Here’s a “survive dire straits” scenario as the players are crew members on a damaged starship under attack by aliens and the captain has just been killed. Can a random assortment of lower level crew hold off the aliens and stem the damage long enough to repair the jump core and escape to safety?
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this curiously themed cooperative game, dripping with Star Trek homages and a combination of tongue in cheek humor and impending doom.
If ever there was a game that exceeded my expectations, it’s The Captain is Dead. The odd premise is incredibly fun and engaging from the moment the game begins, as well as being ingeniously integrated into the gameplay and highly engrossing.There’s a real sense of entropy that the players need to get ahead of to succeed.
The mechanics are solid and really conductive to the game’s feel of being able to respond just enough to the ever increasing pressure. Little touches like random starting damage to the ship and distinct, useful player abilities contribute to the immersion. The implementation of the starships various “systems” is a fantastic hook. In general powered up versions of basic actions are available until/unless that system goes down. It makes it important to repair things and gives the players important decisions while still allowing a minimum level of effectiveness and choice when things are damaged/destroyed.
The group will need to react to the situation as needed, so there is the possibility of some players could have to to run a lot of “damage control” and end up doing the same things over and over. A willingness to adjust play style to what’s needed is key, so this admittedly might not necessarily appeal to players who prefer to be proactive and have total control over their role in the game.
The replayability for this looks to be incredibly high. The random elements in terms of the order of increasingly severe obstacles and a simple but deep card based approach to skills and actions provide great variability from game to game on their own. On top of that though is a variety of player roles with unique powers that have a big effect on gameplay. Changing just one of the four characters we were paying with would have completely changed our strategy and made for a significantly different experience.
With four players (three of us were new to the game) things seemed balanced at like the game would scale well to different player counts. With a bit of luck we survived by the skin of our teeth on “Veteran” difficulty (the exact middle of the seven possible levels), which seemed reasonable with a couple of seasoned gamers at the table. Success felt difficult but possible, which is exactly what a good co-op should strive for.
Great co-op all around. Maybe not something I’d want to play constantly due to its specific nature, but definitely one I want to revisit at some point. Highly recommended for anyone who’s ok with reactive gameplay and the quirky sci-fi setting.
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From the manufacturer
Increasing difficulty as the Game continues pushes players to work together.
Team up to tackle the dangers of space travel.
Play with up to seven players.
The Captain Is Dead
Tense and exciting co-operative fun.
18 characters to play, Each with their own strengths.
Reviews with images
Very fun game.
This is a very cool co-op game. I really enjoy it, but it is brutal! (The Captain is Dead is really 3.5 stars, but wasn't bad enough to be a 3 star, so thus 4 stars.)My copy came with 1 broken white pawn stand, 1 (instead of 2) Yellow Status bars, and 5 (instead of 6) Systems Cards. So far it has not stopped me from playing. The white stand isn’t that big of a deal as you only play with 1 at a time, and I take them apart for storage every time. The Yellow Bar has been replaced with the Orange, and when I need the Orage bar I just use a spare orange stand, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what Systems card I’m missing. Not sure if 6 was a typo in the component section of the rules or not. Many other people have reported missing parts of their game too. AEG does include their email in the rules for this, however, and are quick to reply and fix the issue. (BTW, it is a typo)There are a lot of roles that you can play in the game, but they are all tied to a color. Take the Admiral and First Officer. One allows you to pull Battle Plans from any room, one allows you to pull Battle Plans for fewer actions, but you need to have a Command card to do so, pull any Battle Plan you want for more, and shoot Torpedos without needing any extra Skill cards. Both of them are BLUE, thus only 1 can be in play. Letting players pick their color before they pick their role isn’t a good way to do things, and this will cause people to mess up while playing. If they are used to playing blue and they are playing orange, it could cause issues.Another issue with the player colors is the choice of colors. Color blindness aside, the Red, Orange, and Yello are way too close in color and thus people move the wrong pieces.Table space may be an issue. You place the board down, then you have to place not only the pieces near the board (not that big of a deal, many other games do this), but cards need to lay out. There are times I’ve had 9 skill cards plus all the items you can get in the Cargo Pod. You want the skill cards to be seen by everyone, so you lay them out instead of stacking them in a deck. This can take up a bit of space. This isn’t really a negative, just something to be aware of.This is kind of like one of the escape room games, but instead of a room, you are trying to escape aliens from destroying you. With multiple systems going offline or just being destroyed, aliens shooting at you, ships off your bow, skill cards going away (due to systems being offline), anomalies that are affecting your play, your shields very low, and your jump core being offline, what do you do? In what order do you do it? Obviously, you want to fix your jump core, but should you fix the computers so you can get more skill cards? Do you fix the destroyed teleporter? Remove the anomaly affecting your movement? Repair shields so you have more time?While the components are cool, they are not good for storage. They remind me of Shrinky Dinks but are more like the clear plastic used in overhead projectors. I take the stands off every game to help keep the standees from breaking or getting bent during storage.The Captain is Dead is a very cool game. I love the theme, love the co-op, and love the puzzlyness of it. While I’m not a big fan of puzzles, The Captain is Dead is more than just a puzzle. Having to balance out what you fix, when to fix it, and who on your team should do what really makes the game.Pros:+ Many roles to play+ Puzzle+ ThemeCons:- Broken / Missing pieces (AEG is quick to replace parts)- Table Space- Player Colors- Components
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017
This is a very cool co-op game. I really enjoy it, but it is brutal! (The Captain is Dead is really 3.5 stars, but wasn't bad enough to be a 3 star, so thus 4 stars.)
My copy came with 1 broken white pawn stand, 1 (instead of 2) Yellow Status bars, and 5 (instead of 6) Systems Cards. So far it has not stopped me from playing. The white stand isn’t that big of a deal as you only play with 1 at a time, and I take them apart for storage every time. The Yellow Bar has been replaced with the Orange, and when I need the Orage bar I just use a spare orange stand, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what Systems card I’m missing. Not sure if 6 was a typo in the component section of the rules or not. Many other people have reported missing parts of their game too. AEG does include their email in the rules for this, however, and are quick to reply and fix the issue. (BTW, it is a typo)
There are a lot of roles that you can play in the game, but they are all tied to a color. Take the Admiral and First Officer. One allows you to pull Battle Plans from any room, one allows you to pull Battle Plans for fewer actions, but you need to have a Command card to do so, pull any Battle Plan you want for more, and shoot Torpedos without needing any extra Skill cards. Both of them are BLUE, thus only 1 can be in play. Letting players pick their color before they pick their role isn’t a good way to do things, and this will cause people to mess up while playing. If they are used to playing blue and they are playing orange, it could cause issues.
Another issue with the player colors is the choice of colors. Color blindness aside, the Red, Orange, and Yello are way too close in color and thus people move the wrong pieces.
Table space may be an issue. You place the board down, then you have to place not only the pieces near the board (not that big of a deal, many other games do this), but cards need to lay out. There are times I’ve had 9 skill cards plus all the items you can get in the Cargo Pod. You want the skill cards to be seen by everyone, so you lay them out instead of stacking them in a deck. This can take up a bit of space. This isn’t really a negative, just something to be aware of.
This is kind of like one of the escape room games, but instead of a room, you are trying to escape aliens from destroying you. With multiple systems going offline or just being destroyed, aliens shooting at you, ships off your bow, skill cards going away (due to systems being offline), anomalies that are affecting your play, your shields very low, and your jump core being offline, what do you do? In what order do you do it? Obviously, you want to fix your jump core, but should you fix the computers so you can get more skill cards? Do you fix the destroyed teleporter? Remove the anomaly affecting your movement? Repair shields so you have more time?
While the components are cool, they are not good for storage. They remind me of Shrinky Dinks but are more like the clear plastic used in overhead projectors. I take the stands off every game to help keep the standees from breaking or getting bent during storage.
The Captain is Dead is a very cool game. I love the theme, love the co-op, and love the puzzlyness of it. While I’m not a big fan of puzzles, The Captain is Dead is more than just a puzzle. Having to balance out what you fix, when to fix it, and who on your team should do what really makes the game.
Pros:
+ Many roles to play
+ Puzzle
+ Theme
Cons:
- Broken / Missing pieces (AEG is quick to replace parts)
- Table Space
- Player Colors
- Components
My copy came with 1 broken white pawn stand, 1 (instead of 2) Yellow Status bars, and 5 (instead of 6) Systems Cards. So far it has not stopped me from playing. The white stand isn’t that big of a deal as you only play with 1 at a time, and I take them apart for storage every time. The Yellow Bar has been replaced with the Orange, and when I need the Orage bar I just use a spare orange stand, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what Systems card I’m missing. Not sure if 6 was a typo in the component section of the rules or not. Many other people have reported missing parts of their game too. AEG does include their email in the rules for this, however, and are quick to reply and fix the issue. (BTW, it is a typo)
There are a lot of roles that you can play in the game, but they are all tied to a color. Take the Admiral and First Officer. One allows you to pull Battle Plans from any room, one allows you to pull Battle Plans for fewer actions, but you need to have a Command card to do so, pull any Battle Plan you want for more, and shoot Torpedos without needing any extra Skill cards. Both of them are BLUE, thus only 1 can be in play. Letting players pick their color before they pick their role isn’t a good way to do things, and this will cause people to mess up while playing. If they are used to playing blue and they are playing orange, it could cause issues.
Another issue with the player colors is the choice of colors. Color blindness aside, the Red, Orange, and Yello are way too close in color and thus people move the wrong pieces.
Table space may be an issue. You place the board down, then you have to place not only the pieces near the board (not that big of a deal, many other games do this), but cards need to lay out. There are times I’ve had 9 skill cards plus all the items you can get in the Cargo Pod. You want the skill cards to be seen by everyone, so you lay them out instead of stacking them in a deck. This can take up a bit of space. This isn’t really a negative, just something to be aware of.
This is kind of like one of the escape room games, but instead of a room, you are trying to escape aliens from destroying you. With multiple systems going offline or just being destroyed, aliens shooting at you, ships off your bow, skill cards going away (due to systems being offline), anomalies that are affecting your play, your shields very low, and your jump core being offline, what do you do? In what order do you do it? Obviously, you want to fix your jump core, but should you fix the computers so you can get more skill cards? Do you fix the destroyed teleporter? Remove the anomaly affecting your movement? Repair shields so you have more time?
While the components are cool, they are not good for storage. They remind me of Shrinky Dinks but are more like the clear plastic used in overhead projectors. I take the stands off every game to help keep the standees from breaking or getting bent during storage.
The Captain is Dead is a very cool game. I love the theme, love the co-op, and love the puzzlyness of it. While I’m not a big fan of puzzles, The Captain is Dead is more than just a puzzle. Having to balance out what you fix, when to fix it, and who on your team should do what really makes the game.
Pros:
+ Many roles to play
+ Puzzle
+ Theme
Cons:
- Broken / Missing pieces (AEG is quick to replace parts)
- Table Space
- Player Colors
- Components
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Kristýna Delmar
Amazing but quite challenging game!
Reviewed in Germany on January 11, 2020
Melissa
Fun, light-hearted cooperative game
Reviewed in Australia on October 17, 2021
Melissa
Reviewed in Australia on October 17, 2021
Images in this review
Andrew Riddles
Awesome game - great for pandemic
Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2020