🌱 Gratitude and Community Support
5 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
6 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
🌿Playmat Art Finalized +2 Bonus Worlds!
6 months ago
– Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 09:58:16 AM
Hey CavernCritters!
It's been a busy couple of months. We’ve got an exciting art milestone to share today! All six of the core playmats for the Deluxe + Playmat pledge tier are now finalized, and they look absolutely stunning! These mats were designed to fully complement the visual world of Vine, giving players richly immersive environments as they build their beanstalks and pumpkin patches to greatness.
As we navigate the AI art era our world has entered into, we wanted to start an initiative that supports a variety of human artists. We commissioned several skilled illustrators to each bring their style into the world of Vine.
Because this is an artist spotlight initiative, we want to call out these talented illustrators in hopes that they can bring more of their amazing talent to the tabletop industry. So without further ado, these are the new playmat illustrations for Vine.
🪴 Summer Conservatory
A sunlit, tomato-filled greenhouse with a friendly sleeping watchguard.
Illustrator: Diletta @artsantis on Fiverr
From: Italy
🌧️ Rainy Day
A rainy cottage garden where ducks wander among lush vegetation.
Illustrator: Dima P @lepkarepka on Fiverr
From: Poland
🌻 Sunrise Garden
Peak growth of various crops and a lively abundance in the heart of the season.
Illustrator: Irina Kondratiuk on Upworks
From: Ukraine
🍂 Autumn Harvest
A festive fall scene on the farm with a friendly scarecrow and a pair of confident crows.
Illustrator: Dennys P @dannitolvl on Fiverr
From: Venezuela
🌷 Springtime Grove
Flowering cherry orchard amongst the scenic rolling hills.
Illustrator: Stef A. on UpWorks
From: Romania
❄️ Winter Haven
A bright greenhouse brimming with thriving plants amid a snowy landscape.
Illustrator: Basem @basem_s1 on Fiverr
From: Yemen
But that’s not all…
🎨 Introducing 2 Bonus Playmats!
During development, we explored a couple of creative directions that didn’t quite fit the core theme of Vine, but we loved them too much to let them go. So we turned them into optional bonus mats that backers can select if they want to explore new thematic “worlds” while they play.
Here are the two new bonus mats we created:
🌸 Japanese Flower Garden
A serene, painterly landscape filled with soft blossoms and calm spring tones.
Illustrator: Wisp @wisptale on Fiverr
From: Japan
🌙 Moonlit Wooded Bramble
A mysterious nighttime forest bathed in moonlight among the berry and mushroom patches.
Illustrator: Raymondallon R @raymondallon_ on Fiverr
From: United Kingdom
📦 Pledge Manager Timeline
With the playmats wrapped up, we are just about ready to launch the pledge manager. We need to add these mats into the system and then we will make it live on Monday, Dec 8th.
🧺 Choosing Your Playmats
A quick reminder on how playmat selection works:
The Deluxe + Playmat pledge tier includes all 6 core playmats. To clarify, the 6th playmat and the mat bag are free only when you select the Deluxe + Playmat pledge tier. This is a $20 value that we want to give to you for free.
Alternatively, you can still mix and match any combination of the mats and get the mat bag separately, there just won't be the free bonuses.
We can’t wait to hear what you think of the final artwork. Let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below. Thank you again for your enthusiasm and support. Vine is coming together beautifully, and that’s entirely because of this community. 💚
We'll have more to share about the production progress of everything in our next update.
More soon!
— Bobby & the CavernWire Games team 🌱
🐛 Tiny Creatures, Big Changes: How Vine Is Growing This Season
8 months ago
– Sat, Oct 25, 2025 at 05:37:49 AM
🌿 Vine’s Next Growth Stage
Vine is growing, and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes. We have new art, new information, and some exciting developments to share about the next steps for the campaign.
🍂 Behind the Scenes & Campaign Growth
While the campaign may have seemed to be hibernating for fall, that quiet period has been anything but still. We’ve been refining our advertising strategy and mapping out the best marketing approach to carry Vine through the next stage. That focus on preparation is why pledge levels haven’t fluctuated much lately.
As we finalize these new strategies to roll out, we expect fresh momentum and renewed visibility. We’re confident enough in that progress that we’re moving forward as if Vine has already reached the $90,000 stretch goal, unlocking both the silkscreened first player meeple and the 6th player upgrade.
🐜 New Root Tiles Revealed
With that milestone in mind, we’re excited to introduce the new Root Tiles. The bugs have arrived, and they bring some extra personality to the garden. Players will now be able to choose their favorite starting root companion, adding a fun layer of individuality to every game.
The SIX! root companions are Pill Bugs, Ants, Worms, Grubs, Millipedes, and Ground Beetles. These new tiles add warmth and a sense of life to the world of Vine, giving each player a unique way to begin their growth.
🎨 The Playmat Artwork & Pledge Manager Delay
We want to talk openly about one of the biggest reasons the pledge manager has not yet opened. The short version is this: we’re waiting until all the playmat artwork is complete.
The playmats are one of the most visually rich and detailed parts of Vine, and we want you to see the final art before confirming or adjusting your pledge. Instead of offering placeholders or unfinished designs, we want every backer to explore exactly what they’ll be receiving.
Each mat requires a careful balance of composition, perspective, and color to make the world feel alive. To meet that standard, we have been expanding our art team in order to provide each mat a new illustrator who specializes in different environmental and thematic styles. This will help us complete the full set faster while ensuring every mat looks cohesive and beautiful.
Having all of the artwork done prior to opening the pledge manager has been taking some time, but it prevents confusion later and ensures that when the pledge manager opens, it’s a true reflection of the finished game. We believe transparency is worth the wait.
🌱 Meeple Voting Reminder
As the new art comes together, don’t forget to finalize your vote for the Upgraded, Screen-printed starting meeple. Your choice will help decide which design becomes part of Vine’s identity. Click this link to vote in the poll.
Voting poll
The current frontrunners are Snail and Watering Can, with Garden Gnome, Sun, and Trowel trailing behind. If your pick is in the lower ranks, now’s the time to make your vote count. Our goal is to finalize this with the next update, so we can move forward to production proofs.
⏰ Timeline & Next Steps
Even with the expanded art effort, our production timeline remains solid. Buffer time was integrated into the schedule from the start, knowing that these labor-intensive art pieces could take more time than expected, so we still expect manufacturing and fulfillment to be completed on time.
Thank you again for your patience, enthusiasm, and support. Every decision we make is aimed at making Vine the most beautiful and joyful experience possible. The roots are strong, the leaves are spreading, and soon you’ll be playing with a version of Vine that’s even more alive than before.
—The Cavernwire Team
Marketing Push, and Pledge Manager News
8 months ago
– Fri, Oct 03, 2025 at 12:10:05 PM
🌱 Community Momentum & Gratitude
We’ve loved seeing all the comments, creative promotions, and even IOUs you’ve shared to help push Vine toward the next stretch goal. The engagement from this community has been inspiring, and it’s thanks to you that we’ve come this far. 💚
To keep that momentum rolling, we’re launching a new marketing campaign to reach folks who were a little tardy to the party. With your continued support and this new push, we’re confident we’ll cross that next milestone soon, even if it's behind the veil of the pledge manager.
🛠️ Pledge Manager & Add-Ons
We’ll be opening the pledge manager very soon. This means you’ll be able to:
- Adjust your pledges
- Add on anything you missed during the campaign
- Grab newly improved items that were not available before
We’re excited for this stage because it gives everyone another chance to refine their Vine collection. We will post an update once it is live.
🛒 Pre-Orders on Our Website
In addition to late pledges, Vine and all non-Kickstarter exclusive add-ons will soon be available for pre-order directly on our website. Anyone who has not pledged to get access to the pledge manager will be able to place pre-orders at that time.
✨ Important note: If you backed through Kickstarter or the pledge manager, your orders are unaffected. This is simply how we will be handling NEW orders moving forward, and we wanted you to be in the loop in case you missed the campaign or want to share it with someone who is interested in supporting Vine.
🎨 Art & Illustrations
We’re eager to share more from our artists. Custom illustrations take time, but the results will be worth it. Proofs have been coming in, and we are working closely with the artists to reflect your feedback alongside our vision.
We will share these updates when the time is right. Our goal is to make sure Vine is as beautiful as it is fun to play. 🌿
🔎 What’s Next
The next phase of updates will showcase the new art, but know this: we are building Vine to be a game you will love for years to come. Your support is helping shape it into something special, and we could not be more excited to grow this journey together.
