Viticulture Essential Edition

2015

Dive into rustic Tuscany with Viticulture, an immersive board game where you manage vineyards, allocate workers, entertain visitors, and fulfill wine orders to create the most successful winery.

90
minutes

1 - 6
player(s)

13+

Medium

About the game

Viticulture Essential Edition is a beautifully designed, worker-placement board game that immerses you in the romantic and challenging world of wine production. Transporting players to the rustic landscapes of Tuscany, Italy, Viticulture tasks you with managing a vineyard, cultivating your fields, and producing high-quality wines.

The game’s theme and setting are wonderfully evocative and unique. As a vineyard owner in pre-modern Tuscany, you’re not just playing a game – you’re embarking on a narrative journey. Every game element, from the sun-drenched board to the elegantly shaped wooden tokens, contributes to this immersive experience.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Viticulture Essential Edition is a comprehensive strategy board game that revolves around the theme of winemaking. Its immersive gameplay is enhanced by the intricate components included in the box. Here’s a detailed list of these components:

1. Game Board: The game board is the primary platform where players will perform their actions. It includes several areas for placing workers, tracks for victory points, and seasonal areas for different actions.

2. Player Mats: Each player receives a mat to manage their vineyard. The mat includes spaces for vine cards, wine cellars, fields, and tracks for grapes and wine.

3. Colored Workers and Grande Workers: Each player has their own set of workers, which they use to perform actions. The Grande worker is a special worker that can perform actions even when an action space is full.

4. Vine Cards: These cards represent different types of grapes. Players plant these in their fields to produce grapes and, eventually, wine.

5. Wine Order Cards: These cards represent orders that players can fulfill to earn victory points. Each card requires specific types of wine.

6. Summer and Winter Visitor Cards: These cards represent visitors who provide players with various advantages. Summer visitors generally assist with vineyard production, while winter visitors help with wine making and selling.

7. Structure Cards: These cards represent buildings that players can construct in their vineyard. Each structure provides different benefits.

8. Tokens: There are several types of tokens:

Victory Point tokens – Used to keep track of each player’s victory points.
Grape and Wine tokens – Used to track the production of grapes and wine in a player’s vineyard.
Worker tokens – Represent the workers a player has available for performing actions.
Structure tokens – Used to mark the structures a player has built in their vineyard.

9. Glass Beads: These represent residual payments. They are used as a type of currency that players can save and spend throughout the game.

10. Money: Represented by lira tokens. Money is used to build structures, plant vines, and hire workers.

11. Rulebook: The rulebook provides a comprehensive guide to setting up the game, understanding the game components, and playing the game.

The interaction of these components creates a dynamic and engaging gameplay experience, where strategic decision-making and careful resource management are key to running a successful vineyard and winery.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

1. Unfold the game board: The first step is to unfold the game board and place it in the center of the table. The board represents a vineyard and has various sections for different actions.

2. Sort the cards: The game comes with several types of cards – Vine, Wine Order, Summer Visitor, Winter Visitor, and Automa. Each type is shuffled separately and placed face down on their respective spaces on the board.

3. Prepare the tokens: The game includes tokens for workers, victory points, residual payments, and different types of grapes and wines. Sort these into separate piles and place them near the game board.

4. Assign player roles: Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding player mat, workers, and tokens. The player mat represents their individual vineyard and has spaces for structures, fields, and a cellar.

5. Prepare the initial resources: Each player places their workers on their player mat and puts their grande worker on the wake-up chart. Each player also receives one Pinot vine card, one Plantation field, and three lira (the currency in the game).

6. Random elements: The starting player is determined randomly. This player places their rooster on the first slot of the wake-up chart, and the rest of the players follow clockwise, placing their roosters on the next available slots. The player who wakes up earliest (closest to slot 1) will be the first player in the next round.

7. Setting up the Automa: If you’re playing a solo game or want to add an artificial opponent, set up the Automa deck by shuffling the Automa cards and placing them face down next to the board. Draw the top card of the deck and place it face up. This card determines the Automa’s starting resources and actions.

8. Starting the game: The game starts with the player who chose the earliest wake-up slot. On your turn, you can perform actions like planting vines, harvesting grapes, making wine, fulfilling wine orders, and more, as indicated on your player mat and the game board.

Game flow Round and round we go

Viticulture Essential Edition is a complex and strategic board game that revolves around the theme of winemaking. Players are tasked with managing a vineyard, from planting vines to harvesting the grapes and turning them into wine for sale. The game takes place over multiple years, each broken down into distinct seasons that provide different actions for players.

Spring: At the beginning of each year, players choose their wake-up time on the rooster track. The earlier they wake, the sooner they act, but they get fewer benefits. Players select in turn order and receive the bonus associated with their chosen spot.

Action: Choose a wake-up time and gain the associated bonus.

Summer: The main action phase of the game begins. Players can send their workers to various spots on the board to perform actions, such as planting vines, building structures, or giving vineyard tours. Actions are performed in the order of the wake-up track.

Action: Place a worker on an action space and perform that action.

Fall: Players draw a visitor card of their choice, either a Summer or Winter visitor. These cards can provide various bonuses and abilities for the player.

Action: Draw a visitor card.

Winter: Another action phase similar to summer. However, the actions available are different, focusing on harvesting grapes and making wine. Again, actions are performed in the order of the wake-up track.

Action: Place a worker on an action space and perform that action.

End of the Year: At the end of the year, all workers return home, players age their wine and grapes, and collect residual payments. If any player has reached 20 victory points, the game ends.

Action: Retrieve workers, age wine and grapes, collect payments.

The game continues in this way, year after year, until one player reaches 20 victory points. At that point, the current year is finished, and the player with the most victory points at the end is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game ‘Viticulture Essential Edition’, players strategically take turns to manage and grow their vineyards. During a player’s turn, they can perform various actions that are crucial in the progression of the game. The player’s turn is divided into two main phases: the Wake-Up phase and the Working phase.

The Wake-Up Phase

During the Wake-Up phase, the player chooses when they want to wake up the following year, which determines the order they will play in and the bonuses they will receive. The earlier a player wakes up, the sooner they get to play, but the later a player wakes up, the better bonuses they receive. This phase is a strategic choice as it affects the order of play and the benefits the player will receive.

The Working Phase

In the Working phase, the player can perform a variety of tasks using their workers. These tasks can include:

Planting Vine Cards: This is done in the player’s vineyard and these vines will produce grapes in future turns.
Building Structures: These can give the player extra abilities or more space for vines.
Harvesting Fields: This allows the player to pick the grapes from their vine cards and turn them into wine.
Making Wine: This is done by processing the harvested grapes. The wine can later be sold for victory points.
Filling Wine Orders: This is done by using the player’s wine to fill orders, which earn them victory points and residual payments.
Giving Tours: This earns the player money, which is necessary for various actions.

All of these actions play a significant role in the game, and the strategy of when and how to use them is crucial. For example, planting vine cards early can ensure a steady supply of grapes, but focusing too much on planting might not leave enough resources for building structures or making wine. Similarly, filling wine orders can earn a lot of points, but if done too early, it might deplete the player’s wine supply.

After all players have passed, the year ends and a new year begins with the Wake-Up phase. The game continues in this manner until a player reaches a certain number of victory points, indicating the end of the game. The player with the most points is then declared the winner.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Viticulture Essential Edition is a strategy board game that revolves around winemaking. The game ends when a player reaches or exceeds 20 victory points at the end of the year. However, it is important to note that every player has the same number of turns in the game. Therefore, even if a player reaches 20 points during the middle of the year, the game continues until the end of that year.

Here are the steps players need to follow before the final scoring:

End of Year: Once all players have passed in the winter season, the year ends. The first player token is passed to the next player clockwise. The wake-up chart order is maintained for the next year.
Check Victory Points: After the year ends, check all players’ victory points. The game ends if one or more players have 20 or more victory points.
Finish the Year: If the game is still going, start the next year starting from the spring season. If the game ends, proceed to final scoring.

The final scoring in Viticulture Essential Edition is determined as follows:

Victory Points: The player with the most victory points is the winner. These points are earned throughout the game by planting vines, harvesting grapes, making wine, giving tours, and fulfilling wine orders.
Residual Payments: If there is a tie, the player with the most residual payments (money) is the winner. Residual payments are earned by fulfilling wine orders and can be used to take certain actions without spending a worker.
Number of Cards: If there is still a tie, the player with the most total cards in hand (vine, wine order, and summer and winter visitor cards) is the winner. These cards offer a variety of benefits and can greatly influence the gameplay.

Thus, strategic planning and efficient management are key aspects of winning a game of Viticulture Essential Edition.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

The scoring system in Viticulture Essential Edition revolves around producing wine and fulfilling wine orders. Players can earn victory points (VPs) in various ways throughout the game. The player with the most VPs at the end of the game is the winner.

Victory Points

Victory Points (VPs) are tracked on the Victory Point track that circles the game board. The ways to earn VPs are:

Fill Wine Orders: One of the main ways to earn VPs is by filling wine orders. Each wine order card has a VP value on it, which is awarded to the player once they fill the order.
Give Vineyard Tours: Players can also earn VPs by giving tours of their vineyard using the ‘Give Tour’ action.
Build Structures: Some structures award VPs when built, as indicated on their structure cards.
Play Visitor Cards: Certain visitor cards award VPs when played.
Reach Endgame Goals: Additional VPs can be earned by being the first to reach end-game goals, such as having the most planted vines or the most structures built.

End of the Game

The game ends after the year in which at least one player reaches 20 VPs. At that point, the player with the most VPs is the winner.

Tie-Breaking Rules

In the event of a tie, the tie-breaking rules are as follows:

The player who reached the tied VP total first is the winner.
If the tie cannot be broken by the first rule, the player with the most leftover wine in their cellar is the winner.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most workers is the winner.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most structures built is the winner.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most money is the winner.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The ‘Viticulture Essential Edition’ is a complex and strategic board game, filled with nuances and special rules. Understanding these can greatly enhance your gaming experience.

1. The Grande Worker

One of the key features of Viticulture is the use of the Grande Worker. This is a larger meeple that is able to perform an action even when all action slots are filled. Remember, however, that you only have one Grande Worker per round, so use it wisely.

2. Visitor Cards

Visitor cards bring a lot of variability and strategy to the game. There are two types: Summer Visitors and Winter Visitors. Although most can be used for their benefits, some have requirements or conditions. Read carefully to maximize their potential.

3. Wake-Up Chart

The Wake-Up Chart determines the order of play for each round. Players can choose to wake up earlier for an immediate bonus but play first, or wake up later to play last but potentially get a greater bonus. The Wake-Up Chart resets every year, offering new strategic decisions.

4. Residual Payments

Residual payments are a unique aspect of Viticulture. Players receive residual payments at the end of the year based on the quantity and quality of wine they have sold. Residual payments can be a significant source of income, but they do not increase a player’s score.

5. Wine Aging

Unlike many resources in other games, wine in Viticulture improves with age. Wines increase in value at the end of each year, potentially allowing players to fulfill more valuable wine orders in future rounds.

6. Limited Actions

Each season (Summer and Winter), players can only perform a limited number of actions. This limit is based on the number of workers a player has. As the game progresses, players can train more workers to perform more actions.

7. Field Limitations

Each player has three fields in which they can plant vines. However, each field has a maximum value of vines it can hold. Players must manage their fields carefully to optimize their vine production.

8. Wine Order Fulfillment

Wine orders require specific types and qualities of wine. Fulfilling a wine order provides victory points and residual income, but players must carefully manage their wine production to meet these requirements.

9. End of the Game

The game ends at the conclusion of the year in which at least one player has reached 20 victory points. But the player with the most victory points at the end of that year is the winner, not necessarily the player who reached 20 points first.

10. Tasting Room and Cottage

The Tasting Room and Cottage are special buildings that come with the Moor Visitors Expansion. The Tasting Room provides victory points for giving tours, while the Cottage allows a player to draw an extra visitor card each Winter.

11. Solo Rules

Viticulture Essential Edition can also be played solo, against an automated opponent called the Automa. The Automa has its own set of rules and action cards.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies for Viticulture Essential Edition:

Focus on filling wine orders early. Accumulating victory points early in the game can provide a significant advantage.
Try to get the “yoke” and “irrigation” structures as soon as possible. These will allow you to plant vines and harvest grapes more efficiently.
Manage your workers wisely. Don’t rush to use all of your workers in the summer season. Save some for the winter, as actions in winter tend to be more valuable.

Beginner Tips:

Focus on building your engine first. This means planting vines, harvesting grapes, and making wine before worrying about fulfilling wine orders.
Make use of visitor cards. They offer powerful abilities which can greatly aid your strategy.
Remember to age your wine. Wine ages at the end of the year and can be used to fulfill more valuable orders.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Don’t ignore the Grande Worker. This worker can be used to take an action even if all the slots are taken by other players.
Avoid focusing too much on one aspect of the game. Balance your strategy between vine planting, wine making, and order fulfillment.
Don’t neglect the visitor cards. They may seem complicated at first, but they can provide significant advantages.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Always plan a few turns ahead. Consider what actions other players may take and how you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Make use of bonus actions. Many actions in Viticulture allow you to take a bonus action if you use more workers. This can be a game-changer.
Optimize your worker placement. Try to use your workers in a way that allows you to take the most beneficial actions.