The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine rules – how to play and how to win
Reviewed on 10 October 2026. How we check
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine plays 2 to 5 players, all together: a cooperative trick-taking game over 50 missions, where each Task card must go to the right player. Here are the essential rules, setup and how missions are tracked, based on the official rulebook.
- Players
- 2 to 5, cooperative (with 2, plus JARVIS)
- Play time
- About 20 minutes
- Winner
- The whole crew, when every task is completed
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine quick rules
- The goal
- The Crew is a cooperative trick-taking game: you win or lose together. The Mission Log offers 50 missions, harder and harder, usually with tasks: certain cards must be won by certain players. If you fail, you start the mission over with new cards, and you count your attempts.
- The trick-taking game
- All the cards are dealt. The lead player plays a card in the middle, then everyone plays one clockwise: that’s a trick. You must follow the suit led if you can; otherwise, play any card. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and its winner leads the next. You’re never forced to win.
- The Rockets
- The four Rocket cards, numbered 1 to 4, are trumps: a Rocket always wins the trick, and the highest wins if there are several. You can only play one when you lead or when you can’t follow suit. The player with Rocket 4 becomes the mission’s Commander.
- The tasks
- At the start of the mission, the required number of Task cards go in the middle, each showing a playing card. The Commander picks one, then everyone in turn, until the last. Your task is done when you win the trick containing that card; if anyone else wins it, the mission fails at once. With every task completed, the mission is won.
- Communication
- Golden rule: say nothing about your hand. One exception, once per mission: before a trick, place a colored card face up in front of you with your Radio token. At the top, it’s your highest of that color; in the middle, your only one; at the bottom, your lowest. It must be true when you say it, and never about a Rocket.
- The Distress Signal
- If a mission is too hard, the crew can activate the Distress Signal, before any communication and before the first trick. Everyone passes one card to their neighbor, all in the same direction, never a Rocket. The signal stays active until the mission succeeds, but it costs one more attempt in the Mission Log.
- Beginner traps
- Forgetting to follow suit: as long as you have the suit led, you must play it. Hinting about your hand, even indirectly. Playing a Rocket when you have the suit led. And watch who will win each trick: a Task card must only go to the right player.
How to win The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
- No points
- The Crew has no points: the mission succeeds or fails, for the whole crew.
- Mission number
- The number of the mission played in the Mission Log, from 1 to 50.
- Attempts
- The attempts played on this mission, the last one included.
- Distress Signal
- If it was activated at least once during the mission, the Mission Log counts one more attempt.
Example ending
Emma, Jake and Alex complete mission 12 on their fourth try, after activating the Distress Signal. The Mission Log records 4 + 1 = 5 attempts for this mission.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the extra attempt for the Distress Signal in the Mission Log.
- Not counting the successful try: attempts include the last one.
- Thinking you must play all your cards: the mission is won as soon as every task is completed.
- Playing on after another player wins a Task card: the mission fails at once.
How to set up The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
Setup takes about 3 minutes, and you redo it every attempt with new cards. With 2 players, a third simulated crew member, JARVIS, joins in.
The mission
- Open the Mission Log to the mission you’re about to play.It shows the number of Task cards, the Task tokens and the special rules. The rulebook recommends playing the missions in order.
- Put the Distress Signal token face down, Inactive side up.
- Shuffle the 36 Task cards into a face-down draw pile, and keep the Task tokens within reach.
The playing cards
- With 3 to 5 players, shuffle the 40 playing cards and deal them all out, face down.With 3 players, one player has one more card: it stays in their hand after the last trick.
- With 2 players, set the Rocket 4 aside, then line up 7 playing cards face down.This starts the row for JARVIS, the third, simulated crew member.
- With 2 players, cover each of those 7 cards with another card, face up.JARVIS thus has 14 cards: only the face-up cards can be played.
- With 2 players, shuffle the Rocket 4 with the remaining cards and deal 13 to each player.
Each player
- Put a Radio Communication token in front of you, green side up.It lets you communicate just once during the mission.
- Get a Reminder card ready for each player.You take it in hand when you communicate, to remember the card you put down.
- Look at your cards: whoever has the Rocket 4 announces it and takes the Commander token.The Commander changes from one attempt to the next. With 2 players, the Rocket 4 is always in a player’s hand, and that Commander also decides for JARVIS.
The tasks
- Draw the number of Task cards the mission calls for and place them face up in the middle.If the mission has Task tokens, line up the tokens first, then place one Task card under each, from left to right.
- The Commander picks a Task first, then everyone takes one in turn, clockwise.Until all the Tasks are taken: one player can have several, another none. Whoever takes a Task also takes its token.
- The Commander leads the first trick.Before this first trick, the crew may decide to activate the Distress Signal.
Frequently asked questions
Who goes first in The Crew?
The player with the Rocket 4 card becomes the Commander: they pick the first Task and lead the first trick.
How do you play The Crew with 2 players?
With JARVIS, a simulated third crew member: 14 cards in a row, 7 of them face up, and 13 cards in hand for each of you. The Commander decides for JARVIS.
What do you keep track of in The Crew?
No points: you record the mission number and how many attempts it took, plus one if the Distress Signal was used.
Ludingo’s The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine sheet was last reviewed on 10 October 2026, based on: BoardGameGeek.