To clarify, this is an absolutely fresh install of Ubuntu 18.04 (have also tried Xubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 18.04 server with a Mate Desktop, the issue is the same across the board).
So, for some time we've been running 16.04 server (with a mate desktop) and workstation 14.x working fine. We've now decided to upgrade to 18.04 and workstation 15.x but as the tile says, after successful installation of workstation 15.5.1 (have tried a couple of older versions, same issues, can't go to old due to kernel support though), I go through all of the "Welcome to VMware Workstation" screens and arrive at the end. Regardless of specifying a license key or choosing "I want to try VMware Workstation 15 for 30 days), clicking the Finish button does nothing. It's not greyed out, it just does nothing and so I can't complete the process and can't launch Workstation.
Solved (leaving it here for future searches).
Solved (leaving it here for future searches).
Same thing apparently happens with VMWare Workstation 16.2.3, I can only complete the installation in a slightly different way than the one suggested here i.e. with "sudo vmplayer"
This seems to be also required for each successive application launch, as trying to run Workstation with a regular user brings you back to the stuck requester. I guess this information is stored on a per-user basis then?