Top 10 Wine Games
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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Below is my Top 10 list of games with wine or viticulture as the primary theme. These are games that meet substantially all of the following criteria: (1) wine, including growing grapes, production, distibution or drinking, is the key focus of the game; (2) compelling "theme" using/showing wine in an interesting manner; and (3) fun to play. This is a list of the BEST! As always, your mileage may vary and some entries may be "controversial." As such, please feel free to comment, debate, or just express your own point of view. Feel free to thumbsup this list (to draw attention and more comments) or any pleasing, interesting or thought provoking entries. If I missed one that you feel is essential or I am "insane for not listing" (trust me, it has been said before), then by all means let the comments fly . . . just be civil. FYI - I am a sucker for comments and discussion and usually thumbsup most if not all of them.

I find that these lists sometimes are helpful for others seeking similar games and the more rich the discussion for more useful the list.

For a complete listing of my Top 10 lists, see--MetaList: Nap's Top 10 Lists.
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1. Board Game: Vinhos [Average Rating:7.49 Overall Rank:432]
Board Game: Vinhos
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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Simply put, I have not been this impressed with what most consider a "Euro-style" game in a very long line of new games.

The game is a finely-crafted merging of multiple mechanisms allowing you to work toward multiple opportunities for victory points, but the emphasis is on how well balanced those different methods for VPs are.

There is no perfect path through the game - your strategy will always rely in part on concession in one area or another. This is in part due to the very limited (12) number of normal actions you get during the game. That, in turn, requires you to focus on managers, which will get you more actions and opportunities for more VPs, but only while impacting the other aspects which require your attention.

Vinhos is, all told, a delicious puzzle every playing, where other players do not always undermine your plans, but certainly can interfere in nearly everything.

--Darrell Hanning (DarrellKH)
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2. Board Game: Grand Cru [Average Rating:6.80 Overall Rank:2303]
Board Game: Grand Cru
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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This is an excellent economic game!!! What a gem!!

You're in charge of your vineyard and you have to harvest your grapes to make wine in order to sell it, to earn money, so you can pay off the loans that you took out as you started this business. Sounds easy, right???

Well first of all, everyone will try to get the grapes for the right wines. Prices go up, as people bid up. You can't have it all. But you need help in the form of "helper tiles". Those can be expensive, but they are very useful as they cut your costs down. Harvest all you can, because making wine is important. Why? Because you need to make money. And money is how you obtain additional tiles for grapes and "helper tiles".

As you sell the wine at the festival, you get action points, which you can later turn into additional sales, juice, value of wine or money. So you have to compete at the festival level as well. Once you're done there, you have to pay interest on your loans, but make sure you have enough money, otherwise, you'll have to take out another loan! And you need to pay off your loans, not take more of them!!

Very tight economic game. Plenty of things to do, very enjoyable, fierce fight and making sure you wine is the best of the best. Very recommendable game!!

--Maciek U (greengow)
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3. Board Game: Vino [Average Rating:6.46 Overall Rank:3818]
Board Game: Vino
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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COMPLETLY UNDERATED! This is a GAMER'S game! Great flavor, and smooth design. All of the BGGs that I respect the most, have nothing but praise for VINO. We are at a loss as to why this title never got the recognition that it deserved.

--Robert Osvalds (Robert Osvalds)
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4. Board Game: Cellar des Triplettes 醉佳拍檔 [Average Rating:6.20 Overall Rank:4657]
Board Game: Cellar des Triplettes 醉佳拍檔
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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Excellent game of bidding and with a clever scoring mechanism. You bid to get something and this something can be anything that the other players offer and want; and your bid maybe of too much value for the other players. There is a lot of tension and strategy in this game. Excellent card game ... and it is about wines!!!

--Paul Nomikos (Thrylos)
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5. Board Game: Vendimia [Average Rating:6.74 Unranked]
Board Game: Vendimia
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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This is a fun gambling family game. You invest in regions in the hopes that they'll pay out (in a sort of a The Settlers of Catan way, using dice), provide you with the wines that are and will be in fashion with the restaurants, and make you plenty of money. ...or that you will have successfully avoided bad weather (die rolls!) to protect your funds well. I like it! ...and the graphics are utterly cute.

--Nathan Morse (zefquaavius)
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6. Board Game: Vintage [Average Rating:6.54 Overall Rank:6186]
Board Game: Vintage
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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An amazing and incredibly well balanced game with a lot of strategical decisions. Always willing to play it.

--David Prieto (dramaplastika)
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7. Board Game: Toscana [Average Rating:6.34 Overall Rank:7861]
Board Game: Toscana
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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Fun and intelligent game with good opportunity to use well figured tactics. Luck is not in the major role, and you need to manage your drive in two different "sub-games" at the same time: land acquisitions and wine trade markets, which of course are well linked together, and its not enough to perform well only in one field. That's what attracts me. The game has also fantastic outlook!

To be enjoyed with good Italian wine.

--Ritari Ässä (Veikko)
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8. Board Game: King's Vineyard [Average Rating:5.38 Overall Rank:18949]
Board Game: King's Vineyard
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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Gorgeous production values, excellent artwork, and clever mechanics, all well-suited to the theme.

--Alf Seegert (alfseegert)
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9. Board Game: Die Weinhändler [Average Rating:5.09 Overall Rank:18564]
Board Game: Die Weinhändler
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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I enjoyed this quite a bit. It got a bad rap early on and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it's got a good planning aspect along with some conflict - a great mix in my book!

--Dave OConnor (daveo1234)
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10. Board Game: Winemakers: El juego del vino [Average Rating:7.00 Unranked]
Board Game: Winemakers: El juego del vino
Robert Carroll
(Nap16)
United States
Joplin
Missouri
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From BGG Game Entry:

"And most important: You play it drinking a bottle of wine!"
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