but place your Sonar token to the side (red side up) instead of on the card. Rapture of the Deep (Red -2): Communication is disrupted. Instead of individual Sonar tokens, place a number of tokens equal to players minus two in the middle. Any player can use one normally without discussion. A player can use multiple tokens, but once used, they are gone for the mission. Unfamiliar Terrain (Three Sonar Symbols 1-9): Draw a random Color card (re-drawing any Submarines) before dealing to determine the communication level. Then reshuffle all cards before dealing. Free Selection of Tasks (Purple Octopus): Players can openly discuss how to distribute Task cards (but still not their hand cards). Tasks don't have to be evenly allocated. Real-Time Missions (Clock Symbol): Players can opt to play in real-time. The number in the symbol is the difficulty. Track time, and lose if it runs out before mission completion. Missions 14, 15, 16: One player must get all tasks. The Captain asks for volunteers clockwise. The Captain must volunteer if others pass. Mission 26: Two players must get all tasks. The Captain asks for volunteers clockwise. The Captain must volunteer if only one other player has volunteered. The two players can divide tasks as they wish. End of Game and Scoring The game ends in one of two ways: Victory! If all players successfully complete their assigned Task cards, you have collectively triumphed over the mission! Defeat! If players fail to complete one or more Task cards, the mission is lost. Don't despair! You can try the mission again with the same Task cards or draw new ones for a fresh challenge. There is no traditional "scoring" in The Crew; it's all about successful mission completion. Tips for Winning To help you navigate the depths of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, here are a few tactical pointers: Communicate Wisely with Sonar: Your single Sonar token is a precious resource. Use it strategically to convey critical information about a specific colored card – whether it's your highest, lowest, or only card of that suit. This can be vital for setting up future tricks or preventing a teammate from playing a card that would ruin a task. Observe and Deduce: Pay close attention to what cards your teammates play, especially when they don't follow suit. This can give you clues about what cards they *don't* have, helping you deduce their hand and plan your own plays without direct communication. Prioritize Tasks: Before the first trick, collectively (but silently, unless a "Free Selection of Tasks" mission) think about the order in which tasks might need to be completed. Some tasks might be time-sensitive (e.g., "win the first trick"), while others can be achieved later. ## FAQ ### How many players can participate in The Crew: Mission Deep Sea? The game is designed for 2 to 5 players, which makes it super versatile for different groups and occasions. ### What is the average game duration? A game of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is quick, usually between 20 and 20 minutes. Perfect for fitting into any moment! ### Is it a very complex game? With a BGG weight of 2.05/5, it's considered light to medium complexity. The rules are easy to pick up, but the strategy to win missions can be quite challenging. ### Do I need to have played the first The Crew to understand this one? Not at all! Although it's a sequel, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is a standalone game. You can start with it without any problems and have a lot of fun. ### What are the main components of the game? The game primarily consists of a deck of trick-taking cards, task cards, and tokens to mark mission progress. It's a compact game, ideal for taking anywhere! ### Who is The Crew: Mission Deep Sea best suited for? It's ideal for those who enjoy cooperative games, limited communication challenges, and, of course, those who love trick-taking games with a modern, strategic twist. If you like solving puzzles as a team, you'll love it! ### Does the game have replayability? With 32 progressively more difficult missions and countless combinations of tasks, replayability is very high! 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