“I fell into it by chance”, in Gironde, this winegrower has a second astonishing activity

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Gilles Bourjade fell into it “a bit like that by chance, on December 19th”, there is over 20 years old. Ce vineyard professional in Barsac, in Gironde, then had no experience in the creation of board games. And yet, he thinks and then creates a game on wine production : Vign'en game.

Since then, his playing has been awarded Lépine competitionit is on sale at city ​​of wine in Bordeaux and sister licenses are impatiently waiting to be produced.

A board game on the exploitation of the vine

When he launches into the explanation of his flagship gameVign'en jeux or The Grape Game, for its English version, Gilles Bourjade unfolds the board directly. He then begins to distil his remarks and anecdotes little by little.

The passion for the game and above all of the vine are felt at each stage of its demonstration. He even begins to dream a little: “We could have tournaments. It could be organized. »

It's a board game. Everyone has a dashboard to carry out their harvests and chooses, at the start of the game, whether they decide to play a conventional or organic winegrower.

The scene is set by the southern Gironde operator. All you have to do is roll the die to move forward on the board with green tones and circularly arranged squares. “It’s a bit on the principle of Monopolybut in more strategic. Every choice has consequences,” argues the creator.

Then the part consists of harvest grapes using action cards, tokens representing human intervention and others for mechanical interventions.

Silver medal at the Lépine competition

This game received, upon its release in 2007, a silver medal from the Ministry of Agriculture to the famous Lépine competition. A prestigious prize, but which did not have the expected impact for Gilles Pourjade.

This game is not only fun, it is also a way to support a sector in crisis and to introduce players to the world of vines and love them. However, he did not receive the support he deserved…

Gilles Bourjade is disappointed, because he believes in this means unconventional : “By playing and discovering the cards, we can learn theoretically to make wine and to love the vine. »

A fun game

Although this may seem technical, its creator still emphasizes the fact that it is a game and that the playful side exists.

I presented it during the game festival in Parthenay. There, I saw a group of children arrive who had no connection with the vineyard. However, after a few spins, they were really enjoying themselves and wanted to buy the game.

Other game projects in the drawers

If for the moment only one game from the mind of Gilles Pourjade has been marketed, there are still some left full in his drawers.

I still have six that are already thought out and ready, all I need to do is find partners to finance these projects.

One of these has even already been materialized and presented to host a stand at the agricultural show in 2019: Grape 10. “It’s a variation of Vign’en game in the form of cards for a faster game,” confides the creator.

Still in the works, a game about wait you wineanother called Anjeu'vin or yet another linked to the tasting you wine.

Vign'en jeux is on sale on the site vignenjeu.com or at the city of wine in Bordeaux

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