The Captain is Dead
The last 10 minutes of your favorite Sci-Fi show that has gone so badly that The Captain is Dead!
Attention Crew! The captain is dead! Our jump core is offline. There is a hostile alien ship off our port side. We need to get our jump core back online so we can get out of here. You have trained for this. You know what needs to be done. Go do it!
The Captain is Dead is a co-op game for 2 to 7 players. All you have to do is get the ship's engines (aka "Jump Core") back online and you win; but because there is a hostile alien ship trying to destroy you, that is easier said than done.
You have an impressive star ship full of useful systems that will help you fend off the aliens, and get the Jump Core back online. Each system gives you an advantage while it remains online. The assault from the hostile alien ship tends to keep knocking those systems offline however. So you need to balance your time between keeping the ships system's online, fending off the alien threat, and completing your objective.
Each member of your crew has special abilities and skills. You need to work as a group to maximize the potential of each role. If someone tries to be a hero, you'll all die.
User Reviews (3)
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- Themes
Aliens, Science Fiction - Mechanics
Action Point Allowance System, Cooperative, Hand Management, Variable Player Powers - Designers
Joe Price, JT Smith - Game Families
Kickstarter - Official Game Site
🔍 The Captain is Dead - Rulebook
🔍 See official rulebook - Price (MSRP)
$49.99
Likes –
1) Art is great – The art is clear and fun. The art on the board makes it clear what actions are available at what location.
2) Icons are clear and easy to understand – icons on the cards and the board improve the game. They are color coded for ease of use but also have different symbols for those that are color blind. They also make it clear at a glance what each system costs in terms of actions and resources.
3) Cooperative – While things crash down around you, just like in a sci-fi film, you work together to bring systems online and mitigate the damage.
4) Roles – There are 18 different roles you can play each game. You can choose or randomly select one. The roles are very different and dramatically effect how you contribute to the game.
Room For Improvement –
1) The rules are a little tough to work through the first time. They could use a rewrite. This is mitigated by the link in the rule book to an online tutorial video. I strongly recommend you use the video.
2) The alert deck (the bad things that happen that continually ratchet up the pressure) gets a little repetitive after several play throughs. In a new edition, I would hope to see a few more cards added to the alert deck and randomly remove X number of cards each game setup. That way, you wouldn’t know for sure what cards you would be hit with.
Notes –
*There are two versions of the game out. This review is based on the second version by Alderac Entertainment Group. I personally think the art and iconography was cleaned up in the second version. The first version is by The Game Crafter.
*There are two expansions available at The Game Crafter site but these are not currently available on AEG.
Overall Impression –
I love this game. I am a big fan of Pandemic and there are similarities in some game mechanics. However, I consider The Captain is Dead much more dynamic. Your number of actions can change. Some systems require more than one action to use. There are ALIENS that get in your way. You have don’t receive resources unless you take the actions necessary to gather them.
If you like Pandemic, Science Fiction movies, cooperative games, and laughing even when you’re losing, this may me a game to add to your collection.
OH NO! The captain is dead! You and buddies are a crew on a spaceship and you must get the jump core back online. But as you’re doing so, you’re being attacked by alien space ships, your systems are going offline, and you have to fend off aliens that are boarding your ship.
Overall, this is a GREAT game. I LOVE it! If you’re looking for a co-op game that has a great theme and is challenging, then this is your game. I love the co-op play of the game where teamwork is a “must”. In every move that you make, it must be strategically played, as it should benefit your teammates. The game does a very good job at drawing you in, making you feel as if you’re really a crew member onboard a ship that is getting attacked by aliens. The anticipation of not knowing what will happen next keeps you on the edge of your seat. This is not an easy game to win I would say and is very challenging. I’ve played multiple times and have not won once, but am determined!
Again, this is a great game. The board is very colorful and the art is great. The only down fall I would say about the game are its components. The character pawns are cheap plastic pawns where you would have to peel of the provided stickers and stick them on. With that, the card stock material is pretty thin and you get a lot of scurf marks on the edges after several play. This game runs for about $50 on the GameCrafter. I believe it’s the only place where you can purchase it. If you’re lucky, you might find it on eBay or listed on gameboardgeek. I wish it would have been a little cheaper due to the poor material of its components, but overall, in support of the GameCrafter and the game itself, it’s definitely worth it. It took about 2 weeks for the game to come in for me and the Game Crafter explains why here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo40579m-GE , but again, very solid game. I enjoy it a ton and I highly encourage everyone to check it out!
This game is like most co-ops, you know you’re going to lose but you still play and most of the time you enjoy it and this game is no different. As long as you don’t go into co-op games with the mindset that you have already lost then you’ll enjoy this game. The set up is a little long as you got to set out all the cards and get everyone to pick their roles with sufficient discussion on what roles are needed and what can be avoided. Once you get things set up this game follows nicely. The gist is that aliens are attacking the ship you are on and if you can get the space jump up to engage before one of 3 things happen that cause you to lose, you win. I have played this 3 times in the last 2 days and I have another game scheduled for this coming week. I know now that I will enjoy the upcoming game as this is a simple game to understand and the replay value is there. If you have a chance to play this do so and just enjoy the ride as at the end of every turn something bad happens so just keep smiling and enjoy the ride…. while it lasts.