The Captain is Dead
Only YOU can save the crew!
Ratings
Age
9+
Category
Board
Languages
English
Wed Feb 02 2022
New in this update...
- 1st Officer: the logical choice to save the ship, with his ability to divine the perfect plan at will.
- Janitor: fixes stuff with duct tape... a regular space MacGuyver.
- Maximum crew incresed to 7.
- Tactical HUD, for those of you with big, high-def screens.
- Leaderboards ... are you the top commander?
- Eco Mode: less graphics... more battery.
- Rule tweaks, bug fixes and more!
The Captain Is Dead is a digital board game adaptation where players command a crew on a damaged starship. With the captain gone, you must coordinate diverse roles—from the Chief Engineer to the ship's Janitor—to repair the Jump Core and survive alien attacks. It features high-stakes, turn-based strategy and asymmetric gameplay where every decision could be the difference between escape and annihilation.
Dinsun Expert Review
Our Expert Score
The Captain Is Dead is the ultimate 'everything is going wrong' simulator. Based on the popular board game, it perfectly captures the panic of being on a starship that is literally falling apart. You’re not trying to win a war; you’re just trying to fix the Jump Core before the aliens blast you to atoms.
The asymmetric roles are the heart of the game. Using the Janitor to fix systems while the Soldier fends off boarders feels rewarding because every character is vital. The digital version adds great visuals and music that heighten the tension. It’s hard—very hard—but when you finally manage to jump to hyperspace with 1% shields left, the feeling of relief is unmatched.
Features
7+ unique crew roles
Asymmetric survival strategy
Based on the hit board game
Intense sci-fi atmosphere
Tips & Walkthrough
Use the Ensign to learn skills quickly and transfer them to the Chief Engineer, who can repair the Jump Core much more efficiently than anyone else.
Gameplays
Prioritize the Shields and the Bridge. If the shields go down, your crew will start taking hits that limit their actions per turn.
Screenshot
Q&A
Yes, the game includes a tutorial to explain the complex ship systems and crew actions.
Ratings & Reviews
A solid game, but here’s a quick heads up.
Fri Feb 26 2021 VtyjdyjtdujyfuykyfI had not played or had even heard the original board game until I came across the AppStore port. I’ve only played a few games so far, and but I think it’s very solid. I haven’t encountered any bugs yet, the animations, graphics, and voice acting capture the original art style and tone of the game very well. The tutorial is good for teaching you the base mechanics of the game but it leaves the exact specifics and team synergies for you to figure out, which is something I really like. I think it’s very good game, but Moving onto that little heads up notice: there currently only seven crew members available, with devs planning to add more in the coming months. The currently available crew members are: the Admiral, the Chief Engineer, the Crew Member, the Soldier, the Cyborg, the Ensign, and the Councilor. This limited choice was actually helpful for me, as it didn’t have the overwhelming selection of the full crew. Just a heads up. All in all, I think it’s a good game.
Challenging!
Thu Oct 28 2021 BrigadierBleuDon’t expect to win every time you play!
Give it a couple tries, then decide
Sat Mar 18 2023 TheDustyShadowI heard JT Smith in an interview with Gabe Barrett describing the development of this game. I was afraid the frantic nature of the alerts would drive me crazy, but after playing several games I found that the whole game really fits together well (the characters and their abilities, the systems, the ways to try to keep ahead of the alerts). And it is very satisfying to feel that you understand your options, have a strategy, and are able to move in the direction you want, despite the alerts. I played the IOS game which is really a gem with very polished graphics and controls. The IOS version wasn’t clicking for me the first time through (even with its tutorial), but after reading the board game rule book, everything started to make sense, and I found myself playing game after game with harder difficulty levels.
Some familiarity required
Tue Feb 02 2021 Trav91Saw this game on a Reddit post. Going in, I was unaware that this game was previously a board game. As such, the rules and strategy were unfamiliar to me. I do profess to enjoy the action-based games similar to this, so I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, the tutorial could best be described as inadequate. After the brief tutorial, you are quickly thrusted into regular gameplay and are immediately required to understand certain logic and functions within the game not mentioned or explained during the tutorial. Once I looked up the board game and rules, I better understood why certain actions occurred each turn. The graphics during gameplay are excellent. Each toggle on every screen has a purpose and is well placed. Although I have yet to beat the game on its easiest setting (coward) I have enjoyed playing it. Recommended for those who enjoy action-based games and want a challenge.
Broken
Thu May 13 2021 HitthebidsHow are you supposed to play a game when the tutorial Is broken? Trying to learn in a quick game is worthless. It’s like it was dumped on the App Store and not touched since. No follow up. Stay away. Follow up. Switched from phone to iPad. Game works much better. Control is better. Today’s games are getting too advanced for the small screens. Maybe time to do a sub-rating on which platforms the games are optimized on.
Fun but not intuitive
Thu Feb 04 2021 wastxtcyfhcyvThe art style and gameplay caught my eye and enjoyed playing up until the tutorial ended. It gives you just a quick once over on simple rules and then the game has it turned up a few notches making things significantly harder. I feel like this game suffers a little from not having a more in depth guide or a longer tutorial.
I don’t know what to do
Wed Apr 14 2021 AdadadaagleSo I try to start the tutorial and every time it gets stuck at the part where the alien ship comes out and I don’t know what to do. I tried just starting a normal game, that works but my goodness I have no idea what’s going on. It looks fun and I think I’d have a great time if I knew what I was doing. I’m running it on a XR. I really want to try this and for 7 bucks I get an app where I can’t enjoy it. It looks fun would be great if I could actually play it.
Challenging game but the interface is rough
Tue Dec 27 2022 NamehasnotbeenchosenThe game is very challenging which is fine. I have a lot of trouble with the interface. Many accidental teleports when I’m just trying to look at a room. With the margin of error so small in this game the accidental teleports usually mean I have to restart the game.
Some Youtube Videos found!
News found!
The Captain is Dead’s digital version gets a new PC release dateThe digital version of The Captain is Dead - an interstellar game about surviving an alien encounter - has finally been given a release date for early next...
Dicebreaker Fri May 28 2021
How The Captain Is Dead Adapted Its Star Trek Parody Board Game To PCThe Captain Is Dead, a cooperative tabletop board game and Star Trek parody recently adapted into a multiplayer video game by Thunderbox Entertainment.
Screen Rant Fri May 28 2021
The Captain is Dead app stars Blood of Zeus and Deus Ex actor Elias ToufexisElias Toufexis, the actor behind Deus Ex's Adam Jensen and Blood of Zeus' Seraphim, is voicing a character in the upcoming digital version of co-op board game...
Dicebreaker Sat Aug 28 2021
Tsuro is flying onto PC and Mac next monthRelaxing tile-laying game Tsuro is coming to PC and Mac, in the same week as a VR version releases on the Oculus Quest.
Dicebreaker Wed Apr 28 2021
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