Wine Cellar – Sour Grapes or the Perfect Vintage for Two?

Have you heard about Wine Cellar yet? The hype train has been moving full steam ahead on this one and we’ve been anxious to check it out. Plus, just look at this art! This game would look SO good on my shelf!

I hesitated a little when I saw people talking about playing this game at a higher player count. Was I going to miss the train because we play most of our games at 2-players? Were those pretty little wine bottles going to slip right through my fingers?

Thankfully, our friends at 25th Century Games provided us with a copy to find out for ourselves. I really wanted to know two things:

1. Is this game really as good as everyone keeps saying it is?
2. Is it playable AND enjoyable at a lower player count?

For those of you who maybe aren’t familiar with Wine Cellar yet, it can play up to eight players. Yeah, you read that right, eight players. Most of the time, if I have eight people at a game day we’re splitting up into two groups to maximize our gaming options or playing really light party games. Which, between me and you, are not my favorites. Except for maybe Green Team Wins, but the green team can only win so many times in a given day.

So let’s answer my first question – Is this game really as good as everyone keeps saying it is? Yes, yes it is.

We were hooked from the get go. This game, like many in the 25th Century catalog, has simple rules, is incredibly approachable, and surprises you with more strategy and depth then you expect. ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!!!!!

Even my cat likes this game! It appears we might have different reasons why, but the fact still stands.

Game Overview

You can get this game going in just a few minutes of rules explanations, which you know is a huge deal the bigger the play group you have. Let me give you a quick overview.

In Wine Cellar, we are are sommeliers curating a wine collection for unique clients. We earn points based on the placement of the wine bottles in our collection and by meeting specific requests from our clients. These could be combinations of different wine types and/or wines from different regions around the world.

To start the game, we deal out a number of wine bottle cards based on the number of players. Then, we provide each player with two client cards and they pick one to keep. These client cards are the key to victory. You’re trying to curate a collection that best suits your client’s tastes. The better you do this, the better your score will be at the end of the game.

To get these wine bottles into our collections we have to bid on them using the cards in our hand. There’s a number in the upper left-hand corner; this is your bid. Just like in real life, the highest bid wins first choice. Each player will select a bottle from the available bottles in winning-bid order. Now, the cards we just used to bid become the next round of bottles up for auction.

You’ve got a bottle of wine! Now what? Adding wine bottles to your collection takes some strategy. You can only place a bottle at the top or bottom of your collection. Never in between any bottles already there. Each bottle has an array of numbers from 1-8 along the label. These are the points you can score for this win bottle and it depends on which row this bottle of wine ends up after eight rounds. This is why you really have to think through the bottles you’re selecting and their placement. You want to try have each bottle end up in a row that’s going to score you higher points.

At the end of the game, you’ll score each of the eight bottles in your collection and add in any additional points you earned from your client card. The sommelier with the highest score curated the best collection and wins!

How easy is it, really?

I gave this game the “Ultimate Tired Kim” test. Yes, that’s a thing. I try a game after a long work day or convention day, later in the evening when I’m tired and struggle to learn new things. It may sound dumb but we’ve used this many times in playtesting with friends. If I can understand the game, get the main concepts, and successfully execute the strategy, then we’ve got a great set of rules! If “Tired Kim” can understand them, anyone can. If you want a demonstration of this, find me at a convention or play a game with me online after about 10:00 on a weekday.

The game plays pretty quickly, even at full player count. I would say on average it was 20-30 minutes. Each time we played this game with friends, everyone wanted to play it again immediately. There’s just something that keeps pulling you back in. You want to try to get that perfect collection and score the most points. It’s flat out addictive.

Am I going to enjoy it at a lower player count?

Now my second question, and ultimately the one that decides if I’m going to add this game to my collection. Is this game playable AND enjoyable at a lower player count? I REALLY wanted this to work for a couple of reasons. I want to play this game, a lot. Like “a lot” a lot. But most of the time, we’re a 2-player household. Our bigger gaming group isn’t able to get together all that often. I love the idea of having a game that can scale from two players to eight. And yes, I could still add it even if it isn’t great at two and have something besides a party game to add to the mix. This game is too good to sit on my shelf for months at a time. And if it doesn’t play well at two, that’s what was going to happen. I’m fighting for shelf space as it is, so this one has to earn its spot.

So we sat down one weeknight after work and tried it with two people. I was happy to see that the number of wine cards used scales based on player count. Is it the same as playing with 4-8 players? Not exactly. (Editor’s Note: Oh my gosh Kim, would you get to the point and just tell us?!?)

I write this with the biggest grin on my face: yes it does!

We wrapped up the first game at two players and I immediately wanted to play it again. I think we played it four times in a row that night. I feel like this is one of those games like Sushi Go Party or Point Salad where you really need to consider your strategy based on the player count. In a two-player game, I’m building my collection a lot more from my hand and not really counting on getting as much from the other player. I’ve got a 50/50 shot at getting the bottle I want and I have to be able to quickly adjust my strategy if I’m not getting the bottles I need.

I did learn from designer, Andrew Stiles, that the game was originally designed for two players. He wanted something he and his wife could play together. I am thrilled that this game still has those roots but has grown into something even bigger and can be such a great game for large groups. It certainly stands out in a crowd when you’re looking at higher player counts. (YAY, a party game replacement!)

After that first night, I knew we were backing this one on Kickstarter. I actually ended up backing the entire set of games that this one is part of. This is one of the best lineups I’ve seen in awhile. You can back any number of games in the group, but you can get them all for a great price. While we had an opportunity to review Wine Cellar and Grand Central Skyport, we relied on reviews from some of our favorite creators for Big Sur and Sand Art. I’ll add some links at the end so you can check those out too.

Wrap Up and Where to Get It

So to sum up or TLDR: Wine Cellar worth the hype? Absolutely! Is it good at two players? You betcha!

Check out the Kickstarter here! From not until 6/14. If you missed it, be sure to watch for Late Pledge options!

Watch this review on Big Sur from Ruel or this one on Sand Art from Ryan and Bethany to see if they’d be a great fit for you too!