Thanks @connorwray
Yeah, so disappointing -- makes the game unplayable.
I found if you holiday through the game that freezes (after you've restarted the game) then it works again for a few matches then freezes again. Means you have to save before every game...
I actually went the whole uninstall -- took everything off and reinstalled system OS. Just got to November in a fresh save and it's frozen again. Ugh.