- The class clowns! (Devlog 6) - 5 August 2026
Hey folks, Nini here with a quick update on what we’re cooking up behind the scenes!The New TutorialFollowing up on our last post about fixing player onboarding, we’re currently locking in building a new tutorial. This shiny new intro will gently (or forcibly) guide you through the process of expanding your deck and acquiring more tomes and the various engine building rewards.Now Quill will guide you through some basics, note that a lot of the art is still placeholder and I am not happy yet with how he looks.And because learning is always better with a little flair (and we were going crazy constantly putting off new content), the new tutorial takes place in an all-new Jester tileset, complete with a fresh cast of enemies who are very excited to make your acquaintance (and test out your new spells).Playtest Taking a Quick PauseTo make sure we can properly wire up this new tutorial, tune…
- Strategems and more playtesting! - 28 May 2026
Hey folks!Nini here with some more news.We're excited to share that Tomebound will be part of Strategems, and we have a new build for you to playtest, Starting May 28th, 7pm CEST, you should head over and check out the awesome selection of strategy games. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46073222/sale/strategems2026Massive thanks to Goblinz Publishing!Come chat to us, report bugs and flex your builds on our discord.Alternatively please use our Feedback Form. Also here are the changes since the last playtest earlier in the month:ChangesSpellsNew reward type "secondary" where you get to pick out of 3 secondaries to overwrite your cardsBuffed all of the secondaries (whatever it takes to get folks to combine spells)Balanced a bunch of the spellsAdded 7 new spells, including a higher tier spell for each tome.StepsYou now start combat with 3 stepsDefault starting steps for base spells c…
- Playtest Extended for ANZ Indie Showcase - 7 May 2026
We’re stoked to be part of this year's showcase alongside some incredible indie games made right here "down under."Playtest Extended: To celebrate, we are continuing our playtest from May 8th (7:30pm AEST) through to May 14th!Jump in, explore, and let us know what you think, all feedback is massive for us. Huge thanks to www.theindiebrew.com.au for organizing such an awesome event!
- Tomebound Open Playtest - 4 May 2026
Hey folks,To celebrate Steam’s Deck Builder Fest starting today, we’re opening the vault for a brief Tomebound playtest. Feel free to jump in and do your worst, try to break the spells and find the exploits.Come chat to us, report bugs and flex your builds on our discord.Alternatively please use our Feedback Form. Happy breaking! Cheers!
- These Boots Are Made For Walking (Devlog 4) - 15 April 2026
Hey folks, Nini here!Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on a design challenge that has haunted us since day one: Movement. In a tactics game, movement is very important. In Tomebound we had the additional challenge of finding a system that doesn’t clash with the dual component card system.In our very first prototypes, we had dedicated movement cards. Too bad we’ll end up wasting this card art.Eventually, we moved away from those and introduced "Steps." But we quickly ran into a problem: players were juking and weaving very effectively, especially with enemies moving after they attacked.Enter: The Step PoolWe’ve recently introduced a new system that shifts the focus toward strategy. It’s taking our playtesters a little longer to get the hang of, but the payoff is much more rewarding (and gives us some juicy design levers to pull).Now, every card you play offers a specific number of step…
- The Crystal Ball (Devlog 3) - 23 February 2026
Hey folks, Nini here!Today, I’m here to give you some literal "foresight" into how Tomebound indicates the board state. We’re attempting to take the guesswork out of the chaotic, magical cluster that tends to occur when you start combining spells.If you played our earlier demos, you may have experienced crossing your fingers and hoping a stray bounce didn't end with you nuking your tomes into oblivion. You can absolutely still do all that, but at least now you’ll know it's happening in advance!Doing the Math (So You Don't Have To)Spells in Tomebound get complicated fast once you start stacking things like Bounce, AoE, and Shatter. Our new forecasting system gives you immediate, real-time feedback on the chaos you're about to create.It’s not just about your spells, though. As we hinted in the last devlog, we’re also giving you a visual heads-up on exactly what the enemies are planning fo…
- Stop Hitting Yourself! (Devlog 2) - 16 January 2026
Hey folks, Nini here!I’ve got some updates to share regarding the various flavors of chaos we’ve been adding to the game over the last month.First off, we’ve shrunk the battle grid. Why? Because some of you were getting a little too comfortable sitting in your back-row bomb shelters, casting massive AOE+bounce spells that nuked the entire map from safety.Also, a smaller board means enemies get in your grill much faster, demanding your undivided attention.Speaking of personal space, enemies aren't just standing around anymore. They now take their move turn the moment you place your tomes.Once their done waking up and stretching their bones, the enemies are now polite enough to tell you exactly where they plan to do when it’s their turn again.Once you take your turn, enemies will execute their attack action in the forecasted area, and then follow up with another move turn. What does this…
- Tomebound will join Midwinter Spirits 🎄👻 - 1 December 2025
Hey folks!Nini here with a bit of an update as December kicks off. We're stoked to share that Tomebound will be part of the Midwinter Spirits Steam event. You should definitely check out the selection of over 160 games that blend spooky, supernatural elements and a winter atmosphere. 🎄We've been working hard behind the scenes to roll out a few new tomes and dozens of sigils to ensure that the next playtest will allow for much more build variation,A massive thanks to the Ivy Juice team for selecting us for the event. ❤️ Happy Holidays!https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44121028/sale/midwinterspirits
- Curios, Shops and breaking the game. (Devlog 1) - 4 November 2025
Hey folks, Nini here with a bit of an update on what we have been focusing on over the last month.Over the weekend we brought the game to “Let’s break games” where we tested some of the new functionality. It is always a massive pleasure to see players enjoying the game and it was excellent to get some feedback on the new features, including Curios and Shops. CuriosCurios are permanent buffs which can be attached to individual tomes to provide benefits both inside and outside of battle. The more recent playtest version of the game had this in the form of “innates”, curios will override this system and allow you to modify the buffs and build the tome in different ways. Initially there will be a limit of 3 per tome but this will vary between tomes and be expandable via shop and event options throughout a run. If you have empty slots you can move a curio, or if you don’t, it can overwrite a…
- Pixel Expo - 12 September 2025
Hey folks, we're happy to share that we will be attending Pixel Expo 2025 in Perth at the Convention and Exhibition Center on September 13–14, 2025! We will have our most up to date build and would love for you to try it.Along with us there's dozens of other great games you can find on the related steam fest!If you're attending, please feel free to drop by and say hi!
- Harness the power of living books in the upcoming hexgrid tactics deckbuilder Tomebound - 10 September 2025
A library full of infected living books awaits you in Tomebound, an upcoming hexgrid tactics deckbuilder that plans full Linux support. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/09/harness-the-power-of-living-books-in-the-upcoming-hexgrid-tactics-deckbuilder-tomebound/
