🌿Playmat Art Finalized +2 Bonus Worlds!
4 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
5 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
6 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.
We did it together. Thank You.
8 months ago
– Wed, Aug 20, 2025 at 02:20:05 PM
🌱 Thank You from Team Vine
We can’t say this enough, Thank you. What began as a family project in our backyard garden has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined. Because of you, our little game about green beans will soon be played at gaming tables, coffee shops, and picnic tables around the world. We’re grateful to each of you for being part of this journey. 💚
🗳️ Starting Player Meeple Vote Update
The community has spoken... well, at least so far! Remember, you can change your vote anytime, so this is still anyone’s game. Here’s where things stand:
Trowel: 2 Sun: 40 Gnome: 68 Watering Can: 102 (2nd place!) Snail: 166 (1st place!)
We’ve noticed some folks holding back or shifting votes while waiting to see if we’d reach the upgraded silk-screened components, and that brings us to our next announcement…
🎉 Late Pledges will still count towards Stretch Goals:
With late backing now open and support still coming in, we want to do something special. We had originally planned the 6th player addition (tiles + playmat) as a higher stretch goal, but because of the amazing support this community has shown, we’ve decided that:
👉 If we reach $90,000 in late pledges, we’ll unlock two huge upgrades:
Silk-screened starting player meeples
The 6th player addition, including a 6th bonus alternate playmat 🎨
📌What a 6th player means:
If you’re in the Deluxe + Playmat tier and we cross $90K, you’ll automatically receive a 6th playmat featuring alternate art at no extra cost. On top of that, everything originally designed for 5 players is now expanding to 6, (extra roots, extra tiles) thanks to how far this campaign has come. While pledges are now locked, you can still help us hit the milestone by sharing the campaign with your friends and fellow gamers, and don't worry, once the pledge manager is open you'll all be able to change your pledges, and add any and all playmats you want individually, or just go to the bundle tier and save.
We’re thrilled to offer this as a thank you to everyone who helped Vine grow. Adding a 6th player means bigger tables, more laughs, and more memories, and we couldn’t be happier to share that with you. 🌱
🎨 About That Alternate Artwork…
The 6th player content also comes with a brand-new alternate illustration. We know that artwork can play a big role in your decision about which tier to choose in the pledge manager, and we don’t want you to feel rushed.
We’ll share updates on the artwork as it develops, so you can see the direction we’re going and make an informed choice. Our goal is to give you the details you need, at the right time, so pledging stays exciting, not stressful.
🔎 What’s Next for Vine
And finally… about that hidden expansion. We’ve got a few exciting directions we’re exploring, and we’ll share more when the time is right. What we can say now is this: Vine is only the beginning. 🌿
Because of your support, we’re ready to keep growing, not just with Vine, but with sequels and future projects. Stay tuned. 👀
Kickstarter Exclusive 30% Discount for CavernHold Game Bags
8 months ago
– Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 07:00:28 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
