Viticulture World Cooperative Expansion
We’re taking a look at Viticulture World, the cooperative expansion for Viticulture.
How Do You Play Viticulture World?
Viticulture World is a cooperative expansion for Viticulture. You MUST have the base game of Viticulture and know how to play that game in order to play Viticulture World.
Check out our full review of the base game if you need a refresher on the rules of Viticulture.
In Viticulture World, you are cooperating to expand your winemaking family. There are 7 asymmetrical continents that provide the different challenges to meet and gain victory.
During a game, you will choose one of these continent decks to play, each of varying difficulty, and will attempt to get all players over the 25 victory point threshold AND earn enough influence together that you reach the end of the shared influence track.
Do both and you win.
If one of these conditions is not met at the end of 6 rounds you lose.
During the game you’ll be able to do new things like upgrade action spaces on the board and train seasonal workers all while growing your vineyard into a successful business as normal from the base game.
What Do We Think of Viticulture World?
The Viticulture World cooperative expansion was exactly what we needed to breathe new life into one of our all time favorite games.
This expansion is near perfect. It creates many new challenges at different difficulty levels so experienced players are put through their paces. Better still, it doesn’t once change the essence of what Viticulture is. This still feels like the game we love, it’s just a new challenge that makes us love it even more.
This expansion is also compatible with however you like to play Viticulture. It fully integrates with all expansion content that has proceeded it.
A Cooperative Game for Those That Don’t Like Cooperative Games
I’m not normally a fan of cooperative games. I find that they tend to bring out the alpha gamer in at least one player at the table. I would much rather do my own thing and lose by my own hand than have another person attempt to dictate what I or anyone else does on their turn.
However, I loved playing Viticulture World. It balances both the individual and the cooperative perfectly. I still am responsible for my vineyard. I still have to worry about what actions I need to take to plant and harvest grapes to then make and sell wines. I get to play out every element of the original game that I love so much — that doesn’t change.
In addition to my individual vineyard, I also get the chance to work and trade with the other players. There really starts to feel like a team element. Trading wine cards or visitors when they’ll benefit another player better is crucial. Helping give someone that extra bit of coin they need so they can advance the influence track on their turn can keep a victory within sights.
All of the cooperative elements feel less aggressive because you still have your own game you’re playing and need to tend to. But by paying attention to what would benefit someone else’s turn and how you can all help each other, the cooperative tones stay positive and focused on communicating needs rather than dictating moves.
Upgrading the board
I always love the chance to upgrade some action spaces and Viticulture World provides! This is one of the more interesting and crucial elements of the game. If you’re able to upgrade prime locations early, you can set yourself up for more long term success.
Upgrading these spaces can be expensive though. Working together to share resources to enable these upgrades is vital. It’s a great opportunity for players to communicate together, creating an action plan for where, when, how and whom will upgrade those spots.
Seasonal Workers
A big change in Viticulture World is how players begin with all their worker at once. However, two of your workers are summer season workers and the other two are winter season workers. These workers can only be used to take their respective season actions each round.
In Viticulture World, you can pay to upgrade a seasonal worker to a full time employee who can take both summer and winter actions. When you do this, you’ll choose a worker and remove their hat. This frees them up to take an action during either season.
We really enjoyed the challenge this created for us during the game. At the beginning stage, summer actions are incredibly important and during the latter part of the game it switches. With the limited time and actions you have, you need to find a way to prioritize training at least a few of your seasonal workers so you have enough workers to take the actions you need to win.
Seven Unique Continent Decks make an Incredibly Challenging Game
Viticulture World is an incredibly challenging game. You really need to have a solid foundation in how to play Viticulture to find success in this expansion. And even the most experienced players will still lose against some of these continent decks.
This challenge is great though! Each continent deck really feels unique in how it changes the game and what you need to focus on to earn the points and influence to win. I am truly impressed by the variety this expansion provides.
Multiple Games in One
Viticulture World really feels like you’re getting a bunch of games in a single package. It’s like playing a different version of Viticulture each time thanks to the unique continents.
Each continent deck has a difficulty rating and there is a noticeable difference in difficulty during play. If you are in the market with a cooperative game that you can really sink your teeth into, Viticulture World is one to check out.
These different decks are also really easy to understand and play. Each continent deck has a rules card and each event card within the deck is well worded and explained. I was worried about being confused but never felt so once. This is very intuitive. If you ever have need for clarifications, the rulebook is also incredibly helpful and easy to navigate.
Having all these different variants for play in the continent decks is sure to keep players busy for many, many games.
Summary
For fans of Viticulture, I cannot recommend Viticulture World highly enough!
Viticulture World beautifully compliments what is already an amazing game. While it might be too difficult for players new to Viticulture, the sheer variety and challenge that it provides makes it an instant recommend from us. Viticulture World puts an excellent cooperative spin on Viticulture without changing anything that makes the game great.
Bring home a copy of Viticulture World.
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You might like Viticulture World if You
- want a strategy heavy cooperative game
- Love Viticulture and want to try a new challenge in that same world
- Want a game with a lot of variety and challenges
You might not like Viticulture World if You:
- want a game that plays in an hour or less
- Did not enjoy Viticulture
Game Info:
Title: Viticulture World
1-6 Players Ages 13+
Designer: Mihir Shah, Francesco Testini
Artist: Andrew Bosley
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
A special thank you to our friends at Stonemaier Games for sending a copy of Viticulture World for review.
As always, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
