Had a bit of a search on play in Reverbs but most seems to concern side to side and up and down.
Mine is about 4 years old and so far has been faultless bar the odd bleed. Recently it has developed a slight fore and aft play. At first I thought the saddle was coming loose on the rails but inspection revealed the saddle to be fine and the play was coming from the seatpost. If this gets worse what are my options? Will it need a new shaft or can you get away with a service? Will it affect the actual operating mechanism?
Suggestions gratefully received

The play will be caused by worn bushings.

The bottom bushing is included in the ~£10 service kit. If the top bushing has worn, then it will need a new top cap – normally about £40, but currently at £26 at Bike Discount (clicky) which is a bit of a bargain (N.B. check the model of your post).

….. aaaaaaaaaahnd then you’ve got to fit it / them. 😯

Good luck with that. By the time I got to step #32: reassemle all 17 fine needly grommet bits back in the right order, without losing them, or sending them pinging off under cupboard…

I realised this was not a service for me.

Your fine motor skills may vary.

I had the same earlier this year, mine was rocking a fair bit with the seat right up and it needed more initial force to drop the post. The shaft should be ok, I just bought the kit with the lower bush in it and a new top cap anyway as my reverb is probably about 4 years old.

….. aaaaaaaaaahnd then you’ve got to fit it / them.

Just be brave, I just got stuck in and pulled mine apart. It’s only like a fork leg with a few extra bits, what could possibly go wrong 😆

Nowt wrong with a bit of fore and aft play. Leave it unless it gets really bad. Both mine have had a bit of linear (fore and aft, side to side) play and a little bit of rotational play too. Doesn’t cause a problem at all. Mine tend to last about 2 years before a service is needed and they bushings get sorted then. They’re sacrificial pieces so designed to wear.