Well, I had several reasons:

•  Someone just stumbling onto the game on the Lulu store and buying it wouldn’t have (easy) access to the companion files like the downloadable character sheets and the other adventures. So I’d have to set up a way for them to get those files but in a way that doesn’t just make them freely available to people who haven’t bought the game at all.

• This way I can set the Lulu price at cost. If I made it so you could buy just the book I would have to raise the price of the physical book if I wanted to make a profit. But then that punishes people who want both because then I would be “double dipping” on them, which feels kinda smarmy. This way I make my profit on the digital version and people who want the physical version can get it at cost.

• As I release updates, people who buy the game on itch get those updates. AFAIK I don’t have an easy route for that for people who buy the print version. I’d have to set up some other avenue for them to receive that information. It’s cleaner this way.

So that was my thinking. It’s easier and simpler to manage and ensures (-ish) that people don’t get left without the support avenues for the game.

But if you really only want the physical book and not the companion PDF’s and updates, just reach out to me on Mastodon (@lonespelunker@mastodon.social) and I can send you  the link.