The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth
The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40 large cards (playing cards)
- 36 color cards in 4 colors, with the numbers 1–9
- 4 helicopter cards ("helis"), with the numbers 1–4
- 5 large reminder cards
- Small cards (mission cards)
- 14 tiles
- 5 communication tiles
- 5 mission tiles
- 3 marker tiles
- 1 guide tile
- 1 crew marker
- 1 time marker
- 1 logbook
- 1 rulebook
Mission tiles and marker tiles are used for certain missions and stages.
If you have trouble telling the colors of the cards apart, you can instead orient yourself by four symbols, one per color: pink, blue, green, yellow.
Basics
The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth is a cooperative, stage-based trick-taking game. What does that mean?
Cooperative
You win together or you lose together — only if you help each other do you have a chance of winning. You are the crew!
Stage-based
Your hunt spans 25 different stages, which you play in the given order for the best experience. You can find the stages in the logbook.
Trick-taking game
In trick-taking games, you take turns playing one of your own hand cards face up into the middle of the table. These cards form the "trick." Whoever played the card with the highest number wins the trick. However, you must follow suit.
Following suit means you must always "follow" the first card played in a trick — that is, you must play a card of the same type. The five card types are pink, blue, green, and yellow cards (the color cards) and helicopter cards. Only a player who has no card of the type led may play any card of their choice. However, only a player who followed suit with the led card's type can win the trick. If several players did, the highest number wins. A trick you win is placed face down to the side. You may look again only at the most recently won trick.
There is no obligation to try to win a trick. If you want to follow suit with a low card even though you could win the trick with a different card, you may do so.
In every round, each crew member plays one card in turn. These cards form the trick. The highest card wins the trick. The card played first in each trick must be followed. This applies to both color cards and heli cards. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card of your choice. Only cards of the led color can win the trick, unless they are helis. There is no obligation to win. Helis are trump and win every trick. If several helis are in the trick, the highest-numbered heli wins. Won tricks are placed face down; only the most recent trick may be looked at again.
The helicopters, from now on called "helis," hold a special position called trump. This means they always win the trick, no matter what other cards are in the trick. However, a heli may only be played on a color card if the color cannot be followed. Helis must also be followed when possible. If several helis are in the trick, the one with the highest number wins.
In each stage you play several rounds, and in each round, 1 mission. A mission is only finished once you have played all of your hand cards, i.e. all tricks. In a game with three/four/five players, that is 13/10/8 tricks, because you hold 13/10/8 cards in hand (in a 3-player game, one crew member has 14 cards, but you still only play 13 tricks, and 1 card is left over).
In the examples below, the card outlined in red must always be followed, since it was played first:
- 8 and 6 both follow the color yellow. 8 is higher and therefore wins the trick.
- 3 follows the color green. 5 is higher and therefore wins the trick.
- 9 has the highest number, but does not follow the required color green, and therefore cannot win.
- 3 follows the color blue. 7 is higher and would win the trick. However, the 1-heli is trump and therefore wins the trick.
- 2 and 4 both follow the 3-heli. The highest heli in the trick is the 4. It therefore wins the trick.
Communication
An important rule of the game is that you may not exchange information about the cards in your hand. It is not allowed to show, tell, or hint to the other crew members which cards you personally hold.
At the start of each mission, as many communication tiles are placed green-side up on the table for the whole crew as there are players. At any time before a trick (never during one), you may use the tiles. However, each tile may only be used once per mission. Whoever wants to communicate does so without discussion. It is up to you how many of the tiles each of you uses.
Some missions require additional setup. Only once that setup is complete and you are ready to begin the 1st trick may you use the communication tiles.
Rule of thumb for exchanging information: if you only know something because you know your own hand cards, you may not talk about that information.
Communication tiles equal in number to the crew members, which any crew member may use at any time, are provided. Communication may only happen after missions have been assigned, and then at any time before a trick; never during one.
How to communicate
If you want to communicate, take one color card from your hand cards and place it face up in front of you so everyone can see it. This card remains part of your hand cards, so it can still be played normally. The only difference is that every other crew member now also knows this card. Then place a communication tile, green side up, on the card to give your crew members an important piece of information:
- On the top edge, if it is your highest card of that color.
- In the middle, if it is your only card of that color.
- On the bottom edge, if it is your lowest card of that color.
One of these conditions must apply, otherwise you may not communicate the card. Helis may never be communicated!
To communicate one color card, place a color card (not a heli) face up, then place a communication tile on it: top = highest, middle = only one, bottom = lowest, and take a reminder card.
Example: a highest pink card, an only yellow card, and a lowest green card may each be communicated this way. A 6 that is neither the highest, nor the lowest, nor the only yellow card among your hand cards may not be communicated. The heli may never be communicated. All other hand cards may be communicated.
You may not change the placement of your communication tile even if its statement is no longer true. For example, a communicated "highest" card may become the "only" card of that color as play proceeds. You still may not move the communication tile. The placement of communication tiles may not be changed if their statement is no longer true.
After placing the card and tile, take one of the reminder cards into your hand. When you play the communicated card, flip the communication tile to its red side to indicate that it has been used up for this mission. You may then discard the reminder card as well. Reminder cards are discarded once the communicated card is played.
Stages and Rounds
Each stage consists of several rounds. "Round" is what we call the sequence of the following steps. Some stages or missions may deviate from this.
- Read the special rule of the current stage space (see Stage Spaces, below).
- Discard missions, if you want (maximum 1 mission per stack per stage) (see Discarding Missions, below).
- Choose one of the face-up missions from one of the stacks and reveal it (see Sequence of Play, below).
- Shuffle the playing cards and deal them face down, evenly, to all crew members. In a 3-player game, one crew member has one extra card. After the last trick, therefore, one card is left over that is never played.
- Carry out the mission's instructions, or assign it to a crew member, if required.
- Set out as many communication tiles and reminder cards as you have crew members.
- Play the mission, i.e. all tricks.
- Move the time marker, and the crew marker if applicable.
In stage 1, steps 1 and 2 are not needed, since stage spaces bring special rules into the game only from stage 2 onward, and no missions are discarded in stage 1's basic set-up (see below).
Sequence of Play
The Crew: Journey to the Ends of the Earth is divided into 25 stages. In each stage, you start with your crew marker on the space with the small train and try to reach the space with the airplane in as few rounds as possible. The time marker starts on the space with the small alarm clock.
Through completed missions you advance on the stage map, i.e. toward the airplane. On failed missions you stay where you are. Harder missions reward more steps when completed. The time marker advances 1 step after every mission — whether it was completed or failed.
There are always two face-down stacks of missions laid out. In each round, one of them is chosen from.
Whoever holds the 4-heli is the Guide. The Guide still counts as a crew member and always opens the 1st trick. Every subsequent trick is opened by whoever won the previous trick.
All tricks are always played out. As many rounds are played as it takes for the crew marker to reach the airplane.
Right at the start of the game, before stage 1, set aside the somewhat easier missions 1 through 6 (the small number in the bottom right of the card), shuffle the rest of the missions, and form two roughly equal face-down stacks from them. Then shuffle missions 1 through 6 and place 3 of them on top of each stack. In each round you must choose one of the two face-up missions according to its difficulty and then reveal it.
Then deal out the playing cards. Whoever holds the 4-heli announces this out loud and becomes the Guide for the current mission. The Guide takes the guide tile and always opens the 1st trick. After that, whoever won the previous trick always opens the next one.
After you have played all the tricks, check whether the mission was completed. If you fail partway through, you may of course stop early. If, after one round, you have not yet reached the airplane, you play another round.
Each played mission (completed or failed) is placed back in the box. Only shuffle them back into the stacks once at least one of the stacks is running low.
Mission Cards
There are standard missions, special missions, and random missions. You can recognize them by their backs. Normally the chosen mission applies to all of you, i.e. to the whole crew. Sometimes, however, you must assign the mission to an individual crew member instead.
Pay attention to the missions' instructions, especially to keywords like exactly, at least, or at most, and to the distinction between color cards and helis. If the card type doesn't matter, the card is shown in gray. "Total value" always means the sum of the individual numbers of a trick.
Standard missions have three difficulty levels on their back, one each for 3, 4, and 5 crew members. If you are playing with four, for example, only the difficulty level shown in the middle matters to you. If you complete your mission, you advance on the stage map as many steps as your difficulty level.
Example: if every crew member in a 4-player game has won at least 1 yellow card after all 10 tricks, the mission is completed and you advance 3 steps. In a 3-player game it would be 2 steps, and in a 5-player game it would be 5 steps.
Special missions always show difficulty level 3, but only as a rough estimate. The task on a special mission can, in fact, always be completed multiple times, often even on every trick. You then receive 1 step for each. The mission usually also shows a negative number of steps, which you must then subtract from that total to get your actual result. However, you cannot go below 0 steps. You do not need to move backward on the stage map. That said, the mission counts as failed if your result is 0 steps. Set aside successful tricks so that you always know your current number of steps.
Example: if, in a 4-player game, you have played all 10 tricks and 5 of them contained no 1 and no 2, you advance 3 steps, since you must subtract 2 from your result of 5. In a 5-player game you would not have had to subtract anything; in a 3-player game you would even have had to subtract 5. That would then be 0 steps, and the mission would have failed.
Random missions also have difficulty level 3 as a rough estimate. In this case, though, you don't know in advance what kind of mission awaits you.
Individual missions do not apply to the whole crew; instead they must be assigned to one crew member. After you have dealt and looked at the playing cards, each of you takes a communication tile, secretly decides on green or red, and places it on the table at the same time. Green means: "I am confident I can do this mission." Red means: "I would rather not take this mission." Your Guide then chooses one crew member from among all those with a green tile (possibly including themselves). The chosen crew member must complete the mission. If everyone chose red, you repeat the process.
Let's Go!
You now know all the rules for stage 1. Feel free to play it several times, even with missions 1–6. Once you arrive at the airplane at the same time as the time marker (or sooner), you are ready for stage 2. Then read the remaining rules starting on page 13 (Scoring, below).
Example: Stage 1 with Four Players
We place the crew marker on the first space, the time marker on the third (the small alarm clock), and set out 4 communication tiles. We set missions 1 through 6 aside, shuffle the rest, and form two face-down stacks from them. Then we shuffle missions 1 through 6 and place 3 face down on each of the two stacks.
We first choose one of the two face-up missions, e.g. the one with difficulty 1. It is easier to complete but only lets us advance 1 step on success. We reveal the mission, deal the playing cards, and begin play.
We complete the mission, since in none of the ten tricks did we play a green card directly after a blue one. So we advance our crew marker 1 step, and the time marker also advances 1 step at the same time. We put the mission back in the box.
We choose another mission, this time the one with difficulty 2. It is an individual mission. We deal the playing cards and then use the communication tiles to determine who takes it on. The chosen crew member calls 4 tricks but then wins 5. So the mission fails.
We stay where we are, but the time marker still advances 1 step. We put the mission back in the box.
After two more missions, the time marker is right in front of the airplane, but we are still 2 spaces away from it. One of the available missions has difficulty 1, the other is a special mission. 1 step would not get us to the airplane, but the time marker will reach the airplane regardless. To try to catch up after all, we choose the special mission.
In the end, we have each won at least 1 pink card. That would be 4 steps. On special missions, though, we usually still have to subtract steps from our result — in this case, 1. So we actually only make 3 steps. That is more than enough to reach the airplane — together with the time marker.
Scoring
Stage 1 was for learning. But now things get serious.
From stage 2 onward, you receive a score after each stage. Record it in the table on page 21 of the manual. After stage 25, you may cross out your highest individual score and then add up the remaining scores. The lower the total, the better you did. For the best possible ending to your adventure, the total must be below 0!
If you are at the airplane but the time marker is not, record how many more steps the time marker would have needed. Very important: record this as a negative number. If you have arrived at the airplane and the time marker still needs 2 steps, you would record –2. Remember that the time marker always advances 1 step, including for the mission that brings you to the airplane.
If you and the time marker reach the airplane at the same time, record a 0.
If the time marker is at the airplane but you are not, you keep playing as normal. You must always reach the airplane, regardless of the time marker. However, from that point on you must count the missions you need for the rest of the stage. Record that number. If the time marker has reached the airplane and you play 3 more missions before you, too, reach the airplane, you would record +3.
So you always keep playing until you reach the airplane. Then you move on to the next stage.
Discarding Missions
If you are not happy with the difficulty levels of the top missions, you may discard exactly 1 mission per stack in each stage. To do so, place the top mission card of the stack, unseen, crosswise underneath the stack. This way you can immediately see at which stack you have already discarded a mission.
However, you must make this decision based on the difficulty level, and you may not look at the discarded mission. You also may not look ahead of time at the difficulty level of the mission underneath it. After the stage, turn the crosswise cards upright again.
Random missions may never be discarded!
Example: if we need only 2 more steps to the airplane, the left-hand mission is not enough and the right-hand one is harder than it needs to be. We discard the left-hand mission and are lucky enough to receive a difficulty-2 mission. If that hadn't worked out, we could also have discarded the right-hand mission instead.
Delays
Investigations, route planning, border crossings — there are many reasons a journey might be delayed. Whenever the path is interrupted in front of a stage space, you must stop your crew marker on the space before it. Under some circumstances, remaining steps are lost this way. Only with the next mission can you cross over it normally. The time marker is not affected by this.
Example: in this situation, a difficulty-1 mission would be best, since it would land you exactly on the space before the interruption. You can of course take a harder mission, but even then you will only make 1 step — the rest is lost. The mission after that you can use in full again, since you start right before the interruption.
Stage Spaces
In stage 1 you sat comfortably and without restrictions on the train. But skis, jeeps, and much more await you. Every space of every stage always brings along a small special rule that you must observe while your crew marker stands on it.
The special rule that always applies is that of the stage space on which your crew marker currently stands. It does not matter where the time marker is. You therefore don't need to read all the special rules at once. Simply look at the spaces of the current stage, and the rest when the time comes. An overview can be found on pages 22 and 23 of the manual (see Overview of Stage Spaces, below).
In the corners of some playing cards, stage-space symbols are shown. These only ever matter when you are standing on the corresponding space.
Special Stages
Stages 5, 8, 11, 14, 16, 19, 20, 23, and 25 work differently from the rest, because in these stages you do not draw mission cards. Instead you must solve predetermined tasks, for which you have a varying number of attempts. Usually you must place exactly 1 card from each trick onto the table and form a pattern with them. The remaining cards of the trick are discarded face down as normal.
The score you record on page 21 for these stages depends either on how many tasks you completed, or on which attempt you completed a task. There is also often a bonus if you complete all the tasks on the first attempt. An attempt ends at the latest when you have played all the tricks and would reshuffle the playing cards.
Communication is unchanged.
IMPORTANT: in games with three or five players, the following adjustments apply to all special stages except 19 and 20:
The exceptions for special stages in 3- and 5-player games do not apply to stages 19 and 20.
- 3 players: before the playing cards are dealt, put 7 random playing cards back in the box. You may look at them. The 4-heli may not be removed. You therefore start with only 33 playing cards, and each crew member receives 11 of them.
- 5 players: you start normally with all 40 playing cards. After the 3rd trick you have played 15 cards, of which 3 went onto the table and 12 were discarded. Shuffle those 12 cards and draw 2 of them each. This way, after the 3rd trick you all have 7 cards in hand again. Then continue playing normally with the next trick.
There are two categories of special stages:
- Stages with 3 tasks and 2 attempts each.
- Stages with 1 task and 3 attempts.
In stages with 3 tasks, you may attempt each of the tasks at most 2 times. Your score then depends on whether you completed none, one, two, or all three tasks. If you complete all three tasks on their respective first attempt, you receive the best score of –2:
| Stage | 5, 11, 16, 20, 23 |
|---|---|
| Tasks | 3 |
| Attempts | 2 |
| Tasks completed | none / 1 / 2 / 3 / all on 1st attempt |
| Score | 6 / 4 / 2 / 0 / –2 |
In stages with 1 task, you may attempt it at most 3 times. Your score then depends on whether you completed it not at all, on the third, second, or first attempt:
| Stage | 8, 14, 19, 25 |
|---|---|
| Tasks | 1 |
| Attempts | 3 |
| Completed on attempt | not at all / 3rd / 2nd / 1st |
| Score | 4 / 2 / 0 / –2 |
The Two-Player Game
Even as two players, you can go on the journey to the ends of the earth. You act as though you had a third crew member with you. We call this third crew member Ghost. All the rules of the 3-player game therefore apply. For setup, the following additionally applies:
- Decide where Ghost should "sit."
- In special stages, you do not put any cards back in the box — you play with all 40 cards.
- You only have 2 communication tiles available instead of 3, as in the normal 3-player game.
- Set the 4-heli aside. After the mission is chosen, Ghost receives 14 of the remaining 39 playing cards. Lay 7 of them face down in a row next to each other. Lay the remaining 7 face up in a row on top of the face-down cards. Shuffle the remaining cards (including the 4-heli) and deal them evenly between both crew members.
Whoever of you draws the 4-heli is, as usual, your Guide. We call the other person the Scout. The Scout controls Ghost and makes all decisions for him without discussion. This concerns, above all, which card Ghost plays to the trick, or what he must do because of a mission or stage space.
When Ghost must play a card to the trick, the Scout may only choose cards that lie face up in Ghost's display. Face-down cards are treated as though they did not exist. After the trick, the Scout reveals the face-down card underneath, if there is one, so it becomes playable starting with the next trick.
Special Rules
Some missions and stage spaces work a little differently with Ghost. Which ones, and what changes, are listed here:
| Mission/Space | Change |
|---|---|
| 32, 48, 53 | The Guide must take on the mission. |
| 37 | The Guide and Scout must take on the mission. The Guide chooses the color, the Scout the number. |
| 69 | The Guide and Scout must take on the mission. |
| 71 | The Guide decides the color alone. The Guide and Scout may not win any card of that color. |
| 91 | The Guide and Scout decide the color together. Neither may win any card of that color. |
| 92 | The Scout lays out one of his own cards face up. |
| 96 | The 4-heli is not set aside during setup. |
| Vespa (stage space) | This applies to Ghost only if the Vespa card is face up in his display before the 1st trick. If Ghost gives up a card, the received card is placed in the vacated spot. |
| Skis (stage space) | Only the Guide and Scout exchange their cards with each other. |
| Dragonflier (stage space) | Ghost places 2 of his face-up cards in the middle of the table. He places the two received cards in the vacated spots. |
| Fog (stage space) | Ghost may only pass on face-up cards. He places the received card in the vacated spot. |
| No effect on Ghost | X |
Variant: The Difficult Two-Player Game
Whenever Ghost wins a trick, he may open the next trick only with a card that lies either directly below the card he played or directly adjacent to it in his display. Gaps in his display are ignored, and the cards at the far left and far right count as adjacent to each other. Ghost therefore has at most 3 cards to choose from when opening a trick.
In both examples, Ghost has won a trick and, to do so, played the card at the position of the red dot. He may therefore open the next trick only with one of the outlined cards.
Scoring Table
The scoring table in the manual has room for 9 crews, which you can name at the top. Record your scores below that. Before adding up the total, you may cross out the highest individual score. The lower the total, the better you did.
Overview of Stage Spaces
Train. A train ride, that's fun, a train ride, that's nice. No special rules. You can concentrate fully on the mission.
On foot. On foot, progress is slower. You must always choose the mission with the lower difficulty level. Special and random missions count as difficulty level 3. In case of a tie, you have a free choice.
Hang glider. With the hang glider, the situation keeps changing. Before the 1st trick, each crew member must place 1 of their own cards face down in front of themselves. It is treated as though it did not exist. Before each trick, the card may be exchanged for a different one of your own cards. The last trick consists of the face-down cards. Communication is forbidden.
Skis. On skis, you have to improvise. If the skis (blue 7) are in the trick, each crew member passes all of their own cards (including communicated cards) to the left after the trick. Whoever won the trick opens the next trick as normal.
Vespa. Whoever has the Vespa (blue 1) chooses, once, directly before the 1st trick and without discussion, another crew member, and simultaneously and secretly exchanges any one card with them. The 4-heli may not be exchanged.
Bicycle. On the bicycle, there's no breath to spare for talking. Only a player who has no (more) bicycle card in hand may communicate. There are 6 color cards with a bicycle.
Helicopter. In the helicopter, the next steps can be planned. If at least 1 heli is in the trick, each crew member passes 1 card to the left, simultaneously and face down, after the trick. A communicated card may only be passed on by a player who has nothing but communicated cards left.
Fog. In fog, you can't see everything. Deal out only X cards each (the 4-heli must be included), and after each trick draw 1 of the remaining cards. X: the Guide receives 1 extra card right at the start.
Storm. In a storm, communication becomes unreliable. Whoever wants to communicate must first flick the communication tile into the air. If it lands on green, it may be used to communicate. If it lands on red, it is used up immediately and can no longer be used.
Donkey. The stubborn donkey costs time. The time marker advances 2 steps instead of 1, whether or not the mission was completed.
Jeep. In the jeep, even rough jungle paths can be taken. After the 3rd trick, each crew member places 2 cards face down in the middle of the table. Shuffle these cards and each take 2 of them back. Communicated cards may not be taken this way.
Machete. Machetes are of great value in the jungle. There are 7 color cards with a machete. Always play all the tricks. The mission fails immediately if at least 1 machete is in a trick with a total value of 15/16, 20/21, or 25/26.
Dog sled. Discuss who steers the dog sled. The chosen crew member decides, without discussion, which mission is chosen and whether missions are discarded, and any communication requires their permission. They may also decide, before each trick, whether they want to open it.
Cable car. Whoever misses their stop on the cable car rides back to the station. If the mission fails, the crew marker is reset to the first cable-car space of the stage.
Ice. Slips on the ice are painful and cost time. If the mission fails, the crew marker moves back 1 space.
Ice hole. You should not risk the ice hole. Better to crawl the path back. If the mission fails, the crew marker does not move. If the mission is completed, the crew marker moves back the number of steps it actually won. However, it can never move back further than the 1st space of the stage.
Quick Reference
Communication. Communication only directly before the 1st trick is opened, and then at any time before a trick, never during one. Helis may never be communicated. The placement of tiles may not be changed if their statement is no longer true. It does not matter who uses how many tiles.
Missions and movement. Individual missions must be assigned by vote. The Guide decides among the "yes" votes. Only completed missions let the crew marker advance — either by the difficulty level or by the number of steps achieved (don't forget to subtract!). 0 steps counts as a failure. You may not voluntarily advance fewer steps than earned. The time marker advances 1 step after every mission.
Discarding missions. Maximum 1 mission per stack per stage, placed crosswise under the stack. Random missions may never be discarded.
Scoring (markers arriving at the airplane).
| Situation | Score |
|---|---|
| Crew marker ahead of time marker | Remaining time-marker steps, as a negative number |
| Both markers at the same time | 0 |
| Time marker ahead of crew marker | Remaining missions played, as a positive number |
Special stages.
| Stage | 5, 11, 16, 20, 23 | 8, 14, 19, 25 |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks | 3 | 1 |
| Attempts | 2 | 3 |
| Tasks completed / attempt completed on | none / 1 / 2 / 3 / all on 1st attempt | not at all / 3rd / 2nd / 1st |
| Score | 6 / 4 / 2 / 0 / –2 | 4 / 2 / 0 / –2 |
1 attempt = playing through all the tricks once. Observe the special rules for 3- and 5-player games.
Miscellaneous
- The Guide (4-heli) opens the 1st trick.
- The Guide is also a crew member.
- All tricks are always played.
- Following suit also applies to helis.
- Helis are not color cards.
- Card types = pink, blue, green, yellow, heli.
- A gray card = card type doesn't matter.
- Total value = sum of the numbers in a trick.
- Only the last trick may be looked at again.
- Only the current stage space matters.
- Stop before interruptions! Play resumes only with the next mission.
- A stage ends only once the crew marker reaches the airplane.
- Before adding up the scores, the highest individual score is crossed out.
Because of the many possible combinations, special cases can arise. Discuss these if you disagree, and simply decide for yourselves.