Vine Component Samples
about 1 month ago
– Wed, Feb 25, 2026 at 10:11:43 AM
Hey CavernCritters!
We have something we’ve been so excited to share…
Factory samples of Vine have arrived! 🎉
Seeing this game fully assembled, bagged up, and sitting on the table feels surreal.
📦 First Look at the Box
The box is looking really good. The colors are rich, the finish feels great, and it looks beautiful sitting on a shelf.
That said, we discovered something important once we packed everything up for storage.
When the base game and the Pumpkins & Beetles expansion are stored in their corresponding drawstring bags (for quick setup), the box is just a little too snug.
And because we care deeply about fast, easy setup, we’ve decided to make the final box ½ inch deeper.
This gives everything room to fit, keeps setup effortless, and makes packing the game away feel satisfying instead of cramped.
🎃 Surprise #1 – More Pumpkins!
Originally, we planned to add just a couple extra pumpkins…
But once we started testing the full production version, we realized we could do something better.
Instead of a few extra pumpkins…
🌟 We’re adding 13.
That brings the total to 45 pumpkins of varying sizes and connection points.
This creates:
- More dynamic vine-building
- Better balance at different player counts
- Increased replayability
- More dramatic pumpkin patches 🌿🎃
It’s a small change that makes a big difference.
🐌🐞 Surprise #2 – A New Critter Joins the Garden
You already know and love the starting player snail meeple. Your votes made that clear!
But the garden needed one more tiny resident…
Meet the Beetle Meeple 🐞
The beetle comes with the Pumpkins & Beetles expansion and serves an important role:
As beetle leaves are drawn from the plant bag, the beetle meeple marks which vine will be targeted next.
- It’s functional.
- It’s adorable.
- It adds personality and clarity to gameplay.
And honestly… we just love how it looks crawling across the table.
🏆 Surprise #3 – More Objectives, More Variety
We’ve also expanded the objective system!
Base Game
Instead of 3 public objectives, the base game now includes:
🌟 6 total public objectives
This means each game will feel more unique depending on which objectives are in play.
Pumpkins & Beetles Expansion
We’ve also included:
🎃 3 bonus expansion-specific objectives
So every playthrough will feature a new combination of growth strategies and bonus scoring opportunities.
- More variety.
- More replayability.
- More reasons to try a new approach each time you plant your vine.
🌿 Component Highlights
We’ve been inspecting everything closely, and here are a few things that stood out:
🧺 Screenprinted Cotton Bags
These turned out fantastic.
They feel thick, durable, and high-quality.
They make setup fast and storage clean.
🌄 Playmats
The playmats are absolutely beautiful and vibrant.
The subtle grid overlay:
- Helps align tiles cleanly
- Keeps vines looking organized
- Doesn’t distract from the illustrated landscape
It’s exactly the balance we were hoping for.
🐛 Root Bugs
These look so good in person. They have a satisfying presence on the table and add a lot of thematic flavor to the underground portion of your vine.
💧 Growth Tokens
The blue hue on the woodengrowth tokens looks fantastic in person. It’s vibrant without feeling artificial, and it contrasts beautifully with the greens of the vines.
🌱 Assisting Icons
The assisting icons on the plant tiles and pumpkins turned out to be excellent visual aids.
They:
- Improve clarity
- Speed up play
- Stay subtle and non-distracting
Exactly what we hoped for.
⏳ What’s Next?
The final two items we’re waiting to review are:
💧 The 3D water droplets
✨ The acrylic tiles
These are the last pieces we need to inspect and approve before giving the factory the green light for full production.
As soon as those samples arrive, we’ll carefully review them for clarity, color, durability, and overall feel. If everything meets our standards, we’ll move directly into mass production.
We’re incredibly encouraged by how these samples have turned out. Seeing Vine fully assembled makes it clear that this game is becoming exactly what we envisioned.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Your trust allows us to make decisions that prioritize quality and long-term enjoyment.
We’ll share another update as soon as the final samples arrive.
— Bobby & the Vine Team
Pintopia 2026 Is Live - Vine Printed Samples
2 months ago
– Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 10:20:37 AM
Just a short announcement today to remind those of you who are interested that Pintopia is officially live! 🎉
We’re excited to share that the pins from the campaign are now available, alongside a brand-new raccoon pin inspired by the Bramble playmat. On top of that, Pintopia features 36 incredible pin designs pulled from a wide range of titles across the tabletop game space, showcasing the creativity and personality of so many amazing games and creators.
This initiative is all about celebrating tabletop games and the communities around them, and we’re thrilled to see it out in the world. Below is the full list of all the pins we’re currently offering.
Check out the campaign here.
Vine Printed Samples
All files have officially been approved, and the updated printed component samples for Vine are now in production. This is a big milestone, and we’re eagerly awaiting their arrival so we can share a closer look at the final materials, colors, and finishes with you.
If you’re a retailer attending GAMA this March, you’ll be able to see these samples in person. We’ll have them on hand to showcase exactly what the final components will look and feel like, and we’d love to get your feedback while we’re there.
🌱 Expansion Playtesting and Final Pledge Manager Call
3 months ago
– Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 11:42:25 AM
Final call! The Vine pledge manager closes tomorrow night, January 17th! While we are locking down orders tomorrow, there will still be time to change your shipping addresses. We will leave these unlocked until we are close to shipping the final products out. If you need to make changes to your pledge after tomorrow, you will have to reach out to our team at [email protected], and we can manually make changes for you.
We’ve been deep in playtesting over the holiday season, focusing heavily on Pumpkins & Beetles as well as the new Objectives that were unlocked during the campaign. These additions have been getting a lot of table time, and we’re excited to share how they’re shaping up.
🎃 Pumpkins: A New Spatial Puzzle
Starting with Pumpkins, this expansion takes the familiar concepts of Vine and pushes them further into a spatial puzzle challenge. Because of that shift, we’ve made a few key rule adjustments to create a streamlined but meaningfully different way to play while still preserving the core feel of Vine.
Key Gameplay Changes
Tile Draw Change
On your turn, instead of drawing two tiles, you now draw three:
- Place two tiles on your own plant
- Place one tile on the plant to your left
Because careful planning is more critical when playing with pumpkins, adding another tile to the draw provides enough options to make impactful decisions while keeping the game progressing quickly.
New Crop Costs
When luck isn't on your side in the base game of Vine, and you can't seem to gain additional leaves, you can always stack bean tiles to create bigger bunches. Instead of stacking in Pumpkins & Beetles, the small pumpkins are your ticket to progressing your pumpkin patch.
Pumpkins have a different growth economy than green beans:
-
Small pumpkin: requires no leaves to start growing
-
Medium pumpkin: requires 1 leaf
-
Large pumpkin: requires 2 leaves
Each pumpkin tile's point value is determined by its size:
-
Small pumpkins are worth 1 point
-
Medium pumpkins are worth 2 points
-
Large pumpkins are worth 4 points
Growth Tokens Swap-Out Action
Growth tokens have also been reimagined. Instead of stacking, growth tokens now allow players to gain additional pumpkins. While this might sound like a meta-heavy strategy, larger pumpkins still require the leaf support to sustain them, so balance and planning remain critical.
🐞 Beetles: Shared Chaos, Fairly Distributed
Beetles can be added to games with either Pumpkins or Green Beans and introduce a fun, controlled form of chaos.
Here’s how they work:
- Add two beetle tokens per player to the plant bag
- Give the beetle meeple to the starting player
When a beetle token is drawn:
- The player holding the beetle meeple is invaded if they have leaves
- The attacked leaf becomes inactive and can no longer support crop growth
- After each beetle draw, the beetle meeple passes to the next player
- A new plant tile is drawn for every beetle, keeping growth consistent each turn
This ensures that:
- Each player can be attacked at most twice
- No single player can be relentlessly targeted
- The garden gets just chaotic enough without feeling unfair
🎯 Objectives: Direction from Turn One
Objectives add a brand-new strategic layer by giving players a clear direction from the start of the game.
We’ve added:
- 3 additional objectives to the base game (now 6)
- 3 unique objectives specific to Pumpkins & Beetles
Objectives are public goals for players to earn extra points. The first player to meet an objective immediately claims it.
This is extra content we’re thrilled to include for everyone who backed at the appropriate tiers, and it adds a lot of replayability and variety across different setups.
🧪 Samples, Production & What’s Next
We’ve been playtesting relentlessly with all of these new systems, and we’re confident they open up a wide range of ways to enjoy Vine. While we continue to test at various player counts for the final tweaks, you still have time to upgrade your pledges to lock in these fun new modes for Vine.
On the production side, with Chinese New Year approaching, we’re actively working on samples for the base game and the upgraded water droplets.
We’re also exploring every option to ensure the acrylic tiles look and feel their absolute best before the tooling is finalized.
Once samples arrive, we’ll post a detailed update with photos and impressions.
We have submitted all of the files to the factory, except the three final files:
- The expansion box
- The expansion rulebook
- The expansion cards
Each is currently undergoing final tweaks and should be done soon. All other files have been undergoing final checks for sampling and tooling.
If you’d like to see the updated rulebookfor the base game, the latest version is live on our website.
Pintopia: The Shared Tabletop Initiative
We’re also excited to share that Pintopia launches on the 22nd, bringing together a dozen tabletop titles in a shared celebration of game art, each represented as a series of beautifully designed enamel pins inspired directly by the worlds and visuals of those games.
Pintopia is part of a larger vision we have to foster closer collaboration across the tabletop space, creating projects that highlight and elevate the art behind the games we love. This is just the beginning, and future initiatives, such as The Beacon, will continue to build on that idea, bringing games together in thoughtful and creative ways that support designers, artists, and the tabletop community as a whole.
📅 Important Dates Reminder
As always, thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. We can’t wait to show you what Vine is growing into. 🌿
🌱 Gratitude and Community Support
3 months ago
– Mon, Jan 05, 2026 at 09:31:52 AM
Hi Cavern Critters,
First, thank you to everyone who responded to our last update and let us know you were comfortable with us using the Vine pins outside of Kickstarter. We genuinely appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and help guide that decision. This community continues to be generous, thoughtful, and deeply supportive, and we are very grateful for it. 💚
That feedback opened the door for something exciting that we are ready to share.
🎉 Pintopia and the Shared Tabletop Initiative
Vine is participating in Pintopia, a crowdfunding platform event run by Backerkit that brings together a wide range of pin focused campaigns in one place. Within Pintopia, we are launching our campaign called the Shared Tabletop Initiative.
The Shared Tabletop Initiative brings Vine together with our previous title Gnomes and Wizards, plus 15 other indie game titles, to create an enamel pin campaign that highlights in game art while creating meaningful cross promotion between small publishers.
The campaign will launch with over 45 pins available on day one, with stretch goals that can hopefully unlock more than 60 total pins. These include brand new designs you have never seen before, and free bonus pins at select reward tiers.
📌 The Shared Tabletop Initiative launches January 22 and runs through February 12.
👉 [FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN HERE]
Following the campaign ahead of launch is incredibly helpful. The more followers we have going in, the more opportunities we unlock to cross promote with other pin campaigns participating in Pintopia, which benefits everyone involved.
🛠️ Production Progress Update
On the Vine production side, everything is moving forward smoothly and on schedule.
All pin production files have been submitted, and manufacturing has officially begun. We have also submitted files for the playmats and the upgraded water droplet tokens, and samples of each are currently underway.
It is always exciting to see production move from digital files into physical form, and we are happy with how things are progressing.
🔎 What’s Left and What’s Next
Our remaining tasks are finalizing the rulebook files and tidying up the Pumpkins and Beetles box. Both are well underway, and everything is moving forward as planned.
As samples arrive and milestones are hit, we will continue to keep you updated. Thank you again for your trust, your feedback, and your continued support. Vine is growing into something special because of you. 🌿
Thank you for supporting Vine and for being part of our Cavernwire family.
Best Regards,
The Vine Team at Cavernwire Games
Pledge Manager Opening
4 months ago
– Tue, Dec 16, 2025 at 12:31:23 PM
🌱 Community Momentum and Gratitude
Your support continues to amaze us. The comments, enthusiasm, and creative ways you have shared Vine have helped grow this cozy little bean game into something truly special. Thank you for carrying us this far with your energy and kindness. 💚
Today’s update is a big one, and we are thrilled to share it with you.
🛠️ Pledge Manager Opens
Some of you should start seeing the pledge manager show up in your inbox. We have enabled a smoke test with 5% of backers for the first 24 hours in order to try to catch any errors before sending it to the remaining 95%. If you haven't received the survey already today, it will come in tomorrow.
Once you receive your BackerKit survey, you'll be able to confirm your pledge, upgrade to a higher tier, or add any extras you want. This is also the moment to explore all the newly added content. The pledge manager will stay open until January 17th, when we will lock orders for our final production run.
One of the highlights is all of the new playmats. If you selected the Deluxe + Playmat pledge tier during the campaign, you will get the Core Set, which consists of the 6 main playmats and the playmat bag. This is a combo deal that essentially gives you 2 mats for free. You will also be able to select this combo by selecting the Core Set if you didn't previously select this pledge tier. The same discount will be applied.
If you choose to get the bonus mats or you just want to get a couple of single mats, we will have that option listed separately. Simply select your design and add it to your order one at a time. We cannot wait to hear which ones are your favorite!
🚚 Shipping Information
A quick note about shipping. Global shipping rates can shift dramatically from month to month, especially around the holidays. Because of this, we will collect shipping costs closer to when your pledges are ready to ship.
This ensures you pay the fairest rate possible at the time your rewards leave the warehouse. For the most accurate estimates, check the shipping section of the Kickstarter page.
📌 Pins and Pintopia
If you haven't picked one up yet and want to, they will be available in the pledge manager for $8. As we started preparing the pins for this campaign, we learned a lot about the market and the need for high-quality, affordable pins in the tabletop industry. With our past experience in manufacturing accessories beyond just board games with our sister company, CavernHold, we learned that we can offer quite a bit of value to other creators in the tabletop game space by manufacturing pins.
Because of this, we decided to join one of BackerKit's annual events called Pintopia. Pintopia is an event where creators offer various themed pins as part of a larger network of pin companies. With this new avenue in the tabletop space, we decided to call our project The Shared Tabletop Initiative as a tribute to amazing game art. We've brought together over 10 published or soon-to-be-published games that we will help transform their awesome art into collectible pins.
We share this with you in case you want to be a part of that initiative, but more importantly, we would like to ask for your permission to make the pins we offered here on Kickstarter no longer exclusive to the Kickstarter platform.
We would love for the bean and pumpkin pins to stand among the other game titles that we will have in this upcoming project. We are partnering with many publishers to feature cute and charming game art pins, and we think Vine would be a great addition to the lineup.
The plan for that campaign is to offer the pins at ten dollars each. That means you, our earliest supporters, would still be receiving the best rate. Your encouragement and love for this little bean game are exactly what make projects like Vine possible, and we hope this continued discount shows our appreciation.
📦 A Quick Reminder About What You Already Get
Before you check out in the pledge manager, here are two important reminders to help you avoid ordering duplicates.
If you pledged at any tier that includes the Pumpkin Expansion, you are already receiving a Pumpkin Pin in your order. If you add the Pumpkin Expansion separately in BackerKit, this will not include a Pumpkin Pin. If you desire one, you will have to add it separately. We wanted to make sure you are aware of that, so you do not accidentally order a second Pumpkin Pin unless you want an extra.
Vine: Deluxe Base Edition, Vine: Deluxe Kickstarter Edition, and CavernWire All-In already come with the upgraded water droplets. These droplets are listed as add-ons inside the pledge manager, but they are included automatically with these deluxe tiers. No need to add more unless you want bonus sets.
We hope this helps keep your cart tidy and your pledge exactly the way you want it.
🐌 Starting Player Meeple Vote Results
The community has spoken. The starting player meeple will be the Snail. This tiny garden traveler won your hearts, and we cannot wait to bring it to life in the final production.
🔎 What’s Next
With the pledge manager starting to arrive in inboxes, the next updates will share our progress on the production of the game. Vine has grown into something beautiful, and it would not be possible without you.
💚 Thank You from the Vine Team at Cavernwire Games
From all of us here at Cavernwire Games, thank you for helping Vine grow from a small idea into a project filled with heart, excitement, and community spirit. Your encouragement, your creativity, and your belief in this cozy little game mean more to us than we can say.
We are grateful for every comment, every share, and every pledge. You are the reason this garden keeps growing, and we are honored to be building it with you.
Thank you for supporting Vine and for being part of our Cavernwire family.
With appreciation,
The Vine Team at Cavernwire Games
