New Post-Apocalyptic Board Game and Books for 2022

Here's a sample for the new hardcover novel, Edge of The Apocalypse 2058. The three short stories are available on Amazon separately but this full-featured novel with illustrations will be available only on B&N. That's Barnes and Noble, of course, and it will be a hardcover with dust jacket edition. For now, I've opted for this cover, which I think works well. As much as I like the paperback edition of the short story, with the backdrop of New York City blowing by, this cover really works for this edition. What I really like about this cover is that it recalls the game box so that's a better fit.

It's one of those things where I want to keep using a familiar image although, that's not typically how it's done. So before I finish the board game, which should be by the end of this year around December, I might have another image for this hardcover edition, but most likely I'll stick with this one.

I'll be posting more about this new novel, including the back cover, flaps, and publication date.

There are many options but I can only use one proper image and so that's where all the indecision comes in or maybe using an image that's too busy is often an easy mistake to make. It's a lot like when I couldn't find a proper cover for the game and I went through so many designs that I wasn't crazy about until I found the one closeup image of Andrea that worked nicely. And even though I did alter the image slightly, it was by far a better option than all the other covers I had tried.

Again, I'll give credit to Mystic Art Design on Pixabay.com for such a fine image:

Pixabay Image

So in a way, I got lucky and hadn't printed another prototype that I really didn't like. As you can see below, I changed the background to fit with the story and added a Glock in her right hand. I also made one of her eyes blue to make her even more interesting. I mention that detail about her eyes in the early chapters of the book.

Current Millennium Prototype Box

Right now, as far as the board game goes, I'm tweaking the new board and adding several cards to match the board as far as Actions go. The board is all but done and I'm working out the new designs for the playing cards. I've given myself plenty of time to get all that done so I should be finished by December.

That means that I'm also trying to finish a short promo video to go along with everything and I hope to have everything done early next year. If that works out I'll be looking to score several good reviews and finally release this game on September 11, 2022. If I keep working at my current pace, I should be able to get there.

I'm also learning all the nuances of Instagram, and there are plenty, so I can build an engaged audience by next year before September. 

I've got so many other things going on that I have to get this done once and for all. It's high time after 4 years of development and in a perfect world I would've been finished a year ago but I am working all by myself and don't have a huge team behind this game. But maybe that's a good thing.

Let me know what you think about this new cover in the comments below and if you want updates on the game and books, sign up for email updates up top on the right. I only use your email to send you updates maybe once a month so no worries because your privacy is secure.

Until then, folks, play on!

New Board Games - A Millennium Update [ The Apocalypse is Alive and Well ]

New Game board

 

Hey folks, I just wanted to post the latest update for Millennium. I'm still using the six-fold game board but I've added wide borders to accommodate playing cards. As you can see, I've also added several graphics keeping the theme in mind, of course.

I think this works and even though the map is a bit smaller, I think it will still be legible enough to play without straining your eyes to read. I've slowed down my pace and still working on the new role-playing card deck but I plan to get back into that this coming week and hopefully finish it before this coming month is gone.

The main difference here is that I'm replacing the states with territories. Based on current demographics and other criteria, race and ethnicity dominance will be a major factor after an apocalypse and so I'm working all that out as we speak.

How Time Flies

We're quickly heading into September and that's when I wanted to launch this game but I insist on not rushing the process because that will only result in putting out an inferior version. Every time I turn around I find ways to improve the graphics and overall design so all these delays are for the good of the final product.

I'd regret launching this game only to realize that I've figured out a better design via game mechanics or graphics so I'll be working long hours by the end of this year to print another prototype early next year in 2022.

That's just the way it is and so no worries because the game keeps getting better, although that's not to say that I'm striving for perfection either. I realize that small changes can be made along the way after I launch next year. My main concern is to produce a playable version with minimal corrections afterward.

Main Goal

My goal is to launch an interesting and fun game ready to hook new players in this genre with something different but familiar that has a strong storyline. New games simply cannot afford to launch with bad or tepid reviews. 

And so it takes time to develop a great game that hooks and engages players in the genre and beyond. I'm also working by myself for the most part except for the help of my teenage kids that said the rulebook was not clear enough. I don't doubt that because I'm trying to keep the rules to a minimum but I can't leave anything out. I've since revisited the booklet and made several changes to clarify the rules and gameplay.

Play Testing

At this point, I won't ask them to play the game until I reprint the next prototype because I've made quite a few changes and corrections to the rulebook, the board, and the box. Right. It's an entirely new look and feel and the best changes going forward.

Thanks for your comments and questions. I'll be back soon as I get more work done. 

Until then, stay safe and play on, people.

BTW, soon you'll be able to download the new Rule Booklet on the right column under Andrea. Believe it or not, I'm confident that I can really finish the game by the end of this year. At that point, early next year, I'll be posting Youtube videos about the game and sending out free game boxes in exchange for reviews before the game officially launches on September 11, 2022.

The New Millennium - Glory Beyond The Ages, Game Box!

Here's the latest version of the new Millennium game box. What I like about this one is that it feels more like the Apocalypse than the blue box. Keep in mind that this game focuses on post-apocalyptic events, although it has a combination of events without reaching far into a Dystopian future. Not yet, anyway. That idea is for expansions of the game in the near future.

New Millennium Game Box 2019

This new design keeps Andrea (the Android protagonist) and her trusty bull terrier, Apollo, on the cover with the city burning in the background. The blue box features the New York City downtown area with the Freedom Tower, as do some of the cards.

About The Background Art

At this point I still have to work that part of the city back into the story and into the artwork, but for now I'm using a generic cityscape on the cover.

Back of the box

Here's a better view of the back of the box. You can see some of the game components and the new game board with some of the poker cards alongside a phone with a video link to the past playing.

See The Rulebook On Your Phone

You can see the Rulebook, a video link (top links) and the newest video teaser on the right column. There's so much more to come. Soon I'll be posting a gameplay video after I order the newest prototype, which will be very similar or identical to this one I'm posting here.

This new game will most likely be available for purchase this coming Christmas, however, the official launch date is for the middle of 2019, give or take a month or so. I'll do my best to keep you updated on Twitter and on this blog.

Dig around this blog for much more about the history of this game and its evolution since 2016 when I first came up with this idea, which reaches far beyond the apocalypse with time-travel events and so much more.

So far I have one video link, but plan to add many more. You can also get the entire Rulebook on your phone and Andrea's personal Journal too. Andrea's journal opens up a whole new dimension to this game with plenty of background information about her life before the first bomb detonated over Killeen, Texas. (Sorry, Killeen. Somebody had to do it.)

Wyatt Earp Card Deck

I'm also adding several more really fun card decks aside from the Coney Island Deck and the Wyatt Earp Tombstone Poker Deck. There's so much going on I can hardly keep up, but I've got plenty of time to finish the game before the end of this year. Right now, it's about 90% done and I'm getting closer every day to that finish line (for now) until the first expansion in 2020.

Lot's to do guys. I'll get to it and hope to see you here again soon.

Please retweet this post on Twitter if you can and stay tuned for more surprises on the way.

Game on!

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The Importance of Themes in Board Games

As part of my continuing Blogumentary of the board game, Millennium, I'm now only days away from ordering my first prototype. It's funny how deadlines push you closer to your goals and the design of this box has already gone through about a half dozen different covers in a short six months.

As the game evolves, so does everything else along with it. Hopefully this will be the last design change before the game goes into full production mode in the coming months. It is a long process regardless of how you slice it.

First Prototype Design - Dark with a glimmer of hope.

The first box design was simple and way too dark. The mood I was trying to evoke was darkness and the end of something, End of Days.

As the game evolved I did an about-face and decided to focus on a new day and a bright future as opposed to a dark past and so all the colors and tones had to change accordingly.

As you can see with the latest design, it feels like something hopeful is on the horizon and that is by far a better outlook for the game.

The game went from a pessimistic POV to an optimistic one and I think that will give it the legs it needs to grow as quickly as possible.

Who can say what will be but I think it's a good bet to focus on the positive as opposed to lingering in darkness. This thought also led me to a stronger hook for the theme of the game and I was able to latch on to the new Millennium, being the year 2000 in this case because placing the game in the year 3000 is quite a stretch.

So in essence, the themes of the game build upon the year 2000 or Y2K as it was known at the time. For those of you who were too young at the turn of the new Millennium, there was some tension about everything digital and how computers, or more accurately, how certain processes governed by computers would adapt to this odd number.

Current Design - A hopeful future is already here.

Luckily, all the points of major crisis were successfully averted and the world went on functioning virtually without a hitch. Without a hitch until the year 2001 of September 11, that is. When 9/11 happened, the world and especially New York City, would never be the same.

It is on these themes of world destruction and world domination by ruthless and evil dictators and megalomaniacs that this board game hinges upon.

"You can't interest people in something they don't

give a damn about."

Quite a heavy topic but a most relevant one indeed. And that's hard to top. Global themes are here to stay for obvious reasons and apparently so are board games. That being said, it's my mission with Millennium to not only bring these themes to light but to shed some light into these dark and foreboding ideas and to provoke positive thought and hopefully positive change.

All that about a board game? Sure, why not? One of the most important checkboxes you need to check when it comes to product design is the product's relevancy and importance to consumers. Things have to matter so that people will care. It's just that simple.

You can't interest people in something they don't give a damn about. It won't work. Everyone is interested in global peace and a positive future so hence this game was born from that idea. Actually it's an old Hollywood trick. You build something around a name or a title not the other way around because certain titles or words have implicit themes built right into them.

It's known as a high concept in Hollywood

In this case I was searching for a word or name with a global theme and Millennium came to me instantly. Once I had the name, everything grew from there.

Certainly I'm not in favor of gratuitous violence in any way as so many video games or board games exploit this to every degree. Any acts of violence in this game are born strictly out of self defense and self preservation, survival.

When the Apocalypse comes in the Biblical sense of the word, it is literally every man, every woman and every child for themselves. Each of us must learn to survive however we can because those who have protected us in the past might not be around for us at the time.

So yes, themes are meaningful to stories and to board games just the same. They must be because without a strong central theme plus minor themes and subplots to support it, the spine of your story or game will not work.

Imagine something without a spine. An animal, a human, a story. Themes must act as strong yet flexible spines where you can attach everything so that it all makes sense.

A strong central theme is the most important structural element for your game.

Don't be caught dead with one.

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BTW, you'll notice a woman in Apocalyptic attire holding an Uzi on the cover and a train in the distance. A no-brainer. Pretty women with guns are a surefire bet.

Also, I forgot to mention that I put together a short teaser for Millennium. It only runs for about 40 seconds and this one comes with quite a kicker or should I say quite a blast at the ending. Still tweaking it but I'll post it soon.

Come on back for that because it's pretty funny.

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