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Wine Cellar Deep Dive
What the Community Thinks About Wine Cellar
Reviewers across several channels describe Wine Cellar as fast to teach and surprisingly strategic for a game built around a lighthearted wine theme. Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews called it extremely easy to teach and super clear, noting that after learning the rules themselves they turned around and taught it to their daughter, who picked it up in a matter of moments. Tabletop Tolson, reviewing the game as one of two picks for a summer card game episode, said the central auction mechanic works well even as the player count climbs, despite that channel not usually being a fan of auction mechanics in general. On the BoardGameGeek podcast, the host described it on air as a fun party game that plays more strategically than expected at a high player count, while a Going Analog host called it flatly a wine party game in that same episode.
Opinions split more sharply on Our Family Plays Games. One host rated Wine Cellar a four out of five, praising it as a fun party game that still makes you think a little bit, while a co-host on the same episode scored it only two out of five, describing it as too simplistic and saying they did not care for it after playing with the group. Viewer comments read on that episode landed on both sides too, with some calling the game accessible for newcomers and a good pick to bring to a winery, and at least one viewer noting that after playing with friends, their table was the only one that did not love it.
Core Mechanics That Define Wine Cellar
Blind Bidding With Wine Bottles
Every card in a player's hand doubles as a wine bottle and a bid. As the top-100-list channel Flip Side explained, each round has everyone place a card face down and flip it over at the same moment, which they described as "a blind auction bid, basically, with your cards." Whoever reveals the highest number gets first choice of the wine bottles available on the table that round, the next-highest bidder chooses second, and so on down the group. Tabletop Tolson pointed out that the bidding cards climb into the seventies in an eight-player game, and that every card taken off the table becomes part of the pool players bid on again the following round.
Aging and Placement Scoring
Once a bottle is won, it has to be slotted into a personal cellar row, and the only choice is whether to add it above the current stack or below it. Each of the eight positions in that row carries its own fixed point value, so a bottle placed at the very top or bottom often scores more than one squeezed toward the middle. Every bottle also lists a wine type and a country of origin that has to line up with a hidden client card for bonus points, and Tabletop Tolson noted that mismatched bottles still have to go somewhere, calling them a "throwaway bottle" that fills the aging column without helping the client score. Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews called this tension the hook of the design, since a mistimed bid can leave a player stuck with a bottle of wine they were not wanting, forcing an awkward placement later.
The Wine Cellar Experience
Quick to Teach, Quick to Play
Multiple reviewers stress how little setup and explanation the game needs. Flip Side said Wine Cellar is one of the games that can be taught in about five minutes, after which players often want to jump straight back in for another round. Tabletop Tolson pegged it as a twenty-minute game for one to eight players, and Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews said the rules were clear enough that after being taught themselves, they immediately taught their daughter, who understood it just as quickly.
Built by Design for Larger Groups
According to designer Andrew Styles, speaking on Going Analog, Wine Cellar was built to be the kind of game a full table of eight could play together, since larger groups often feel boxed into lightweight party games once the player count climbs. On the BoardGameGeek podcast, Andrew Styles said the simultaneous bidding format is what keeps the game from slowing down at higher player counts, and that the design team boosted the supported player count during development specifically to serve bigger game nights. The designer, a former restaurant wine professional, has also said the game needs no wine knowledge to play well, since every detail needed to score is printed on the cards themselves.
What Makes Wine Cellar Stand Out
Vincent Dutrait's Artwork
Flip Side singled out the presentation directly, saying Vincent Dutrait's artwork on the box is what got their attention first, with the gameplay itself winning them over afterward. Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play separately called the box "a very gorgeous cover" while showcasing it alongside other 25th Century Games releases, and Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews opened their review by crediting Dutrait's art alongside designer Andrew Styles and publisher 25th Century Games.
A Theme That Welcomes Non-Gamers
Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews called Wine Cellar a genuine introductory game in the best sense, predicting it would appeal to people who love wine but are not typical hobby gamers, and that it could sell in game stores as well as more casual retail. On Our Family Plays Games, viewer comments echoed that same accessibility, with one calling the game good to take to a winery and another describing it as accessible for non-gamers, sentiments the hosts agreed with on air.
Potential Drawbacks
Too Simple for Some Tastes
Not every viewer connects with the game's lighter footprint. The co-host on Our Family Plays Games who scored the game a two out of five described it as extremely simplistic, and said the group session did not change that opinion even after hearing from viewers who disagreed. A viewer comment read on the same show captured the split as well, noting that a couple who played with friends ended up being the only pair at the table who did not enjoy it.
Bids and Luck Can Backfire
Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews warned that a mistimed bid leaves a player stuck with a bottle of wine they were not wanting, which then has to be fit into the cellar row anyway. TheGameBoyGeek pointed out that the draft carries real luck, and that the advanced variant, which locks players into the same set of cards across three rounds instead of drawing fresh ones each round, "makes it more of a gamer's game" but raises the stakes for players chasing a specific client card. Tabletop Tolson added that the placement rules take longer for new players to click with than the bidding itself does.
If You Enjoy Wine Cellar
TheGameBoyGeek drew a direct line between Wine Cellar's simultaneous card reveal and the classic auction game For Sale, describing the drafting round as playing out "like the second half of the popular game for sale," where the order in which players reveal their cards decides who gets first pick from the market.
What Reviewers Are Saying
"I turned around and taught our daughter as well. She got it within a matter of moments, and it's very clear, easy to teach. Yes, we did teach our daughters to play this game."
— Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews
"This has an auction bidding mechanism that, while in theory I'm not the biggest fan of that mechanic or mechanism, it works here. And I really really like it because there's a variety of ways things that you're looking for in this game that affect your choice."
— Tabletop Tolson
"It's a simple game. It's really fun. There's also an advanced variant cuz it's quite lucky. It's more of a beer and pretzel style game, but there is an advanced gamer variant where you play three rounds."
— TheGameBoyGeek - Hi Quality Hi Energy Board Game Reviews