Dive Deeper: Why The Crew: Mission Deep Sea is a Keeper

If you’ve spent any time with The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine (read my review), you already know the magic of "silent" trick-taking. It’s that unique brand of cooperative tension where a single card played can feel like a triumph or a total catastrophe. It’s the same player cooperative experience (play it at 3+), but it swaps the vacuum of space for the crushing depths of the ocean. More importantly, it swaps a rigid mission structure for something much more clever

The Evolution: From "What" to "How"

In the original Planet Nine, the missions were fixed and specific. The missions would be like: "Win the Pink 3." After a while, it felt a little repetitive. Mission Deep Sea introduces a difficulty level based on player count. You can either draw task cards up to a specific difficulty number or follow the logbook of 32 missions. The 96 task cards can task you with things like:

• Winning more yellow cards than blue cards

• Winning exactly X tricks

• Not winning any cards with a value of Y

• Winning a trick using a Submarine (the trump suit)

Why I Prefer the Deep Sea

While I’ll always respect Planet Nine, Mission Deep Sea is the version that’s staying in my collection. Here is why:

• Infinite Variety: tasks are drawn randomly to meet a difficulty total, you will never play the same mission twice. The puzzle is fresh every single time the cards are dealt

• More "Puzzle," Less "Math": the original felt very much like "I have the 9, guess who has the 8? Let’s see if we telepathically line them up." The sequel feels like a logic puzzle. You have to manipulate the flow of the game to meet strange conditions, which feels incredibly rewarding when (and if!) it clicks

• Better Scaling: the difficulty feels more balanced. If a mission feels too easy, the next one might pull a combination of tasks that forces you to rethink everything you know

• The "Ah-Ha!" Moments: there is nothing quite like the feeling of someone completing a "win exactly zero tricks" task by the skin of their teeth. The stories you get out of these missions are not only memorable, they make you feel like you’ve won a championship

Comparison at a Glance

Feature	The Quest for Planet Nine	Mission Deep Sea
Tasks	36 (specific cards)	96 (varied conditions)
Components	17 tokens (order 1-5, first, last, etc.)	7 tokens
Mission Setup	static (fixed in logbook)	dynamic (point-based)
Complexity	straightforward	thinky and tactical
Replayability	very high	absolutely infinite

Bottom Line

If you already own and love The Crew, you might wonder if you need the sequel. For me, it’s a resounding YES! While the original is a fantastic teaching tool, Mission Deep Sea is the refined version. It takes a brilliant concept and adds layers of creativity and variety that make it impossible to put away. The original got me into the genre, but the sequel is the one that perfected it

If you loved the cooperative chaos of The Crew...

• Same Vibes: The Mind and Bandido

• Want More? The Game and Beacon Patrol

• For the Fantasy Fans: The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game (Warning: I am recently obsessed with LotR, and we just picked up the sequel to that—I’m beyond hooked!)