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Description
Let's auction off some wine! You and your rival sommeliers have decided to face off to determine who is the best. Each person will take on a client, building a cellar that ages well and is suited to the client's tastes.
Over the course of eight rounds in Wine Cellar, players will collect wine bottles to create a cellar for their client. Bottles will be arranged to create a timeline for the order in which the wine will be consumed. Each bottle is worth different amounts based upon where it is in the timeline. Players will also receive points based on their client's preferences for wine type and country of origin.
—description from the publisher
Year Published
2025
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Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 2 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video eda6Ylpas44
Ryan Bethany board game reviews game_review at 0:30 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62269 · mention_pk 154783
Click to watch at 0:30 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Extremely easy to teach and highly intuitive
- Clever drafting and bidding loop with a smooth, self-sustaining setup
- Unique aging/stacking mechanic that creates meaningful decisions
- Provides clear direction through client-card objectives and country/wine pairings
- Accessible and appealing for beginners and non-gamers
Cons
- Potential for frustration if a bid misfires and you’re stuck with an undesired wine
- Aimed as an introductory game, which may feel less appealing to heavier gamers
Thematic elements
- Array
- Wine marketplace / wine production world
- educational and thematic
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — An auction-style bid determines who gets first pick on the available wines; bids are placed with cards from players' hands.
- bidding/auction — An auction-style bid determines who gets first pick on the available wines; bids are placed with cards from players' hands.
- Card placement / top-bottom stacking — Wines are placed into the wine seller either on the top or the bottom, shaping future scoring opportunities.
- Compound Scoring — Wines age over years, with aging values at different years contributing points to the score.
- drafting — Players draft wine cards into their wine seller, selecting what will become their scoring options.
- Year-based scoring / aging values — Wines age over years, with aging values at different years contributing points to the score.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Drafting these bottles of wine into your wine seller
- the cards that you're bidding on in order to get the cards that are out there become the next set of cards that you're bidding on
- extremely easy to teach
- it's a very intuitive game
- a simple clear game has clever drafting and the layout of the scoring is just super fun
- the aging of the cards is really cool
- not everybody is a gamer but I feel like this is going to fit the mold for a lot of people
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video jCeedjNBHiY
Litz Table game_review at 0:15 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61928 · mention_pk 154544
Click to watch at 0:15 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Supports 1-8 players, making it suitable for larger groups and parties
- Timeline mechanic provides a visually interesting and evolving board state
- Bidding adds strategic depth and interaction among players
- Unboxing video provides a clear overview of components and setup
Cons
- The video does not provide explicit designer/year details or in-depth rule explanations, which may require a separate how-to play resource
Thematic elements
- Bidding and set collection around wine bottles in a evolving timeline
- A modern wine marketplace where players compete to assemble a personal wine cellar by drafting from a central timeline that grows in both directions.
- expository unboxing overview with supplementary explanation
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — Players bid with cards to determine which bottles from the middle they select for their own collection, influencing which bottles enter their timeline.
- bidding — Players bid with cards to determine which bottles from the middle they select for their own collection, influencing which bottles enter their timeline.
- card_discard_and_reuse — Bidding cards used to select bottles become the next bottles that are bid on, recycling the card pool into new bottle options.
- Compound Scoring — There are eight rounds with progressive scoring, tied to the bottle boxes labeled from 1 to 8, culminating in total points for the winner.
- round-based_scoring — There are eight rounds with progressive scoring, tied to the bottle boxes labeled from 1 to 8, culminating in total points for the winner.
- set collection — Players collect bottles to form a personal sequence that accrues points as the bottles are scored in order.
- set_collection — Players collect bottles to form a personal sequence that accrues points as the bottles are scored in order.
- timeline_building — Bottles are added to a central timeline that grows outward from the middle, creating a dynamic spatial arrangement.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- what's inside the box
- how-to play video
- we get games to the table
- up to eight players
- Wine Seller
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Cf0ezJyoKNU
game_review at 0:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61442 · mention_pk 154112
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Accessible to players without wine knowledge
- Engaging bidding and optimization
- Supports up to eight players
- Simultaneous bidding reduces downtime
- Appealing artwork and components
- Bid cards feed into future auctions
- Solo mode available
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Auction optimization and set collection around wine bottles
- Wine auction and storage in a competitive, table-top bidding environment with bottle stacks and country-of-origin scoring
- Array
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — The game runs eight rounds; players may bid and acquire bottles in each round.
- Auction bidding with simultaneous reveal — Players bid with a card; all bids are revealed and resolved in order to determine who gets the current bottle.
- card drafting — Bid cards used are carried forward and become the pool for the next auction.
- Card-driven planning for future rounds — Bid cards used are carried forward and become the pool for the next auction.
- Compound Scoring — Score depends on bottle positions and country-of-origin bonuses shown on the bottles.
- Eight-round structure with up to 8 players — The game runs eight rounds; players may bid and acquire bottles in each round.
- Set-collection-style scoring with country bonuses — Score depends on bottle positions and country-of-origin bonuses shown on the bottles.
- Simultaneous reveal — Players bid with a card; all bids are revealed and resolved in order to determine who gets the current bottle.
- solo play option — There is a solo mode where the player competes against Eno.
- Stack placement and dynamic scoring — Bottles are stacked; placement (top vs bottom) shifts subsequent scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really adore it
- I love that it plays up to eight people for when you have those larger groups
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video zAXcQ27tO_4
general_discussion at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 31588 · mention_pk 152243
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- fast 20-minute play
- variety in achieving client satisfaction (types and origins)
- nice components with many wine cards (70+)
Cons
- auction may not appeal to all players
- steeper learning curve for new players due to placement rules
Thematic elements
- wine selection and client satisfaction scoring
- auction-driven wine market with a timeline for consumption and client preferences
- analytical, instructional explanation of drafting and scoring
Comparison games
- Big Sur
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — players bid to determine pecking order and the center supply that becomes the draft pool
- auction bidding — players bid to determine pecking order and the center supply that becomes the draft pool
- card drafting — players draft cards and place them either on top or bottom of their personal display, building an eight-card sequence
- card drafting and placement — players draft cards and place them either on top or bottom of their personal display, building an eight-card sequence
- end-of-round supply refresh — the bid card becomes the new supply for the next round
- set collection and scoring by client preferences — points are earned by matching wine types and origins to each client’s desires
- timeline positioning — the position of each wine in the sequence affects its value across rounds
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Wineeller is a 20inute game for one to eight players.
- There are over 70 and it's perfectly um mapped out for the amount of players.
- We are going to bid for pecking order or initiative to then draw from here.
- When you take a card and you put it in your player area, you are going to be placing it um either on top of or below your spread.
- This game has a lot of fun with the you know what cards you have.
- it's a lot of white wine.
- In Big Su, players draft cards to use them to build new road sections or as the road sections themselves.
- Your linear path of cards will score for connecting to rain types and meeting other conditions.
- There are two mile bonuses. Every two-mile bonus card has a special scoring condition, and it counts even if it's not part of a stretch.
- landmarks are based on actual scenic lookouts and locations on Big Sur.
- This game is really light, delightful, fun, perfect for summer, and a wonderful pairing from 25th Century Games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video mPrAUhI1c6Y
Game Boy Geek top_10_list at 9:31 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13645 · mention_pk 83217
Click to watch at 9:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- accessible, flavorful theme
- variety in scoring from bottles and client cards
Cons
- luck in draft can influence outcomes
- advanced variant increases variance
Thematic elements
- auction, storage, and client-card driven scoring
- Italian wine trade and vineyard estates
- elegant, strategic
Comparison games
- First Sale
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- client cards with constraints — client preferences drive scoring (countries, wine types, regions)
- client-card driven scoring — client cards define wine types and regions worth points
- Compound Scoring — client cards define wine types and regions worth points
- simultaneous card reveal / draft — all players reveal a card then draft wine bottles from the middle
- Simultaneous reveal — players reveal cards and draft bottles from the middle
- Simultaneous reveal / drafting — players reveal cards and draft bottles from the middle
- stacking / cellar placement — bottles must be placed in your cellar in top or bottom slots for scoring
- stacking / placement in a wine cellar — bottles must be slotted on slots in a specific order (top/bottom) for scoring
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This game you're going to be basically dressing up uh the kids in different costumes.
- You're going to be mixing and matching or matching and placing them on different things.
- Waddle is kind of a meaner area control game.
- There's a little bit of everything here. There's pressure your luck. There's some planning and mitigating.
- Datoms is a crunchy puzzle to figure out.
- Ink is a lot nicer than Azul, I would say, uh because you can't really totally hoe someone by sticking them with tiles they can't have.
- Positano. Tons of interaction. If you like sort of meanness blocking with some secret auction, that is very interesting.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nxCOOipSH24
The Dice Tower game_review at 6:31 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 12182 · mention_pk 110941
Click to watch at 6:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Interesting diagonal scoring adds a unique geometric layer to drafting-style play.
- Artwork and theme are appealing.
Cons
- Uncertain replay value; reviewer notes it could use a little work.
- May feel niche or uneven compared to stronger drafting titles.
Thematic elements
- Balancing vertical stacking with diagonal scoring.
- Wine cellar with vertical racks of wine bottles and client orders.
- Strategic, aesthetically focused with interesting scoring geometry.
Comparison games
- drafting-style games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Compound Scoring — Scoring occurs along diagonals as you place cards above or below others.
- diagonal_scoring — Scoring occurs along diagonals as you place cards above or below others.
- placement_and_balance — Placement choices influence future scoring shifts and diagonals.
- Stacking — Building a vertical rack of wine cards to optimize scoring.
- Stacking and Balancing — Building a vertical rack of wine cards to optimize scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "Okay, first off, I love the crew."
- "This is a trick- taking game just like the first one."
- "The objective cards have a bit more variety"
- "You can pass and not take a task. That's massive."
- "I'm coming in at 8.5 on this."
- "Caution Signs... you're drawing that very quickly... and it's very quick to teach."
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 5a8rb_xVyLE
Game Night playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 65 · mention_pk 149
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Innovative stacking and bid mechanics
- Engaging drafting and interaction around the central pool
- Humorous and flavorful theme with wine connoisseur banter
- Strong table presence and component quality highlighted by sponsorship
Cons
- Theme may not appeal to all players
- Rules can be complex and mentally taxing, especially with more players
- Advanced rules add significant complexity and logistics
- Requires substantial table space, potentially unwieldy with eight players
Thematic elements
- Wine collection, bidding, and client satisfaction
- Wine cellar and wine market environment where players assemble a wine rack and fulfill client requests.
- Humorous, light-hearted banter with a playful, connoisseur vibe
Comparison games
- Vita Culture
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Advanced rules option — Optional rules introduce two stacks or other adjustments to scale with player count.
- Central-bottle bidding / auction — Each round players bid with face-down cards to claim bottles from a central pool; highest bid gets first pick.
- Client-based scoring — Clients grant bonus points for matching wine types or origins.
- Drafting and card economy — Start with a hand of bid cards; after bids, new bottles/cards appear in the middle for future rounds.
- Position-based scoring — Points are awarded based on a bottle's position in your rack, with higher positions being more valuable.
- Stacking and rack-building — Players add bottles to a personal rack either on the top or bottom; cannot insert in between.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The eight is the high value.
- Top or bottom.
- The diagonal.
- Chose very poorly.
- You will get the victory points for your wine rack.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7