Spire’s End: Volume 1 – Special Edition is a 1–2-player choose-your-path card game where every decision matters, featuring branching story cards, tactical encounters, expanded content, and a reworked finale.
Spire’s End: Volume 1 – Special Edition is a 1–2-player choose-your-path adventure with simple setup, intuitive rules, and minimal components. No DM, bookkeeping, or character sheet. Just you, an oversized deck of cards, and dice.
Whether you’re returning to Spire’s End or discovering it for the first time, this is the definitive edition of the original game.
The complete six-chapter adventure returns, now expanded and refined for the Special Edition.
Updated box design aligned with Hildegard, Rangitaki, and Spire’s End: Volume 2
Custom insert tray for improved organization and storage
Silver foil-stamped title on the box
Reworked Chapter 6, with final encounter redesigned as a brutal three-phase finale
22 revised cards integrated throughout the game, with up to 7 additional cards added through unlocked stretch goals
4 new small finale cards used during the expanded final encounter
The original game already gives your journey 15 possible endings, most of them unpleasant. The Special Edition adds one more.
This new ending expands the original experience without replacing it, offering a more character-driven conclusion that places greater emphasis on the narrative while remaining true to the tone of the original game.
The game’s final encounter, the Mirror Man, has been expanded, giving the conclusion the space it deserves while preserving the core mechanics of the original design.
The encounter still centers on turning over cards and attempting to match pairs, but this updated sequence introduces a more challenging, tiered progression.
The result is a finale that feels larger, more demanding, and more developed, while remaining true to what made it work in the first place.
Beyond the expanded finale, the core game remains largely unchanged, preserving the original card size, artwork, and overall experience while incorporating select revisions and refinements to better integrate the new finale and improve gameplay clarity throughout.
It remains the same focused, self-contained experience, with all original components intact, centered around a single deck of cards that guides you through the game, its rules, and its unfolding story from the very first draw.
Your journey unfolds across six chapters and 112 oversized Story Cards. Read the scene, make your choice, and reveal the card it directs you to. Decisions determine the path forward, the dangers you face, and how the story ultimately ends.
Across the adventure, there are 22 different enemies you may encounter. Choose your Allies, manage their Hit Points and Armor, and use their individual abilities against these enemies with unique attacks and special rules.
The hook is simple. In combat, every action comes at a cost—and that cost is your character’s hit points. Stronger attacks demand more HP, forcing you to push your luck while leaving yourself exposed. Every decision is a trade-off, and every turn carries risk.
Actions are chosen and resolved through quick rolls, keeping combat fast, tense, and unpredictable. There’s no safety net. If an ally falls, they’re gone for good.
The result is a system that is tight, dangerous, and unforgiving—where survival depends on how far you’re willing to go.
The Story Cards in Spire’s End: Volume 1 – Special Edition are enormous, measuring 6.5" × 3.5". This custom format was created specifically for the game, giving every illustration, encounter, and branching story moment room to breathe.
The comparison above shows just how large the Spire’s End: Volume 1 cards are beside the tarot-sized cards used in Spire’s End: Volume 2 and the standard poker-sized cards used in Hildegard.
The oversized Volume 1 cards are built to make every reveal feel like an event.
Everything in Spire’s End is bigger, and who doesn’t love a set of giant, chunky dice? The game’s primary eight-sided dice have been increased to a hefty 19 mm, and every die in the Special Edition now comes in a glorious transparent finish.
Below are the mysterious new Magic Mirror Cards, used in Phase One of the reworked final encounter. Each introduces a different effect through simpler, more refined rules as part of the game’s brutal new three-phase finale.
The enemies above are just a small taste of the 22 you may encounter during your adventures. Each brings its own unique attacks, abilities, and mechanics to the table, forcing you to adapt your strategy as new threats emerge.
I'm keeping things focused. Rather than adding unnecessary complexity, this campaign features a small set of stretch goals designed to expand the world of Spire's End without altering the core experience.
As stretch goals are unlocked, backers will receive a series of alternate character cards featuring new artwork from Spire's End artists Diego Frias (Hildegard, Rangitaki, and their expansions) and Bertho Horn (Spire's End: Volume 2 and the Volume 1 expansions).
If all stretch goals are unlocked, every playable character in Spire's End: Volume 1 will receive an alternate art card.
All stretch goal cards, if unlocked, will become part of future printings of Spire's End: Volume 1 - Special Edition.
Every backer helps unlock something for the entire campaign. As our numbers grow, we’ll hit three special community achievements:
1,500 BACKERS • GET A BIT PART- ACHIEVED! One campaign backer will earn a bit part in the next Spire’s End game.
1,750 BACKERS • NEW CARD-BACK ART- ACHIEVED! Unlock brand-new card-back artwork for the new Ending Story Card.
Spire’s End is a series of standalone, narrative-driven card game adventures set within a shared world. Each entry offers a different perspective, tone, and path through an unfolding story that grows with each release.
This campaign features Spire’s End: Volume 1 Special Edition and Spire’s End: Volume 2, Episode 1. Each game can be played independently, or they can be experienced together as connected chapters in the larger Spire’s End story. Both titles are available individually or together through select pledge tiers.
For those who want to experience the journey as a whole, the timeline unfolds as follows: Rangitaki → Hildegard → Volume 1 → Vol 2: Episode 1 → Episode 2 → Episode 3
Spire’s End: Volume 1 Special Edition and Spire’s End: Volume 2, Episode 1 are available as add-ons, along with the Volume 1 Upgrade Pack and the Gunnar’s Tale and Siren’s Song expansions. Whether you’re discovering the series for the first time, continuing the story, or updating an original copy of Volume 1, you can customize your pledge with the games and expansions that best fit your collection.
Already own the original Spire's End: Volume 1? The Upgrade Pack contains all revised and newly added cards from the Special Edition, allowing you to update your existing copy without purchasing the game again.
22 revised cards integrated throughout the game, with up to 7 additional cards added through unlocked stretch goals.
4 new small finale cards used during the expanded final encounter
Please note: This add-on does not include the Special Edition box, tray, dice, or other game components.
Spire’s End: Volume 2 – Episode 1 is a solo or co-op choose-your-path card game adventure set alongside the events of Volume 1.
Follow a solitary beekeeper and a band of strangers through a blood-stained western of dust, grit, and treachery, where every decision shapes the path forward. Across branching encounters, shootouts, and shifting alliances, each choice carries weight and consequence.
Episode 1 introduces new mechanics and characters while building toward the larger Spire’s End story.
Begin your Spire's End journey in a darker way with Gunnar’s Tale, an exciting new expansion for Spire’s End: Volume 1. This grim character vignette seamlessly integrates 17 new cards into the main game, expanding the lore with two new playable characters and a multi-card encounter.
Siren’s Song expands Spire’s End: Volume 1 with three alternate sequences that swap directly into the Story Deck. Battle the Rat King and his vicious attendants, survive an escalating encounter with the Mushroom Men, and confront the Siren beneath the black ooze.
Each sequence replaces part of the original adventure with new story cards, enemies, and encounter mechanics.
Add the campaign-exclusive alternate-art Doorman promo card to your pledge. Revisit the very first encounter of Spire’s End with a completely new look for the Big D himself. Available only during this campaign.
Every choice leads somewhere—but all of them lead to the Spire.
Across the Spire’s End series, stories, characters, and choices begin to converge, culminating in a final chapter where everything comes together—bringing long-running arcs to a close and delivering a final payoff for those who have followed the journey.
The story continues in Spire’s End: Volume 2, told across three connected episodes that build toward the final chapter of the series.
Episode 1 is complete, expanding the story alongside Volume 1.
Episode 2 is currently in development.
Episode 3 will serve as the final chapter of the series.
Together, these episodes bring the story of Spire’s End to its conclusion.
Shipping will be charged after the campaign through BackerKit based on your location and selected rewards. Shipping is not included in the pledge prices shown on this page.
For domestic U.S. orders, shipping for the Upgrade Pack is expected to be approximately $5 to $6.
Fulfillment will be handled through direct shipping and regional partners, depending on order volume and destination. VAT will be collected through BackerKit at your country’s applicable rate.
Shipping is currently available only to the destinations listed for this campaign. Backers in other parts of Asia and the Pacific may contact me to ask about possible arrangements, but availability and pricing will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
After the campaign, all backers will receive a survey to confirm shipping details and finalize their orders. Additional expansions and select items may also be available through the pledge manager.
Spire’s End is an independent project, designed and developed by me, with the support of a small group of talented artists and collaborators.
There’s no large studio behind it. Every game is built card by card, with a focus on creating something personal and uncompromised.
Each release explores a new tone, new mechanics, and a new perspective within the same world, while maintaining a familiarity that is unmistakably Spire’s End. Backing this project directly supports the continued development of future Spire’s End titles and the growth of the series.
Spire’s End is brought to life through a small international group of dedicated artists whose work helps define the tone and identity of each game.
Gregory Favro Game Design, Writing, Art Direction, Color, Layout, and Production
This Special Edition features artwork by:
Benjamin Wiesemann(Spire’s End: Volume 1)
With additional artwork by:
Diego Frias (Hildegard, Rangitaki, and expansions for both titles) Bertho Horn (Spire’s End expansions and Volume 2) Charlie Potter (Spire’s End, Hildegard, Rangitaki, their expansions, and Volume 2)
Together, their work continues to shape the visual world of Spire’s End, bringing its characters and environments to life across the series.
I’m excited to announce that plans are underway for a Spire’s End: Special Edition release party at Illinois-based Solemn Oath Brewery in Spring 2027. Anyone able to make the journey is welcome to join—and I, of course, will be there to heckle all those daring enough to deal with me! (~Greg)
The event will feature at least one limited-edition Spire’s End beer collaboration, developed specifically for the occasion and packaged in an exclusive illustrated can. If we’re lucky enough to bring this collaboration to life, we’ll be celebrating in style! More details, including the official date, will be announced when they are finalized.
Above is a tentative look at the initial can design for Marge’s Mistake, a Seacrestian Ale featuring one of my favorite characters from the Spire’s End expansions, Marge Marigold, and one of her questionably successful specialty brews.
In the meantime, be sure to check out Solemn Oath Brewery and familiarize yourself with this glorious location before the big day.
All artwork in Spire’s End is created by human artists. No AI-generated art is used in any Spire’s End games.
Spire’s End games are works of fiction set within a wholly original world. Any themes or inspirations reflected in the series are presented through a fictional lens and are not intended to represent or depict real-world cultures or belief systems.
Spire’s End: Volume 1 – Special Edition is recommended for ages 16 and up due to mature themes, including violence and dark narrative content. Other titles in the series may have different age recommendations.
Final contents and components for Spire’s End: Volume 1 – Special Edition may be subject to change during production.
