I have played quite a bit of Belfort from TMG and a bit of Ground Floor and have to say it doesn’t stray far from the Belfort mold – but it doesn’t have to. Instead of using dwarves and elves to build guilds and taverns, you are building a corporation with a large layer of Euro feel and crunchier mechanics stuck on top.
Ground Floor is a satisfying weighty Euro experience, but there is a lot going on and too many different strategic and tactical routes to take to not require a learning curve and repeated play to find your feet.
Ground Floor will definitely feed the beast for a deep and immersive entrepreneurial simulation, if that’s your sort of thing. It does feel very corporate and that might not be for everyone.
When it comes to Ground Floor vs Belfort it really is a matter of business or pleasure.
I have not played many Worker Placement games overall: Waterdeep, Kingsburg, and Stonemaier’s other game – Euphoria. However, I have played Viticulture and it really stands out.
First of all, it is a Stonemaier Game. While considered an Indie Game Company, they put so much care and craft into their games that they are beautiful to bring to a game session. The games may be on the more expensive side, but looking above at the picture the site provides you can see that the components and look are completely worth it.
Not only does this company produce eye candy in components, but they put a tremendous effort into their design. The game plays well. Like any worker placement, there is plenty to do, but it all clicks and never seems overwhelming. The journey to the most points is interesting and varied from upgrading workers and your vineyard to harvesting and making vintages to trying to secure special bonuses from visitors. The time keeping ‘years’ provide for strategic decision making and options to be competitive without a ‘take that’ disruptive sense. All in all, like a good bottle of the grape it flows well and leaves one feeling pleased.
The only downside is people might overlook this because of the theme. In a game universe where the excitement of space and quests and wizards and warp drives rule the day, one might think running a vineyard seems rather dry.
This is a game that deserves consideration and definitely should be uncorked.
I will game until the end, until darkness falls and I am the last shadow standing. I prefer games that are fun and can turn a small gathering of friends into a screaming match (screaming with excitement). I like games that have social aspects and a sense of take that. I like to play games where I feel I have an opponent and I have played in some tournaments.