Steam asked me if I wanted to post a "Review" for this game but when I wrote this and tried to post, I learned it exceeded the 8000 character limit. So instead, I am posting this as a Guide. Hopefully this will help potential buyers decide whether or not this game is right for them and hopefully highlighting some of these issues will actually get DIGIDICED to fix some of these problems (but I wouldn't hold my breath on it):

I recommend this digital version of Viticulture but with some reservations.

First off, Viticulture is one of my favorite (Top 3) worker placement board games so I was looking forward to the digital version.

Overall, I find the digital version reasonably enjoyable. If you love the board game and already know how to play, then this game might be for you (but please read my reservations later on) but it's a complicated game and might not be the best starter game for those new to Viticulture or new to worker placement games.

Some people complain about the UI but once you get used to how it works, it is not that bad. Another complaint is that the tutorial is not very helpful. If I were completely new to Viticulture, I can see how the tutorial doesn't do a good enough job explaining the complex mechanics. But as an experienced player, it was a pretty good refresher. Also, since many of us are used to playing with Viticulture expansions and different boards (like the 4 season board instead of the 2 season board that is used), it was a helpful reference.

As to my issues/reservations about the game:

1. The game is very buggy. I get a lot of errors and have to end the program and restart. You eventually get used to it but it's a persistent problem. Actually, I think it's a consistent issue with DIGIDICED (the company which made this digital version of Viticulture) because I used to have the same issues - lots of crashing and restarting, with DIGIDICED's version of Patchwork. So the crashes and bugs probably aren't going to get better.

2. I like Steem achievements and DIGIDICED does a terrible job with them. First off, Viticulture achievements are bugged. Some achievements show up in-game but don't actually show up on Steem. Others don't unlock at all (in-game OR in Steem) even if you have met the conditions. And I'm resigned to the fact that the Achievement situation will likely never get better, based on DIGIDICED's past track record. For Patchwork, they had a moronic achievement which required an ELO rating of 2000 which no one has (the highest rating being 1844). And DIGIDICED's version of Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small has several bugged achievements that I reported and complained about TWO YEARS AGO which still haven't been fixed (check the Steam discussion boards and you can see my two year old post).

3. Viticulture is mainly for online multi-player mode. There is a single player version where you play against the AI but that's a bit unsatisfying. Or I suppose you can play local with friends that you know. But most of the functionality seems to come from the multi-player variant. However, it's very restrictive in terms of options. Playing ranked online means it's a three player game (no option to play 2, 4, 5, or 6 players) and you can't choose advanced options (like the one where you select between Mamas and Papas). The timer is also kind of obscene at 36 hours for every single move, which means it can take forever for a game to complete. Over half the games I've tried playing have resulted in time outs that haven't gotten past the first turn (or past choosing the Papa options so no one actually placed a worker before it timed out). Patchwork was 1 on 1 and never had timing issues. But this has the same problem that Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small had that you'd have multiple games going and would have to wait a day before you take your next move so you've forgotten the game state by then. Another board game adaptation with this problem was D&D Lords of Waterdeep (digital version made by Playdeck) which also did a horrible job with clock timing for online play. Like Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small, there is technically the option of opting in for a quicker 3 minute time variant, but with Viticulture the game is so new that there never seems to be enough people to get one going (I think I've only gotten 1 so far). And unfortunately, you can't specify that you ONLY want the quick version so most of the time, you just get automatically added to a 36 hour standard version.

4. Overall, the game does a pretty good job of implementing the mechanics, though there are a few quirks. A few of the visitor cards are bugged. And the game has some quirks with how it implements the Grande worker. You can't normally place Grande workers in normal worker slots (to block people from using those slots). And you can only place your Grande worker last (unless it's in a spot that is full in which case it can only be used by a Grande worker). Normally you should be able to place your Grande worker as your first action in a normal (or bonus) spot but that is not possible - the game forces you to use a standard worker instead. That limits your options with the visitor card that lets you retrieve your Grande worker because most of the time, the Grande worker will be your last worker left.

5. Even when you highlight the visitor cards, it can be really hard to read the text. In particular, I have trouble seeing exactly how many points various visitor cards gave you. They should really magnify the image - there is plenty of space to blow up the image.

So overall, I like the digital version of the game, don't plan to return it, and I'd buy it again if I had to make the decision again. But the game has plenty of flaws and, knowing what I know about DIGIDICED, I'm not expecting any significant improvements.