VivaJava

2012 | Designer: TC Petty III | Artist/Graphics: Chris Kirkman & Darrell Louder

VivaJava: The Coffee Game is all about finding that perfect blend of beans to create the next best-seller in the coffee houses and kitchens of the world. Players will travel to exotic coffee-producing nations around the world to collect beans and gain fame and fortune.  But, in order to be successful, players will actually have to work together. Mostly.

Pre-release copies of VivaJava are now circulating, and VivJava will be available for retail sale the first week of November.

VivaJava is also listed here in the BoardGameGeek database.

Play

In the game, players send their researchers to hot spots around the globe to gather the perfect bean. This may bring them into contact with other players who are also on the hunt, creating a crucial choice: Go it alone and continue to research, or join forces with that opponent, hoping to combine beans from both player’s bags and share the score with a superblend. Going it alone with research can often prove useful as players spend time in the lab developing abilities that grant them an advantage. However, in VivaJava the bold taste of victory will go only to those players who are able to balance solitary research with cooperation amongst their fellow gamers.

The rich depth of varying strategies and social play will satisfy most players’ thirst for unique gameplay, but VivaJava has even more brewing. This flexible game can accommodate up to 8 players, and through smooth simultaneous actions, play is quick and constant with little downtime.

Want to know more details? Check out the rules for VivaJava: The Coffee Game!

Press

  • “Honestly, where I think VivaJava shines best is in it’s ability to A) produce an interesting whole while really providing a good sense of narrative and theme and, B) keeping everyone at the table involved. This isn’t one of those “vacuum Euros” where the player interaction is minimal so you could be playing with a group of mutes. VivaJava keeps things hopping without dumbing anything down. All told VivaJava is better than a chocho-mocha-latte-half-caf-iced-chino at your favorite coffee bar!” Score: 9 (out of ten) – Jeff McAleer, The Gaming Gang
  • “Six different colored beans are available to represent different origins, and blends are ranked in poker hand-style groupings of five as well as on color priority. Each turn, though, blends will “degrade”, losing a bean and falling down the best-seller list. Judging your blend’s chances at long-term success turns into a great mental exercise, and makes VivaJava a game you’ll be itching to master.” – Matt Morgan, MTV Geek
  • “Look, let me put it to you straight, I’ve seen this game in action at 4 events (I’ve played it at three of them!) … It’s a great strategy game with a good deal of social interaction. The forced cooperation aspect of the game is brilliant. It offers many paths to achieving the goals, has been unpredictable, and just a really solid Euro-style game!” – John Moller, Cartrunk.net
  • “Viva Java combined many common mechanics from Eurogames into a unique game experience… This game is a nice combination of strategy and luck and since you are constantly teaming up there is not much down time.” – Jason, play board games
  • “I played this at WBC and look forward to seeing it get out there. Was a fun game, can’t wait to get it on my game group table.” – Paul Engle, Boardgamegeek.com

The Geekspansion

The VivaJava Geekspansion was a special promotional expansion offered to Kickstarter backers during the VivaJava crowdfunding campaign. Although the Geekspansion isn’t available for retail sale, Dice Hate Me Games will be offering this special expansion in the future through giveaways on dicehateme.com, on Boardgamegeek and at conventions, like Origins 2013.

If you own the Geekspansion – or are just curious to learn more – you can download the official rules right here!