Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Designer: Mihir Shah, Francesco Testini
Artist: Andrew Bosley
1-6 players
60-120 minutes
In Viticulture, we competed against each other in original or essential editions. We were fortunate to be taught the base game by a knowledgeable and patient teacher and were hooked. The original review is below.
Viticulture World Overview
Winemakers work collectively over 6 rounds to achieve victory. By the end of the 6th year, each player must have 25 victory points and gain 10 influence to win. The most significant change in this expansion is that it's now played cooperatively instead of competitively.
Set-Up
You must replace some cards from the original and expansions of Viticulture. These are listed on the back of the viticulture rulebook. To make it easy, the replacements are exact duplicates with a black border. Shuffle them back into the decks.
Set the player board between the players. Using the Tuscany expansion, use the side with the two orange card spaces. If not, use the other side. Set the shuffled cards on the board.
There is a new Wake Up chart!!! Add the new grey temporary worker. Set the grape and wine tokens and money close to the board.
Next, pick one of the seven continents to play. The difficulty rises as you play through them. It is suggested that we start with Greengully, which we did. We have played Viticulture dozens of times, and some games can go just right, and sometimes not so much, but we generally race to finish. We found Greengully challenging and played it twice before we got into a rhythm. This is good; we enjoy tinkering with a new game to see what works for us. Each continent has a story to read before playing. We loved the layers that these stories brought to the game. These event cards add specific mechanics. These new mechanics are excellent in representing different cultures. Place the remainder of the event cards face down on the board in numerical order.
Now, follow the set for the continent you have chosen.
Innovation Cards. A key strategy noted in the rulebook is that you'll want to buy those Innovation tiles. The earlier you pick them up, the more long-term benefits you'll reap from their bonuses. Viticulture has always been about tough choices because there's always one more action you want to do but do not have the worker. CHOICES! These innovation tiles add a swifter way to succeed and give you choices between better actions or bonuses. We utilized the tiles sparingly in our first play, and we lost. We leaned into the following plays, found they were worth the cost, and moved the game along.
Add the pink influence token to influence the track, matching the number of players. Place the grape token on the year tracker. There are six rounds to meet the goals and win.
Each player gets a player board and field cards. Place your player tokens near the player board. Each player receives four workers and one Grande worker. The regular workers get their hats! Two workers get yellow hats and can only work in the summer. Two get blue hats and can only work in the Winter. Once trained, they lose their hats and can work in any season. (I love the hats)
Place the player's residual token in the center of the residual track. Place Victory Tokens on the reputation point tracker. Each player draws two Momma and Papa cards to reveal their starting items, or two Papas or two Mommas. This is very thoughtful. Time to play.
Gameplay
In Spring, you flip over the top event card and read out loud. Each card will have a new gameplay effect on the bottom of the card. These event cards can modify spaces on the board. These cards are very well thought out and spice up the gameplay.
Reveal and place the Innovation tiles. Remember to utilize these cards early to jump-start opportunities.
Choose your starting point on the Wake Up to set your order, and it's time to make wine!
Players decide in turn order to place a worker in a summer action or pass. There are a few differences in the spaces in the Viticulture World. There are only two spaces per action and only one space for two players. The spaces have no bonuses; however, they can be added later with the Innovation tiles. There are a few new spaces in summer, and our favorite was Pay One Get One, meaning pay a Victory Point to get a grape, and so on.
I talked about using the Innovation cards early, and in Summer, there is a space to pay four coins to get an Innovation card and pick any of the face-up tiles placed in Spring. Each tile has a letter on the denote where it is placed on the board. These tiles make the action so much better in the following turns. Some Innovation tiles gain a benefit when placed, and that can benefit all players, or there is the cost of putting the tile for the player placing it.
The benefit of the oval Innovation tiles is that there is no limit to the number of workers who can be there simultaneously. If there is a bonus and you place a trained worker, you can receive the bonus. These tiles only get refreshed during Spring. There is now a cost to play grape, and the costs are on the player boards. Each player plays or passes, and you take the Fall action when you pass. Move the player's rooster token to the inner circle in the Wake-Up chart and pick a benefit from the choices. If the player has purchased a Cottage, you draw a visitor card and wait for the other player to reach Fall.
In Winter, you play or pass. There are new spaces in Winter, and one is space to train a worker, and then you can remove the hat (sad face), and they can now work in any season. There is a space to sell one wine token to gain that wine value. The Innovation tiles are pricey, a great way to get extra coins for the next season. Usually, it is too expensive when I play the space Pay Eight Coin to gain one influence. We leaned toward saving the coin for the Innovation tiles. As in the original game, the Grande work can be placed in a space already occupied.
A new rule that has been very helpful when we play is that when you place the Grande worker in a space where another worker is and has taken action, you can trade or give as much as you want. It's worth it! This can be wine, grapes, cards, or coins. This has been crucial for the last few years of the game when the action intensifies.
Year End Steps. As soon as players pass Winter, they take their Year End steps: Retrieve worker, age grapes and wins, collect residuals, discard down to five cards, and advance the year track. Viticulture play: you are still planting vines, harvesting fields, building structures, and filling orders.
All players must achieve 25 Victory points and 10 influence within six years. If all players achieve this, you win; if not, you lose.
Bits and Bobs
1 box
1 double-sided game board
2 rulebooks
7 completely asymmetric, unique continent decks (110 total cards, all 63x88mm)
28 innovation tiles
20 new red and blue cards* (63x88mm)
24 yellow and blue hats
1 influence token
1 event token
20+ Automa solo components (including 19 cards at the 63x88mm size)
20 card reprints (these mechanically identical cards replace their original counterparts, so it’s easy to discard cards that aren’t compatible for cooperative play)
Our Thoughts
We have never been bored of Viticulture, which is always played on our anniversary. The combinations available to each player made Viticulture fresh each time it was on the table. Then we saw the hats!
In the Viticulture World, complexity arises in the big choices at each turn. It is a tense and thematically refreshing take on cooperative play.
This is a great choice if you have a regular board game group that is looking for a new challenge to which they will keep coming back.
Every game we have played has gone to the wire. This creates new challenges at different difficulty levels, so seasoned players are put through their paces. But the new mechanics of Innovative tiles and sharing even the playing field for new players.
It is wonderfully produced and perfectly boxed. The rulebook is very straightforward.
The choice of Continent event cards ensures good replayability and does a fantastic job of selling the theme.
Viticulture World is a rare creation that we found has the perfect balance between depth, style, substance, challenge—and HATS!!!!
The Viticulture core game is required to play the Viticulture World expansion. Other expansions are compatible with this expansion. Some copies of Viticulture World are packaged inside the Wine Crate organizer box.
This expansion was provided by the publisher; however, my opinions are my own.
Let’s be honest; there is still a bit of drama when we play.
Sit Down and Join the Game
Suzanne
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