Ever wondered if you’d do well if your parents gave you a vineyard or if you could make your own tasty wine? Me neither, but in Viticulture you get to experience all the ins and outs of wine making in more or less 45 to 90 minutes! Sounds interesting? Let me convince you why you should have this beautiful board game in your library.
First thing you have to know about Viticulture is that you have to understand the process of making wine efficiently to win. What grapes do you need for a sparkling? How does it have to sit in the winery to have elite taste? How many workers do you need this year to make a bottle of the finest reds? These are the questions you ask yourself while playing the game. What I love about the game is that it makes sense! You do need red grapes to get red wine. Duh. Grapes need to be squashed and stored for a while to get wine. Once you understand that the game relies on your vague knowledge of wine making in real life then understanding the rules is a breeze! Plant grapes, squish grapes, store juice, get wine, sell wine! The beautiful implementation of this process to the game lets itself be one of the easiest ‘heavier’ games to grasp! I have taught this game in Gaming Library stores in less than 20 minutes!
A game will never be the same. Similar yes but never the same. You have an identity that is different for all players. Mamas and Papas are included already in the essential edition of the game. Just this expansion alone turns the game from a simple ‘plant grapes, sell wine’ game into a ‘what's happening in brother’s vineyard and why does he have a windmill and I don't?!’ game. You are given a choice of who your mama and papa is, and some of them give you different starting points in your Vineyard Life which changes your gaming experience every time! These aren’t the most powerful changes and it wouldn't tilt the game for a ‘luckier’ player to win, these are just enough changes that you feel that your mama and papa loved you more this game by giving you a bigger wine cellar rather than giving you some wine orders you have to make as soon as possible.
First thing you have to know about Viticulture is that you have to understand the process of making wine efficiently to win. What grapes do you need for a sparkling? How does it have to sit in the winery to have elite taste? How many workers do you need this year to make a bottle of the finest reds? These are the questions you ask yourself while playing the game. What I love about the game is that it makes sense! You do need red grapes to get red wine. Duh. Grapes need to be squashed and stored for a while to get wine. Once you understand that the game relies on your vague knowledge of wine making in real life then understanding the rules is a breeze! Plant grapes, squish grapes, store juice, get wine, sell wine! The beautiful implementation of this process to the game lets itself be one of the easiest ‘heavier’ games to grasp! I have taught this game in Gaming Library stores in less than 20 minutes!
A game will never be the same. Similar yes but never the same. You have an identity that is different for all players. Mamas and Papas are included already in the essential edition of the game. Just this expansion alone turns the game from a simple ‘plant grapes, sell wine’ game into a ‘what's happening in brother’s vineyard and why does he have a windmill and I don't?!’ game. You are given a choice of who your mama and papa is, and some of them give you different starting points in your Vineyard Life which changes your gaming experience every time! These aren’t the most powerful changes and it wouldn't tilt the game for a ‘luckier’ player to win, these are just enough changes that you feel that your mama and papa loved you more this game by giving you a bigger wine cellar rather than giving you some wine orders you have to make as soon as possible.
In Viticulture Essential Edition, they already include a couple of expansions in the box. It is a game that has already gone through the criticism of the community and the best part is that the publisher, Stonemaier Games, listens to the people. They've included the essentials of all the expansions including the ‘Mamas and Papas’ and the Grande worker! All you have to do is get the essential edition and you are set for great games with friends. You don't need the other expansions, unless you love the game then I HIGHLY recommend getting the Tuscany Expansion which turns the game into an even better experience! I also didn't think it could get better than what was already in the base essential box, but it does!
My last point for you getting Viticulture on your shelf is it’s player count. From 1-6 players! YES. One. Uno. Isa. SOLO. It is a soloable game and I think it is the best soloable board game out there right now. I have played Viticulture alone with a wine glass on my left hand and a charcuterie board on the table. It is a challenging puzzle to win every time! Playing with your friends gets challenging because they will block the spots that you would want to go to and I kid you not, playing this solo, THE BOARD GAME AI HAS SCREWED ME MORE TIMES THAN MY FRIENDS EVER DID. It's crazy how the game knows which spots you’d want to go to for a specific round. It still amazes me. The game is near perfect when scaling the number of players.
My last point for you getting Viticulture on your shelf is it’s player count. From 1-6 players! YES. One. Uno. Isa. SOLO. It is a soloable game and I think it is the best soloable board game out there right now. I have played Viticulture alone with a wine glass on my left hand and a charcuterie board on the table. It is a challenging puzzle to win every time! Playing with your friends gets challenging because they will block the spots that you would want to go to and I kid you not, playing this solo, THE BOARD GAME AI HAS SCREWED ME MORE TIMES THAN MY FRIENDS EVER DID. It's crazy how the game knows which spots you’d want to go to for a specific round. It still amazes me. The game is near perfect when scaling the number of players.
If I haven’t convinced you enough yet, let me know when you will visit one of the Gaming Library stores. I’ll bring Viticulture and teach the game to you. If you don’t like the game after playing with me, I’ll get you a discount for any game you want in store. That’s how confident I am with Viticulture. Would I recommend this for newer board gamers? Yes, it’s rules are easy to grasp once explained. For seasoned veterans? Yes it has a deep enough strategy. For collectors? Yes it has a beautifully illustrated board and game box, and well crafted wooden pieces.
I'm not forcing you to love Viticulture, I’m just asking you to give it a try...
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Viticulture is Published by Stonemaier Games and is designed by the great minds of Jamey Stagmaier, Morten Monrad Pedersen, and Alan Stone. Beautifully illustrated by Jacqui Davis, David Montgomery, and Beth Sobel.
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Viticulture is Published by Stonemaier Games and is designed by the great minds of Jamey Stagmaier, Morten Monrad Pedersen, and Alan Stone. Beautifully illustrated by Jacqui Davis, David Montgomery, and Beth Sobel.
1 comment
I like Viticulture. But I have to put it on queue.