This is the announcement I wrote in late Summer of 2011 when I heard that VivaJava had found a publisher! VivaJava is now available on Kickstarter!

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll recognize the name DeveJava. DeveJava is a game I met last year (October 2010) at the Rio Grande Game Design Contest during the Congress of Gamers in Rockville, MD. I said it then and continue to say it to this day: DeveJava should have won that contest. It came in third. I came in second.

Here’s something you need to know, if I have come in first and DeveJava had come in second, I would have forfeited my chance to present my game to Jay from Rio Grande and let TC take DeveJava. Yes, and you can ask some of my friends to confirm this, I would have passed up my opportunity to present my game to a big publisher for DeveJava. Really, that’s all you need to know to understand that this is a great game! It’s an amazing game. And… I’m sad to say you’ll never get to play DeveJava.

You WILL however get to play VivaJava: The (totally renamed) Coffee Game! After working hard for almost a year TC Petty has found a publisher for his remarkable Coffee Game!  VivaJava will be brought to you by the lovely folks at Dice Hate Me Games! It’s going to hit the shelves at your local game store in Mid 2012! You will be able to buy and play this game! You WILL buy it and you WILL play it often!…and not just because I say you will. You’ll do it because it’s an awesome game with a lot to offer!

VivaJava is the new name, put that in your can and brew it! VivaJava. Same game, different name. Well, not entirely the same. I hear that it now contains rules for 3 players! Players of the game from October until recently knew it as a 5-8 Player game, but now it’s a lot more accessible! That’s an awesome thing!

Here’s a bit from the game’s description, since it says it better than I ever could:

“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.

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, inVivaJava 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 game play, 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.”

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!) and I’ll see it again this weekend at WBC and it’s been amazing every time. 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!

At Origins this year I pulled a non-Euro-player into the game and he even liked it! That should tell you something.

With the ability to have up to 8 players, your first thought is that this is a “party-game.” It’s not. Not really. It is very social, but if you start thinking of it like a party game you’re going to miss out on the wonderfully deep and intricate strategy possibilities. this is not the game you pull out when your group gets tired of Apples to Apples to keep the laughter flowing. This is the game you start the night off with to get everyone’s juices flowing. Seriously.

There’s laughter, to be sure. How can you not laugh while sticking your hand in yours/and other people’s sacks? You’re discovering coffee beans…so expect a few Juan Valdez Jokes (I don’t make Juan Valdez jokes, but when I do I confuse him with the Dos Equis Man.) Also, be prepared to get blended!  And that’s the tip of the funberg you’ll be running into.

Just don’t capsize on it. Don’t deny the strategy.  DO NOT DENY THE STRATEGY! This is not your father’s 3-8 player game. This is VivaJava. Wake up and smell the coffee!

I apologize for sounding like a cheerleader. I’m not actually reviewing the game today. I’m just excited that I can announce that it found a publisher (DiceHateMe Games) and will be coming your way. I will certainly talk about it more and I’ll keep you posted for the upcoming Kickstarter Campaign and any other announcements I can about the game! It’s definitely going to be worth your time!

Go to VivaJava on BGG and become a fan of the game*! You will not be disappointed!

* While you’re there, check out Flummox too. Become a fan of that upcoming game as well!