Mystery Missing Winter Visitor Card #18: Benefactor

Thanks to alert readers George G. and Katy A., I discovered that I had missed a card along the way. I’m kind of glad the spoilers end with this card, though, as the two people on the card look like they’re saying goodbye (to a wonderful stay at a Tuscan winery, presumably).

What’s next for the Stonemaier Games blog? We’ll be breaking down game mechanics and Kickstarter strategies, as well as talking about reviewing other games (we might tie that to the mechanics, not quite sure yet), and talking about the games we’re currently working on. I’m open to your feedback as we delve into the non-Viticulture universe of games. Also, you can always find me at my daily personal blog.

Winter Visitors #19 and #20: Oenologist and Uncertified Oenologist

Here we are on the final day of the visitor card spoilers. We have two related cards, the Oenologist and Uncertified Oenologist (don’t ask me to pronounce them if you meet me…I will probably get it right, but it will take me a minute to make sure).

The Uncertified Oenologist is a card you play when you’re willing to sacrifice your reputation as a vineyard owner instead of paying money. The card, just like the Oenologist lets you expand your capacity to create higher-quality wines. This is typically something that you do using a summer action (“Build a Structure”), so being able to do so in the winter may be key as you try crush higher-value grapes, perhaps into a fancy blush or sparkling wine.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a poll on the blog!

Winter Visitor #17: Merchant

Technically, all of the wine orders in the game are placed by merchants. But this guy is THE merchant. He’s interested in wine and grapes, and if you’re willing to sell him both, he’ll increase your reputation in the form of victory points.

For some reason this is one of my favorite pieces of art in the game. It perfectly captures the look and feel of the game. Thanks Jacqui!

Winter Visitor #16: Queen

The Queen evolved perhaps more than any other card. At first she simply drew you cards–I think she let you draw 3 cards and discard 1. But I discovered that the draw/discard mechanic didn’t work well because it really slowed the game down. So for a while she just drew 2 or 3 cards, no discard. Drawing 3 was too powerful, and 2 was no different than the middle action space on the “draw 1 wine order card” on the board.

So we really thought about who the Queen is, what she represents, and this is what we came up with. It’s a one-way interactive card that lets you dole out pleasantries to the other players while gaining money from the bank.

Winter Visitor #15: Assessor

Ah, the assessor. You never know when he’s going to drop by your vineyard to calculate the value of your various assets.

This can be a very, very powerful card…if you need money. Which is for most of the game. In Viticulture, your maximum hand size is 7, but you don’t discard down to 7 until the end of the year. So if you plan a big year where all you do is draw cards, and then you play this guy, you’re in for a windfall.