Board Games Record Double-Digit Growth . . . ! [reddit.com, DW.com]

Board Games Record Double-Digit

Growth as Interest in Anything Analog Increases

Board Game Popularity on The Rise

That's the headline as posted on Reddit from an article on DW.com.
Read the original article and my comments on Reddit

I know there's a big divide along these lines; tabletop games vs. video games. But if you ask me, it's a lot like paperback or hardcover books, vs. ebooks. As a book enthusiast and collector I'm in the habit of buying all three editions of any book I like. So in fact, everyone wins.

It's a lot like that for gaming but not an identical set of parameters because RPG fans may never get into tabletop games of any kind since it's a whole different experience so I think it's safe to say that these are entirely different markets with unique players that don't necessarily crossover.

 There's plenty of room for more 

innovative game ideas

Classic tabletop games such as Monopoly™, Chess, and Clue™, for example, are embedded in our culture and will always sell, especially for the holidays. Other newer, modern games such as, Fallout™ , Scythe™, and Gloomhaven™, standout because they already have specific audiences with a strong following.

And there's plenty of room for more innovative game ideas similar to Scythe and my own brand of the apocalypse, Millennium™. Hey, someone has to break the mold, people. It's not rocket science, it's just fun and interesting game concepts that evolve and emerge with a big demand from new audiences.

Millennium - Glory Beyond The Ages

I'm betting on apocalyptic games because it's what I enjoy playing and designing and I truly believe, like many others, that an apocalyptic event of biblical proportions is on the horizon, so that alone is a great reason to ride that wave, which hasn't peaked by any means.

I'm not trying to make a case for apocalyptic tabletop games because I think there's plenty of room for everyone in the industry to succeed with whatever concept they decide to put out there; RPG or tabletop. Yes, it's always a crap-shoot. Life itself is a gamble at every turn so all we can do is roll with the punches and do our best. Hopefully along the way, we'll find other groups who feel the same way we do and at that point it's a happy match.

What else can we ask for? 

My new board game, Millennium is on track to debut on 9/11/2020. There is a trilogy of books that precedes the game. Edge of The Apocalypse, Book One, Epic Apocalypse - Book Two, and, Beyond The Apocalypse - Book Three.

Edge of The Apocalypse is already available on Amazon. Read the Preview: Book One.

Book Two and Book Three will be available in January and February, respectively.

The Edge of Time Trilogy

Yes, Millennium has been a long time in design and development (3 years and counting) but it's about time I release this series along with the board game. 

Time flies and none of us are getting any younger, folks. The time is here and now. Take it or leave it because perfection is the quintessential enemy of progress. And so warts and all, 2020 is the year of Millennium.

I'm confident all the products will do well, maybe sleepers at first but as players discover the books and the game in particular, I think they'll warm up to it and embrace it for what it's worth.

Elon Musk's Cybertruck was a huge controversy when he revealed it last month. Today it's hailed as a work of genius. Not that I'm comparing myself to Mr. Musk. I'm only comparing how people perceive products at first glance.

Time will tell. And the time is now.

Enjoy the ebooks!

Anyone interested can request Book One and Two for free until March as a PDF file. Just shoot me an email and I'll send them right over to you.

8 Essential Elements to Improve Your Book Sales

Hey folks, I thought I'd put together a short list about the essential elements your book must have to succeed. You'll find plenty of tutorials about how to improve your book sales so here's my take on it and why this is a good list to follow.

Edge of The Apocalypse

Here's a list, in order of importance, your book needs to communicate.

1. Genre
2. Awesome Title/Sub-Title
3. Blurb (back sales copy)
4. Opening Sentence
5. First Chapter Hook
6. First Chapter Cliffhanger
7. Reviews
8. Author Authority/Website or Blog

GENRE:
This is a no-brainer. It's all about your genre and genre specific images on your cover. I'm working on a post-apocalyptic book series (The Edge of Time Book Trilogy) so my obvious genre is Science Fiction. Post apocalyptic fiction is a sci-fi sub-genre.

What kind of images does my book cover need to have? There are many typical images; destroyed landscape, crumbling or burning buildings, social upheaval, zombies, etc.

Research other covers in your genre and try to use images, colors, and font styles that match those covers with a unique layout that best fits your story. Design your cover so it appeals with a sense of curiosity about it.

The main purpose of your cover is to get readers curious about your story so they can read the blurb on your back cover. The blurb has to be good enough so readers will want to read your first chapter, and that starts with a curious opening first line that hooks readers through the chapter until the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter.

These are all bullet points for another article where I'll detail each step with examples.

AWESOME TITLE
Of course you need an amazing title because your title communicates the main concept of your story.  My book title (book one) is Edge of The Apocalypse because this title says to readers (fans of apocalyptic fiction) that this is the beginning of an apocalyptic event. (the edge). Obviously, this is the event my first chapter opens with.

BLURB
A book blurb is the back cover sales copy. Notice my emphasis on the word sales. Make no mistake, your back copy is strategic copywriting designed to get readers to read your first chapter. It's an important part of your sales funnel and more than just a snapshot of your story.

OPENING SENTENCE
Let's face it, the better you can open your story, the better your chances of making a sale. Although, this is not as critical as you might think.

FIRST CHAPTER HOOK
Your hook is probably the most important part of your book at this point because aside from your amazing cover, title, curious opening sentence, your first chapter hook is the reason readers will or will not buy your book. Get this right and your book has a better chance to sell. Get it wrong and you risk alienating potential customers from all your books.

FIRST CHAPTER CLIFFHANGER
Your cliffhanger at the end of your first chapter is critical because this is your reader's gateway to the rest of the story and a strong cliffhanger helps generate good book reviews.

BOOK REVIEWS
Book reviews are overrated but yes, good book reviews are important, although, I've bought many books with not so good reviews. It all depends on how much you like the story. For me, as long as the book has some good reviews, I'm comfortable buying it if I like the story and I know I'll enjoy reading the book because of the author's voice, plot, setting, story concept, characters, etc.

AUTHOR CREDIBILITY (WEBSITE/PLATFORM)
Believe it or not, this is probably the most important criteria because you also want to judge the author as far as their dedication to their writing craft. Remember, the most important thing new author's have going for them, is the current book(s) they are selling. Any previous work is a bonus if the books were successful.

The author's current book reflects everything about them, their platform, their upcoming books, their view of the world, and the types of stories they want to tell, etc. This helps build an author brand.

In my next post, I'll break down this short list and expand in detail, everything you need to know to design a kick-ass book cover that communicates enough information to get readers to read your first chapter and hopefully your entire book.

Your book cover must generate a chain reaction of events with all green lights in order to generate sales and good book reviews. Ideally, you want to have all these elements in place so your book can hopefully go viral and readers will do most of your promotion (word of mouth) for you.

In other words, your book sells itself. That's a tall order but many authors have done it so it's not impossible. Readers have to trust you as an author to deliver good stories. Putting yourself out there is also important so readers can see your personality and how you express your story ideas.

Readers want to know that as an author, you're committed to writing and publishing great stories for them to consume. One-hit wonders are okay, but a number of bestsellers is far better.

I'll also mention several one-hit wonders that made it very big and how they got there.

Can you come up with one? 

Come on back to see if that book is on my list!

An Excerpt: Edge of The Apocalypse

Free Book Promo (Edge of the Apocalypse Book 1)

Hey folks, just a quick mention that the first e-book in the Edge of Time Trilogy series is currently available for free this week!

Free stuff is usually dismissed as junk nobody wants but that all depends if you're reaching the right audience.

Fans of apocalyptic fiction know a good story when they see one and so I'm hoping you'll give this short story a read. You just might get hooked and enjoy the whole series when the other two books are available in January.

I've been hooked myself writing for these characters and the extraordinary events they're facing when terrorists from the Worldwide Alliance Resistance attack Austin, the first city pounced by nuclear warheads. For two best girlfriends, Andrea and Maria, that means they go into survival mode and run for their lives on an unforgettable journey to New York City in the midst of nuclear war.

The cast of strange characters, the obstacles, and conflict they face along the way will certainly change their lives forever.

These short stories are designed for today's short attention spans so each book is about 100 pages in length, which means that eventually I'll be offering the series as one book, a full novel, maybe a collector's hardcover edition.

But for now, I hope you enjoy this series, as much as I've enjoyed writing and designing it.

Here's a Preview of Book One:

Epic Apocalypse - Edge of Time Book Series New Covers

Hey folks, the new year is almost upon us and I hope that all your aspirations are in place and taking place this coming 2020.

I've revised my book covers for the series once again because I needed to match them a bit better so they look like they belong together.

For now, this is what I've got and as you can see the book in the middle, Epic Apocalypse has a bit more color but what good is using fire if you can't show it burning hot?

Right, and so I've lowered the color saturation in the artwork quite a bit so it still has those dark edges and these covers seem to work for the series.

When designing your book covers for a series, keep in mind that you want your book covers to match either in colors, typography, or artwork, ideally all three should match. The middle cover is by another artist but I don't think it's off key. The other covers are my own design in Photoshop and I might still change the third book, although I do like how these three covers look together.

The main difference and what helps this trilogy is the red, white, and blue bands of color at the top. That's just a feature or "gimmick" to unify this trilogy, which gives the series a deeper meaning, plus it looks cool when you have the three books together on a shelf.

Only time will tell if this book series will be popular enough to make a bestseller list. I've really pulled out all the stops on this one and hope it will be a success. But it's hard to say at this point because I'm new in the game.

Don't underestimate yourself 

and what you know . . .

But here's the thing, don't underestimate yourself and what you know. You just might surprise yourself along the way. For me, the series will be a success in my mind because I've worked hard to get here but if the financial rewards are scarce, I'll learn from it and make adjustments to get it right next time.

Another thing is that this series doesn't necessarily have to identically match the artwork from the board game, although that wouldn't hurt, but these are standalone stories, so it's okay if the artwork is a bit different, as long as it's not too far off.

The board game does of course promote the books, and vice-versa, but each product should stand on its own, from a marketing point of view.

I've got plenty of work to catch up with so please feel free to leave any comments or questions below.

And as usual, play on!

Edge of The Apocalypse Book Trilogy [ New Cover]

Hey folks, I hope you're well and moving ahead with your plans. As usual, I'm working on my most important project.

After a hiatus of about 6 months, I'm back in the saddle and making great progress.

A small change of plans with the book series, which improves it by leaps and bounds so here is one of the new covers.

This is the original cover I had designed for the first book but I had added an image of Andrea and her dog because most of the books in this genre include a figure in the foreground. And so I think it's important to keep this image similar to other books in this genre. Although, that being said, I've noticed that just about anything goes in this sub-genre (post-apocalyptic) as long as you're showing some kind of explosion event. This image is inspired by those atomic blasts that the government tested back in the 50's.

I've had to revamp this first book because I've expanded the story to 3 books in this series and so I've made some subtle changes to Book 1. Book 2 is complete and Book 3 has reached chapter 8 and almost done. I have an amazing ending for this series and look forward to writing it and putting it out there in early 2020.

The good part is that the series is far better with more depth and it flows much better and makes more sense how I've organized it now. I'm very excited to finally finish the three books by the end of this year so I can start to promote them early in 2020 leading up to the debut of the board game on September 11, which is in its final stages of testing.

New Sepia tone box with book offer.

What a great way to start the new year, with a new product on the market. It's going to be exciting to promote these books along with the companion game. I've taken my time with it for several reasons but mostly, I'm careful to design it all as best I can.

I'm confident that once I polish the three books and the game, everything will come together as intended and sales will hopefully reflect all the work I've put into this project for the past 4 years. Sales are of course important for this and any project, however I'll feel good about it either way because this project is meaningful to me and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I'll be posting the other two books in this series, Epic Apocalypse, and Beyond the Apocalypse soon, using the new font.

The offer on the box is for a free e-book download, which helps promote the 3 book series on Amazon.com.

A lot going on with this project but the best is yet to come next year when everything is on the market at the same time. At that point I can focus on promotions while I finish work on another board game, Warpd!, which is also close to completion.

Enjoy the holidays and have a great new year, folks. I'll see you on the other side with more exciting news very soon.

BTW, the new Tesla Cybertruck is available for pre-order. Deliveries begin around 2022. Very awesome truck and I mention this Cybertruck in my story. It's how Andrea and Maria flee Austin after the initial nuclear attack. And yes, these 2021 models should still be running in 2157. That's only 137 years away. Imagine that.

Tesla Cybertruck

New Post Apocalyptic Board Games [BGG, BoardgameGeek - Earth Reborn]

Okay folks, while you're patiently and anxiously waiting for Millennium's big debut in 2020, check out this Top 10 list on BGG, a.k.a. BoardGameGeek by Robert Carroll.

Check out This Cool Top Ten List!

Millennium Boardgame's New Box Design . . . Here's the Lesson

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. Anybody out there? Not yet. I get it. I haven't posted here in a while so any momentum I had going with SEO a few months ago has gone back to zero.

Good news is that after several mishaps and unforeseen delays, I'm finally printing the second prototype box for the new Millennium board game, so here it is in all it's glory, for whatever this is worth, just for kicks and giggles. I've decided to give this cover a bit of sepia-tone instead of full black and white. I think it works and most likely this will be the box cover that goes into production.

This time around I'm happy to say this current version of the game is playable on all levels from start to finish so I'll be play-testing the heck out of it and fine-tuning anything that needs tweaking. The new launch date is September 11, 2020 so I hope I can stick to that and meet that deadline this time around.

Blah, blah, blah. nobody cares. In fact, all the pretty packaging doesn't mean a thing unless the game is totally playable and engages gamers on a deep level. Superficial game concepts will never cut it so you need something meaningful beyond all the great artwork.

Sure, you need amazing artwork as click-bait, so to speak. But once gamers get a hold of your game and play it out in real life and in real time, you'll need a stronger hook to keep them engaged and interested until the game ends.

And in case you're wondering, the box cover must tell a story. Most games don't because they leave most of the game imagery to the player's imagination and that's a good thing but a better idea is to tell a story with your cover art so you can not only attract potential buyers but also engage them with a storyline at first glance.

Your marketing needs to be worked into

 your stories so you can

use stories to market your books. 

In this case, I've featured an Android, Andrea, holding a gun (central protagonist) front and center with her dog Apollo beside her, smack dab in the middle of traffic--a scene set in the 1930's. Yes there's a story in there somewhere and it's deep, wide, and long. How long? Well, that's the real hook. There's an entire novel (300 pages featured on the front of the box) about Andrea and this fascinating cast of characters.

I'm about half way done writing the novel, which in fact will also be released as 3 separate short stories that tie in all the game activity with scenes from where the apocalypse first struck in Austin, Texas.

Here's a behind the scenes preview: 

Around the middle of book 2 (Epic Apocalypse) Andrea and Maria are stuck with their stolen Tesla pickup, now running low on power in Jacksonville, Florida after fleeing from Austin weeks ago. So they're deep into their adventurous trip north to New York City along with everything that happened since, which is documented in book 1 (Edge of The Apocalypse).

I'm slowly but surely working my way into book 3 (Beyond The Apocalypse). This is where things take an unexpected turn (again) and the girls are blind-sided with another life-altering dilemma. You gotta love it folks! I'm having a blast putting this down and can't wait to finish it and present it to fans of apocalyptic stories. This is the core audience, by-the-way, but I'm weaving in a bunch of sub-plots that have mass appeal.

I know, I'm a long way from promoting this new series but it helps to be inspired along the way. Otherwise, what's the point in living at all? Your marketing needs to be worked into your stories so you can use stories to market your books. That's something to keep in mind as you write. In fact, movie trailers are designed around specific throw-away scenes so think about that while you're writing your next book because it works both ways.

Millennium is alive and well!

Okay, I didn't plan to write such a long, short post but you get the idea. Millennium is alive and well and coming to a store online soon enough so it's an exciting time all around. I really look forward to playing this game in person with several different players to see how they respond to it overall.

I have a feeling they're going to love it and get hooked. And that's the beginning recipe for going viral. Everything must click so that everyone engages and gets excited at the same time and for the same reasons. That's how things are shared and word-of-mouth turns into a flashpoint that fires up the masses and therefore boosts sales in the long-run. Those initial sales also help potential positive reviews, which in turn starts conversations and begins to convert curious shoppers. There's a lesson in here somewhere but I digress.

Check out the game and if you're a curious reviewer, let me know and I'll send you a free game box in exchange for an honest review on Youtube or your game blog.

Your comments or feedback are welcome!

See the Millennium Game on the Developer Website

The Edge of Time Book 1 Free on Kindle for a Limited Time!

Book 1 - The Edge of Time Trilogy 

In case you missed the initial promotion, here's a second chance to get your free copy of Edge of The Apocalypse, Book 1. https://tinyurl.com/y89w5rwg

The first book of the series literally opens with bang, as the leading edge of nuclear attacks make landfall on Austin, Texas.

The time is here and now, people. This is it! Follow Andrea, a misguided Cyborg, with her dog, Apollo, and her best friend, Maria, as they traverse an American wasteland in the post-apocalyptic year 2157.

Learn more about this amazing series and see what happens after the first bomb makes landfall.
https://arias-edge-of-time-books.blogspot.com/

New Post Apocalyptic Trilogy - The Edge of Time by A.R. Arias

Book 1 is now available. Books two and three are due in 2020

Good news for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, because Book 1, Edge of The Apocalypse is now available on Amazon in paperback and eBook editions. https://tinyurl.com/y89w5rwg

I titled the new series, The Edge of Time and it includes two other books, Epic Apocalypse, Book 2, and Beyond The Apocalypse for Book 3, which will include time-travel events.

I'm very excited about this new series and although I never set out to write about the apocalypse, it turns out that this is topic I really enjoy writing. I got the idea several years ago while developing the Millennium board game (Andrea's Journal) and one thing has led to another and here I am, writing my second book in the series.

So, as if I didn't have enough on my plate already, I've set out to finish two more books. Funny thing is that as daunting as that sounds, I find it very satisfying and a lot of fun to do, so it's not a chore, but a joy for me to accomplish, hopefully in a year or so.

The board game is all but finished and I hope to launch it this September 11 without a hitch. I can't wait for that because Millennium has evolved in amazing ways that I had never thought of when I started designing it back in 2016. It pays to be patient and to sleep on ideas until they are ready to be shared.

These new books are part of the evolution of the board game and writing them is the only option for me. I must write these books and hopefully many more in this genre, not only because the time is right, but because right now this is where my heart and soul is and I'm seizing the moment.

It's going to be a whole new world of exploration in this genre, both post apocalyptic fiction as well as the YA and millennial category of readers.

Lots to learn and a lot to do as things move along towards the year 2020. Here's the link to the new blog, The Edge of Time series of books. I'll also be talking about the book cover designs for all the new books and anything related to the genre.

As an aside, I started watching the post-apocalyptic thriller, Bird Box, a Netflix favorite. I bailed out of it after 20 minutes or so, but I plan to give it another chance this weekend. I didn't get the blindfolding idea. Seemed like a gimmick to me but I'm open to anything so let's see if I can finish watching it this time around.

I did enjoy the opening scenes with Sandra Bullock and her sister, played by Sarah Paulson. Nice tension and dialog.

The movie is actually based on the debut novel Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a mixed 3-star review and also says that the film lacks tension but has solid performances.

Too early to tell, but we'll see how it ends. That's the true test for any story and I'll post my review and rating in my next post. Stay tuned for much more!

The Edge of Time Book Series [An Accidental Series]

The Edge of Time Book Trilogy

You've heard it before. You've seen it before.

You've probably been advised before.

Never Quit.

Wise words this author now lives by because I have a good feeling about this amazing new series of books.

What is amazing to me is how this story has seized my mind and soul to the point where I think of very little else except to immerse myself into this apocalyptic world and go along for the ride of a lifetime because writing this series is the most fun I've ever had professionally. What more can one ask for?

I'm constantly taking mental notes, taking notes on my phone, notes on napkins, I'll scribble scene ideas wherever I can at any given time. I often wake up in the middle of the night or early morning to jot down plot events or chapter headings. I am totally obsessed with this story and that's a good thing because I'll have to live with it for a good while until I finish it.

The idea for the book(s) came to me as soon as I thought of including a journal for Andrea's character for the Millennium board game. Nice touch for the game, I thought as I proceeded to outline Andrea's journal. But in the back of my mind, all I could think of was; this could make a good novel or a series of books. Who am I kidding? I barely have time to breathe just trying to finish the board game.

But as the months went by, the journal kept growing and ideas just kept flowing and I couldn't stop writing. Still can't. 

Long story, short.

I wrote the first draft of book one in about a week and started outlining and writing the second book as I went along. Before long I had the concept for the series locked-in and hope to publish the two remaining books by early next year.

None of this was planned. It just evolved out of the journal and I am so grateful that I've seized the moment and I've run with it. Best part is that I'm enjoying and savoring every word and every scene as if I was there.

And I am.

I hope you will be too.

Join me on this extraordinary odyssey of words, events, and short stories that I believe can brighten our outlook of the future and add meaning to our days.

The Edge of Time Trilogy
Claim Your Free eBook!
Get The Paperback on Amazon:

Game Crafter's New Retail Box

New 9x12 Retail Box

Happy New Year, people! We've made it to another amazing year and I'm wishing you a prosperous new year and an exciting and inspiring time reaching your dreams.

For me, there's no better way to start the new year than with new and fresh business plans and ideas. If you're not growing and learning new and exciting things every day, life becomes a monotonous series of daily events. And so with that frame of mind, I'm committed to venture into unknown territory with no fear, no apprehension, and certainly high expectations as I hope you are too.

Pursue what's possible and everything will fall into place. Trust what you know and follow your passion to wherever it takes you and beyond. You'll be surprised how far you can get on a whim.

So along with the new year, comes a new box for the Millennium board game. Yes, this game is alive and well and just about to hit the shelves this coming September 11, 2019, with its companion book, The Edge of The Apocalypse.

The book (available in three formats) will be published sooner but the official launch for both products is 9.11.2019.

New Book Cover

In case you missed it, here's the new cover for the book. As you can see, I've added a pier and Andrea's dog, Apollo. I resolved the problem with the missing feet and so the book should trim close to how this one looks. I think I'll keep these colors and not try to match the book cover to the board game cover.

Here's a link to the previous article about the (details) new cover design.
https://boardgame-news.blogspot.com/2018/12/awesome-book-cover-design-tips.html

Although, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to tone down the colors on the book cover to almost black and gray, mostly because when you pair these products in one shot they should match in some way. I don't think that will make or break the presentation either way but I'll juxtapose a gray version of the book cover to see how they look together.

There are subtle differences to the game box too. I switched out the main font for the Millennium name because the Montalban font is more distinctive and looks more futuristic. I also toned down the grunge filter so the name stands out a bit more.

About The New Box 

The big difference with this new box is the style of the box itself. This is Game Crafter's 9x12 Large Retail Box. At first glance it's a bit unusual because the sides (from the top of the cover) don't reach the bottom of the box. The top and bottom of the box halves (each 1" deep) meet half way to the middle and that's why it looks split. See the Game Crafter video to see how they explain the reason for this kind of box. They claim it's stronger and more durable when folded this way.

I'm sure it is a sturdier box but I'm not so sure it's a great idea for the sides because it limits the width (2 inches) of the space for images, but I do think it looks different and eye-catching enough that buyers might be inclined to pick up the box off a shelf just out of curiosity.

One can also try to match the bottom of the box to the top of the box to create a seamless image on the 2 inch sides but I doubt these images will match up because the first prototype box top was off by almost half an inch! I'm not sure what happened with their registration marks but the cover was way off, with the name too close to the edge on the top of the box. I'll be sure to comment about that when they print this next 9x12 prototype. Either that or I'll be more careful to position the cover image exactly how I want it t appear.

We are all born with great intuition and natural instincts. 

These qualities are all we need to survive in life.

Thriving is just a matter of details.

I never fussed about it because these are only prototypes, but I hope this next box looks a lot better than the first. Another concern was how dark most of the images printed. I've made adjustments to the artwork by increasing the brightness about 20% on Photoshop so when the PNG files upload and you enable the color filter, the artwork will not appear or print as dark as it did before. This box is also big enough to fit the 6-fold game board that I'm using so I can fit the entire U. S. map as opposed to just the east coast as in the first game.

Millennium has evolved in so many ways and my advice to game designers is to start with a solid core concept and develop the game from that concept outward until you reach a conclusion that satisfies the players.

You must have a clear event or incident that sets the game off and leads to both short-term and long-term goals leading up to the game's conclusion and the big finale; the ultimate strategy and final goal that makes the game worth playing from start to finish.

Millennium's Concept

In Millennium's case, a nuclear explosion in Austin, Texas, sets the game off in a big way and triggers apocalyptic events revealing the attacker's Manifesto with their warnings and taunting demands. As explosions randomly ripple across the land, you solve clues and anagrams to stay clear and avoid the next bomb.

You can also rescue survivors for extra points as you try to avoid a variety of obstacles and pitfalls along the way. You can find different modes of transportation, such as electric cars, scooters, and even an Amtrak train.

If you reach Brooklyn, NY, you can travel back in time via a time portal at the Meridian line via Coney Island's Astroland Amusement Park. Each of these events and cities have card decks to help you get there and accumulate points as you go.

In short, it's an interesting and fun American history lesson as you make your way across the map to your nearest safe haven.

There's much more to the game, including video links, a Rule eBooklet with all the game rules and game play you need to know, right on your phone or tablet. They are minimal because the game is designed intuitively since events happen sequentially as they might in real life.

As the day of publication nears, I'll post more details about how to play the game. The rule book is only about 15 pages long and the game is very easy to learn. In addition, all card decks provide plenty of information on your next move so it's a quick game to learn as you play.

You can access the (unfinished) eRule Booklet here:
https://boardgame-news.blogspot.com/p/millennium-rules.html

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