Running the vineyard proving to be too much for you? Feel like you need a helping hand? Then Viticulture World might be just the right fit for you. Gather your friends and work together in this cooperative expansion to the beloved Viticulture.

1-6 Players 60-120 mins Age 13+

Designers: Mihir Shah, Francesco Testini

Artist: Andrew Bosley

Publisher: Stonemaier Games

A Fine Wine

Viticulture World is the most recent expansion to Viticulture, one of Stonemaier Games’ earliest and most respected titles. While the original game has provided a well-supported, competitive worker placement experience, Viticulture World seeks to bring players together in a cooperative experience allowing them to bring their labels to the globe and support one another in a common goal. Just how do these new changes work and do they bring something new to the table? Swirl those wine glasses and prepare those noses, because we’re going on a wine trail of discovery in Viticulture World!

A Most Delicious Beveridge

Cooperative board gaming is, to some, still a relatively recent occurrence. Popularised largely by the release of Pandemic some years back, board gamers were presented with an experience that had been largely lacking beforehand. Of course, there existed cooperative games before Pandemic, but that title was the first to gain mass appeal among mainstream audiences who, until that time, had only experienced more traditional competitive games, such as Catan, Monopoly and their ilk.

This co-op experience struck a chord with gamers as, in the years since the board gaming world has practically exploded with cooperative games of all genres. This brings us to Viticulture World which expands the original game in a rather unique way. While it is technically an expansion, since it requires the original game and many of its components to function, Viticulture World could easily have been its release similar to Wingspan Asia, though it would have required a larger production. In this instance, however, and as someone who already owned the Essential Edition, I appreciated being able to integrate the game into my existing copy rather than buying a full-priced game that provided many of the same components. So I see the logic behind this style of release and it’s a model I’d like to see expanded upon by other publishers.

Viticulture World brings a host of fresh content to players’ vineyards, the most notable of which is an entirely new double-sided game board for the cooperative game, with one side for the inclusion of structure cards and the other without depending on your preference. The introduction of continent decks, which allow players to select a region from around the world and form an integral part of the co-op game, bring options such as new play styles, changes to the game state, new action selection spaces and individual player powers among other additions making each game a unique experience. One of the regions, Green Gully, is based on the world of Charterstone and each game “year” or round players are presented with a new action selection space and an alteration to the game state until the end of that year. The remaining continents are based on the regions of our real world and each has its mechanism that changes how players approach their wine-making journey. I won’t spoil these changes here, but suffice it to say, I was impressed with the many varied ways the game can now be played and there’s certain to be an option to suit everyone.

Other additions include the introduction of innovation tiles, which essentially allow players to upgrade action spaces to become more rewarding versions of themselves. For example, a space that previously granted a monetary reward may now also offer a victory point. These changes aren’t game-breaking and help allow players to fulfil their objectives. Due to the collaborative nature of the game, players can freely discuss which innovation tiles would best support their goals adding a greater sense of group accomplishment if it pays off.

Influence, denoted by a grape leaf icon, adds a new track to the game that players will need to work together to advance in addition to their scores. The way influence advances will vary depending on the region being used, so be sure all players understand these adjustments before starting as it can be easy to overlook this track until it’s too late. Influence reinforces the collaborative nature of Viticulture World and is a great way to remind players to work together for a common purpose.

Have A Taste Boys, Tell Us What You Think

For a small box, Viticulture World packs in a huge amount of content. Beyond the materials mentioned previously are several quality-of-life and content changes that Stonemaier took the opportunity to update here. Several cards for instance permanently previous versions for the sake of compatibility. The functions of the cards are identical, they simply have a black border around them to denote they should be removed or ignored when playing the cooperative game.

Another update is that of the Mama and Papa cards, now referred to as Red and Blue cards. These additional cards can be shuffled into the originals and give players the option to have two Mamas or two Papas, so long as one is red and the other is blue, to ensure the start of game resources are handled correctly. This represents a shift forward for Stonemaier games to represent a wider range of options for players.

The included Automa (solo) mode is another positive here. As with the base game of Viticulture, the included Automa, called Burattino (puppet in Italian), is intuitive, smooth and fast to play and gives you a much-needed helping hand since the game is of course, based around the co-op experience. A single deck of cards does most of Burattino’s heavy lifting, freeing up the player’s concentration to focus on their play.

Speaking of focus, I found Viticulture World to provide a tighter and more streamlined experience than the standard game, even with the additional changes from the various continents. One of my only negatives from the original Viticulture was that it could sometimes go overlong, especially at higher player counts, but that didn’t seem to be an issue here. Perhaps it was due to my familiarity with the concepts, but it did seem to be a faster game in most cases.

It Certainly Has Plenty of Nose

As for any downside, I’m happy to report, there’s not a lot to say. Overall gameplay remains largely unchanged which, depending on what you want from a co-op experience, could be a positive or negative. I take an “if it ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach, so I’m good there, but your experience may vary.

The only other sticking point for some could be the added randomness from the innovation cards, though given the number of cards being drawn during a game of Viticulture, I doubt it would make a huge difference. Any such randomness could be mitigated by trading or discussing tactics with the group to adapt.

Oh Yes, This Is Very Familiar

Viticulture World utilises beautiful artwork across all components and matches what has come before creating a cohesive aesthetic. The familiar greens and sandy brown blend wonderfully with the wine-coloured player pieces. Contrasted only by the new blue and yellow rubber hats that denote an untrained worker versus a hatless trained worker. A simple addition to solve a mechanical problem without overcomplicating the issue.

This expansion includes a component tray that fits in the wine crate big box which was released by Stonemaier Games as an all-in-one storage solution. The vacuform plastic of the tray is, unfortunately, a match with that of the other component trays in the wine crate, I wasn’t a fan of those inserts, and while I appreciate that it fits and matches what came before, what came before wasn’t all that great. I love the crate, I just don’t love the insert.

Aside from the insert, the production is top-notch and of the usual high quality I’ve come to expect from Stonemaier Games over the years. No notes.

I’m Sure You’ll Be Glad To Hear There Is An Inexhaustible Supply Of It

Viticulture World is a welcome update to an already solid and well-supported game. The extra content and co-op play add a new experience to this seasoned worker placement veteran. Stonemaier’s commitment to updating and refreshing its games to make them more inclusive is admirable and the addition of the different continents shows not only their commitment to exploring other cultures with respect but also that they are constantly looking for ways to learn, update and correct content where they find fault. A great cooperative game experience with a solid solo mode in a densely packed, content-rich package that only further adds to an already well-designed and highly popular title. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about Viticulture World and feel it would be a good fit for your group, then I can highly recommend it to all fans, new and old.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed your time with us today. Thank you also to Stonemaier Games for providing a review copy of Viticulture World.

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Viticulture World Review