Road to SPIEL 2026: The Book Women by Salt & Pepper Games

Todays Road to SPIEL 2026 preview is actually going to be just that, a game that you will be able to preview at the show as while it’s being shown off at Essen and play the game, you won’t actually be able to purchase a copy until next year.

Salt & Pepper Games had planned to launch their crowdfunding campaign for The Book Women on Gamefound on 1st October, but that date has now moved until 1st December. So SPIEL Essen 2026 will provide an opportunity to play the game well before crowdfunding begins.

Designed by David Bernal and Eugeni Castano, with artwork by Amelia Sales, The Book Women is a medium-weight Eurogame based on the real women who carried books on horseback through the mountains of eastern Kentucky during the Great Depresssion.

What is it?

Between 1935 and 1943, the Pack Horse Library Project employed local women, and a smaller number of men, to take books, magazines, and other reading material into isolated Appalachian communities that had little or no access to conventional libraries.

Riders travelled difficult mountain routes on horses and mules, delivering material to homes and schools. At its height, around 30 pack-horse libraries were serving around 100,000 people!

The Book Women puts 1-4 players into the saddles of those librarians.

Across three rounds you’ll travel through kentucky, deliver books to remote households, establish community libraries, support local families, and record your experiences in a personal journal.

I’d not heard of this before and really liked the idea, and it’s an interesting idea to turn into a game, so immediately caught my attenion.

How does it play?

At the heart of the Book Women is a combination of dice-drafting, route optimisation, resource management and engine building.

Each turn, players select a die from a shared pool. Both its colour and value determine the resources and actions it provides before the die is placed to generate further effects. Those actions help you travel across a modular Appalachian map, make deliveries, construct libraries, and gain support from local authorities.

But there’s another system developing alongside the map.

Each librarian has a personal journal board built around a rondel. New tiles can be added to this rondel during play, improving future actions and gradually creating an engine tailored to the routes and objectives you’re pursuing.

After three rounds, points come from completed rondel sections, deliveries, libraries, objectives, rewards, and personal achievements.

So while the theme is about taking books into isolated communities, the puzzle appears to be about making every journey work harder, improving your librarian while expanding the network that allows you to reach further into the mountains.

Why we’re watching it

Historical games aren’t unusual, even historical games about libraries exist. But I’d never heard of these horse back librarians before this game, and find the idea really appealing.

Salt & Pepper Games have been developing an interesting line of historically grounded titles, and the Book Women may be one of their most distinctive subjects yet. The publisher describes it as an attempt to highlight the determination and impact of the women who brought education and reading material to places where access had previously been extremely difficult.

It also gives us a novel subject to cover on ourRoad to SPIEL, as there will be plenty of games at Essen about conquering kingdoms, running industrial empires, and building yet another railway network.

There won’’t be many about somebody putting books into saddlebags and riding into the mountains because people wanted something to read.

The Game at SPIEL Essen 2026

The Book Women will be available to demo at SPIEL Essen, rather than purchase, ahead of its crowdfunding campaign and planned 2027 release.

Salt & Pepper Games will be showing the game at Hall 3, Stand A400. The current SPIEL preview lists an English/Spanish edition, for 1-4 players ages 12+, with a playing time of around 60-120 minutes.

The Gamefound campaign is now scheduled to launch on 1st December 2026, and you can sign up to follow it on the campaigns preview page.

SPIEL Essen runs from 22nd-25th October 2026.

The Book Women at a glance

Publisher: Salt & Pepper Games

Designers: Daniel Bernal & Eugeni Castano

Artists: Amelia Sales

Players: 1-4

Ages: 12+

Playing Time: 60-120 minutes

Type: Dice drafting / route building / resouce management / rondel /engine building

Languages: English & Spanish

Expected retail release: 2027 ; SPIEL preview and demo only

SPIEL: Hall 3, Stand A400

More information: The Book Women on Gamefound

Tomorrow on Road to SPIEL 2026: Prague Unseen - Golems, Vodniks, and other strange inhabitants emerge from the shadows as players rebuild a supernatural version of 19th-century Prague.