Tabletop Game Review: Viticulture Second Edition

Developer Jamey Stegmaier and Alan Stone
Publisher One Moment Games and Stonemaier Games
Distributor Skycastle Games
Where we got our copy Skycastle Games
Table top type Board Games
Players 1-6

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Published August 8, 2016

You like wine, right? I mean as South Africans, we make some of the best wines out there. In Viticulture, you get to play through what it’s like being a winemaker – from planting your grape seedlings, to harvesting them, to maturing the wine to a ripe age, you will compete against the other players to create the finest, oakiest, most mature wine that the world has ever seen!

Set Up

Viticulture has one of the prettiest game pieces that I have ever played. The pieces are tiny and intricate, and the see-through droplets of wine are what fermented dreams are made of.

The game can be played between 1-6 players. Each player must pick a colour and collect their pieces, as well as their own player board which will guide them through the game. To determine who goes first, a designated player should place all the player’s roosters in his/her hand, shake it up and drop one. The player that is dropped is the player who will go first and he/she will receive the light green grape token. The players must then place their roosters at the top of the scale at the bottom left-hand side of the main board.

At the beginning of the game the players are able to access their three farms, the crush pads as well as the first small cellar on the player board. The rest of the buildings on the board can be accessed throughout the game as the player pays for themto be built.

The player’s also receive a single pinot grape seedling form the green deck of cards (the vine deck). Once each player has a pinot card, shuffle the deck and place it on the main board. Shuffle the rest of the cards and place them on their designated spots on the board (i.e. the green cards go on the green space, the purple on the purple etc.). Players also receive a yellow card from the yellow deck (the summer visitors’ deck), as well as three lira coins.

Each player starts off with two workers and one big Grande worker, which can be placed on the players’ board. The players’ wine bottles are to be placed in the centre of the compass at the bottom right hand side of the main board. The players must place their corks at the start off the victory point tracker at the bottom of the main board and move them along as they earn their victory points.

Place the rest of the coins on the side of the board. The big grey blob, also known as the temporary worker, goes at the bottom left hand side of the board, where the number 7 is on the scale.

Phew. Sound like a lot? I know, better take a sip of that wine. Luckily though, the rest is pretty simple from here on out.

How to Play

Viticulture uses rounds to maintain the gameplay flow throughout. These rounds are represented by years. Within these years, players play through seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) where they are given opportunities to plant seedlings, build structures, collect money, harvest grapes and mature their wines.

Spring

In the first season, Spring, the first player gets to choose when they want to wake up first. They must place their rooster on the scale at the bottom left hand side of the board, determining the hour in which they wake up. Each hour has its own benefit but will also determine the turn order for the year. For example, if the first player chooses to wake up at 7, they will receive an extra Grande worker, but will proceed to go last for the rest of the year (round).

Summer

Enter Summer, where players are able to place their workers to perform tasks that will help them create the finest wine in all the land. The places on the main board which have yellow circles are where the players are able to place their workers during Summer. Depending on how many players are in the game will determine how many of those spaces are available for the players to place their workers on. For example, in a 3-4 player game, the first two places will be available – while in a 5-6 player game, all 3 places will be available for the players to place their workers.

Throughout Summer players are able to give a tour of their wine farm to gain 2 lira, draw a vine card from the green deck, play and resolve one of their yellow cards, sell some of their harvested grapes, plant seedlings (i.e. play a vine card), build a structure and finally, gain one lira. To do these actions, the player must place his/her worker on the corresponding location. The worker will be placed here for the rest of the year, so be cautious as to where the workers should go. Sometimes, it is more worthwhile to not play any workers during the Summer, and only place them in the winter.

Fall/Autumn

During Fall/Autumn, players are able to draw 2 visitor cards. Players can choose whether to draw 1 Summer visitor card (yellow) and 1 Winter visitor card (blue), or they can choose to draw 2 Winter visitor cards, or 2 Summer visitor cards. Players do this in their turn order, according to who woke up the earliest to who woke up the latest.

Winter

Following the same turn order from Summer, players now place their remaining workers on the blue circles on the left hand side of the main board. Again, depending on how many players are in the game will determine how many blue circle places are available to the players in Winter.

During Winter, the focus shifts from planting seedlings and building structures to harvesting the grapes that the players have grown, maturing the wine in their cellar, training more workers for Summer, playing and resolving more Winter visitor cards (blue cards) as well as drawing and fulfilling wine order cards (purple cards).

Wine order cards are the main way to earn victory points within the game. Typically, a wine order card will require the player to create a specific type of wine/wines in order for them to earn the victory points.

Year End

Well done! You’ve just gone through an entire year of making hard decisions and good wine. Now it’s time to gather up all your workers from the main board, age your grapes in the crush pad and your wines in the cellar by one space and collect your residual payment if you have completed any wine orders. The next year (round) starts with Spring in the air. The first player will now be rotated clockwise, making him/her the first player to choose when to wake up.

End Game

The game ends when 7 years (rounds) have passed. The player with the most victory points the end of the 7 years wins the game and has the finest wine.

Positive Nodes

Beautiful art and amazingly crafted, wooden pieces that make the game so nice to look at and play with.

Amazing gameplay flow that never gets repetitive or boring.

There is a lot of player interaction when placing workers on the board because others can block you from certain areas if there are no spaces left for any more workers.

Always thinking, always strategizing. This game really makes you question your next move, as well as what the other players have in mind.

Even if you don’t like wine, this game has enough mechanics to keep you entertained and permanently on the edge.

The board has 2 sides to it, one side without any text for more experienced players, as well as a side with text that guides the players through the seasons and the actions that they can take.

Negative Nodes

Initially, this game can be a bit confusing to learn but once you know it, you’ll never forget it.

The board can get a bit messy with the amount of pieces that it has. I would recommend having a set of containers near the board to place the lira and see-through grape tokens into.

This game might not be for the whole family. Although its age recommendation is 13+, I would suggest that adults play this one together and give the kids an easier game in the meantime.

You like wine, right? I mean as South Africans, we make some of the best wines out there. In Viticulture, you get to play through what it’s like being a winemaker - from planting your grape seedlings, to harvesting them, to maturing the wine to a ripe age, you will compete against the other players to create the finest, oakiest, most mature wine that the world has ever seen! Set Up Viticulture has one of the prettiest game pieces that I have ever played. The pieces are tiny and intricate, and the see-through droplets of wine are what fermented dreams are made of. The game can be played between 1-6 players. Each player must pick a colour and collect their pieces, as well as their own player board which will guide them through the game. To determine who goes first, a designated player should place all the player’s roosters in his/her hand, shake it up and drop one. The player that is dropped is the player who will go first and he/she will receive the light green grape token. The players must then place their roosters at the top of the scale at the bottom left-hand side of the main board. At the beginning of the game the players are able to access their three farms, the crush pads as well as the first small cellar on the player board. The rest of the buildings on the board can be accessed throughout the game as the player pays for themto be built. The player’s also receive a single pinot grape seedling form the green deck of cards (the vine deck). Once each player has a pinot card, shuffle the deck and place it on the main board. Shuffle the rest of the cards and place them on their designated spots on the board (i.e. the green cards go on the green space, the purple on the purple etc.). Players also receive a yellow card from the yellow deck (the summer visitors’ deck), as well as three lira coins. Each player starts off with two workers and one big Grande worker, which can be placed on the players’ board. The players’ wine bottles are to be placed in the centre of the compass at the bottom right hand side of the main board. The players must place their corks at the start off the victory point tracker at the bottom of the main board and move them along as they earn their victory points. Place the rest of the coins on the side of the board. The big grey blob, also known as the temporary worker, goes at the bottom left hand side of the board, where the number 7 is on the scale. Phew. Sound like a lot? I know, better take a sip of that wine. Luckily though, the rest is pretty simple from here on out. How to Play Viticulture uses rounds to maintain the gameplay flow throughout. These rounds are represented by years. Within these years, players…

Tabletop Game Review: Viticulture Second Edition

2016-08-08

PartyPanda5

Beautiful, even when you're sober!

Total - 9

90 9

Viticulture is a well balanced game that encourage players to strategize and interact with one another. This game is beautiful and fun to play. It would be a fantastic gift to a friend/family member who loves wine and having fun.

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Andrea is a game designer with a passion for creative writing as well as cats. She is in her 4th year of study at Wits and is all about that academic life. Andrea spends the majority of her time trying to balance out playing really cool games and trying to make really cool games.