Collegiate Crew loosely simulates a collegiate crew event between 2-6 colleges, consisting of Freshman, JV, and Varsity races. Event cards are used to give players special abilities to use during the race, and players are given the chance to choose their stroke rate and change their stroke rate once during the race, with higher rates increasing the possibility of moving faster but lowering the expected value. Winners of Freshman and JV races earn extra cards for the Varsity race while race losers give up a card. Play all 3 races to experience the entire game. The object is to win the Varsity race. As in the real world, nothing else matters except who wins the varsity.