How far away is the planned crowdfunding campaign? I'm interested in getting a physical copy but will hold off buying one through Mixam if the crowdfund is going to be happening later this year.
I ordered the book and I'm absolutely loving the ride so far. But in working on the puzzle for note 32, the cipher seems to stop working on the third line (BCGIX...). Would Backwards Tabletop mind checking and either telling me I'm crazy or let me know what it should be instead?
I just double checked it, and it's correct! But I can see why you're confused, which means you are absolutely on the right track.
Minor hints below. You have probably stumbled upon a confusing series of vowels? Keep going. My guess is that when you are 8 or so letters into the line you will realize why it looks strange.
Is it possible to play this game using a PDF editor? And if so, which features does it need? (Especially if annotations suffice, that would make it easy to play over the internet as well)
Great question. The best play experience with this game is with the print edition, and the second best experience is with the print-and-play version.
The reason for this is that there are prompts that rely on the book being physical, requiring you to tear, burn, hit, throw the book, etc. Some of these prompts have additional significance in that when you tear the page, for example, it may reveal something on the next page. Likewise, if you pass on the book or play it again, those modifications matter for the subsequent playthrough.
Of course, if you want to play using a PDF editor, you're more than welcome to. But you will miss out on an important part of the experience. I'd say a PDF editor is best for folks who want to read SPINE but not necessarily play it.
I hope that helps! Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
As a legally blind person, a physical copy simply isn't an option for me, as I need TTS to assist in play. Does this mean it is inaccessible?
To be clear, I understand that something like this isn't made for everyone. However, there's other weird bookish things that have a digital version (eg Penrose, Device 6) that still include digital book manipulation but work with TTS.I don't know if that's something you'd consider.
Unfortunately, the game relies on visuality and a physical book object fairly often (e.g. poking a hole through a page and reading what's on the other side, visual puzzles). However, there may still be plenty to enjoy without it.
Feel free to reach out to me via email (backwaterttrpg@gmail.com). I can see if I can remediate a non-PDF text version for you, that should be easier to navigate with a screen reader, and I'll add alt text to the images.
Is there any possibility of ordering a print copy from a European printer? Mixam seems to have branches in Ireland and Germany, but as far as I can figure out I only seem to be able to order from the American branch. Game seems really cool, but $23 for shipping over the Atlantic makes me hesitate a bit.
Amazing game! I was just wondering: you can play it three times per player or three times per copy? And if you can play it three times per player, are you supposed to erease what you wrote in order to not spoiler prompts to the next player?
I played it only one time and wanted to give it to my friend, but I would like to understand this before handing it to someone else.
Anyway, this was the first horror rpg I have ever played and was a wonderfully suggestive experience. I just had some problems with few prompts because english isn't my first language, but it didn't matter, I loved it
"I’ve played solo games and horror games and legacy games and games where you change the book, and yet I don’t have anything to compare SPINE to – it stands on its own."
Hi, maybe I'm dumb. But I printed the booklet version and it seems like the pages aren't positioned correctly? It printed the notebook page half on the back cover. Pages that should be on the right-hand side are on the left... like the entire book got shifted by one page? There are obvious parts where it's not right. And it's not the same as the image you posted in the Print Instructions. Help? I really like what I was able to play so far, I just don't want to go farther if I have to reprint the whole thing.
Thank you for posting! You were correct. I had updated the file earlier this week to include the back cover, and I didn't see that InDesign added extra pages for the booklet format.
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How far away is the planned crowdfunding campaign? I'm interested in getting a physical copy but will hold off buying one through Mixam if the crowdfund is going to be happening later this year.
Unfortunately, I don't have a date set at this time. I would say that 2026 is pretty unlikely. Sorry that I can't be more specific!
Will community copies be available for this? Fascinated by this intersection of TTRPG and textual art. Reminds me of ProjectECCO.
I ordered the book and I'm absolutely loving the ride so far. But in working on the puzzle for note 32, the cipher seems to stop working on the third line (BCGIX...). Would Backwards Tabletop mind checking and either telling me I'm crazy or let me know what it should be instead?
I just double checked it, and it's correct! But I can see why you're confused, which means you are absolutely on the right track.
Minor hints below.
You have probably stumbled upon a confusing series of vowels? Keep going. My guess is that when you are 8 or so letters into the line you will realize why it looks strange.
Thanks for checking! I found my error. Sorry for doubting.
What happened was I made my own alphabet on my scrap paper
Is it possible to play this game using a PDF editor? And if so, which features does it need? (Especially if annotations suffice, that would make it easy to play over the internet as well)
Great question. The best play experience with this game is with the print edition, and the second best experience is with the print-and-play version.
The reason for this is that there are prompts that rely on the book being physical, requiring you to tear, burn, hit, throw the book, etc. Some of these prompts have additional significance in that when you tear the page, for example, it may reveal something on the next page. Likewise, if you pass on the book or play it again, those modifications matter for the subsequent playthrough.
Of course, if you want to play using a PDF editor, you're more than welcome to. But you will miss out on an important part of the experience. I'd say a PDF editor is best for folks who want to read SPINE but not necessarily play it.
I hope that helps! Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
As a legally blind person, a physical copy simply isn't an option for me, as I need TTS to assist in play. Does this mean it is inaccessible?
To be clear, I understand that something like this isn't made for everyone. However, there's other weird bookish things that have a digital version (eg Penrose, Device 6) that still include digital book manipulation but work with TTS.I don't know if that's something you'd consider.
Unfortunately, the game relies on visuality and a physical book object fairly often (e.g. poking a hole through a page and reading what's on the other side, visual puzzles). However, there may still be plenty to enjoy without it.
Feel free to reach out to me via email (backwaterttrpg@gmail.com). I can see if I can remediate a non-PDF text version for you, that should be easier to navigate with a screen reader, and I'll add alt text to the images.
Great review as always
Is there any possibility of ordering a print copy from a European printer? Mixam seems to have branches in Ireland and Germany, but as far as I can figure out I only seem to be able to order from the American branch. Game seems really cool, but $23 for shipping over the Atlantic makes me hesitate a bit.
Great question. I've been working on an alternative, although I am not sure how much shipping it will save.
If you'd like to help me test it out, would you send me an email? I'm backwaterttrpg @ gmail-dot-com
Sure, you've got mail!
Amazing game! I was just wondering: you can play it three times per player or three times per copy? And if you can play it three times per player, are you supposed to erease what you wrote in order to not spoiler prompts to the next player?
I played it only one time and wanted to give it to my friend, but I would like to understand this before handing it to someone else.
Anyway, this was the first horror rpg I have ever played and was a wonderfully suggestive experience. I just had some problems with few prompts because english isn't my first language, but it didn't matter, I loved it
Thanks for your question and for the kind words!
It's meant to be played three times per copy - although one player is welcome to play it all three of those times, if they'd like.
Thank you a lot!!
excited. Just putrchased a print copy where do I email the proof of purchase for the itchio copy?
So glad you grabbed a copy!
You can email me at backwaterttrpg-at-gmail.com
Sent thanks again
Full CHG review here: https://cannibalhalflinggaming.com/2025/10/31/spine-review-making-a-game-of-gett...
"I’ve played solo games and horror games and legacy games and games where you change the book, and yet I don’t have anything to compare SPINE to – it stands on its own."
Thanks for the awesome review! And I love the pictures from your playthrough.
Hi, maybe I'm dumb. But I printed the booklet version and it seems like the pages aren't positioned correctly? It printed the notebook page half on the back cover. Pages that should be on the right-hand side are on the left... like the entire book got shifted by one page? There are obvious parts where it's not right. And it's not the same as the image you posted in the Print Instructions. Help? I really like what I was able to play so far, I just don't want to go farther if I have to reprint the whole thing.
The booklet version has been updated.
Thank you for posting! You were correct. I had updated the file earlier this week to include the back cover, and I didn't see that InDesign added extra pages for the booklet format.
Apologies for the wasted paper and confusion!
No apologies needed! Thank you for your prompt response. I'm really looking forward to getting back into it and getting to the end (in one piece?).
Printed and smooshed under some weights for a couple days. Hoping to dive into this soon! Looks really great!
Thanks so much! And I hope you enjoy!
This looks amazing!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy! The digital version will be released on the 14th, and a physical version will be available by the end of October.