Homage to MORE guest artists!

Today I want to talk about artists, very particular artists who have agreed to jump in and lend their talent to GZ. Mind you, this is even if they don't have work that's in the set for any reason, they either offered or said yes when I approached them. These are artists you need to know. I'm writing this because I'm grateful beyond words either way.

Big Rob Beltran: This is the man who made my hat. A hat that has lasted for a good 3 years through hot sun and rain storms. It's as awesome as the day I paid 40 bucks for it. This guy will put anything you want on a shirt, hat, shoes and even a bicycle! Check out his Deviant Art page HERE. He's well known in his area conventions and heralds his own special artistic style. People know me better for my hat than without it. That's thanks to this guy.

Dave Bain: Keeping the hits rolling, you get the amazing styles of this artist who is also on his own convention routes. I got to meet him at Southern Geekfest and hope to do so again. He has a sharp line style that's hard to miss. Check out his work HERE. I can tell you he already picked what he wants to do from the card list, but I'm not going to reveal that today. You'll just have to be surprised.










Gavin Michelli: Another of my good friends with Southern Geek who I met at the convention and every bit as talented as anyone on this list. Check out his amazing TMNT work right HERE. The colors will blow you away.

Ken Davis: Rounding out a trio from Southern Geek (they are an awesome bunch of people check them out), is this man. He's already contributed and at both cards have been shown off online so far. If you missed them, just check past blog articles or visit the Facebook page via links upper right. Ken also has his own signature style and some bookwork under his belt that you can check out HERE.













Billy Barnette: He was the first to jump in and offer assistance in the art and he's been a great help. He also has his own distinct style and a few of the cards he's helped with have been posted! His work has been freelance of late, but I did do a guest artist spot on him some time ago and his work could be seen HERE.

Kevin Woolfork: Speaking of prior articles, I wrote on on this man too. He did the gridwork for the first game board and now he's back! Just look at what he did for my character, Major Xeroh! And of course you can see his work HERE.  What he's going to do for the game cards coming up; well, you'll see. Kevin is well versed in photoshop and great with his colors too.





Jay Morgan: I've mentioned my fellow local author before and I'll mention him again. Examples of his art will show strong colors. For now, I can only send you to his authors page HERE. But you can be sure he's going to fit on this list just as well as the rest.

Ali Lamkin: Last but not least and newest is this man. He's a great form artist with talents he hasn't shown us yet, but just look. The pic is drawn by him and colored by Kevin Woolfork.

Some people may wonder what I'm doing. Well, over half the art is still being done by yours truly with some new twists and tricks. I'm working hard to get this together so that Galaxy Zento the board game will be as truly customizable as it's meant to be. You can bet there is going to be so much more to show and very soon.

Galaxy Zento Expansion Preview!

Galaxy Zento Expansion Preview!

Now that I’m hard at work on the finishing artwork for the very first expansion set for the Galaxy Zento board game, it’s only fitting that I give you a taste of what’s to come! New goals, beasts, artifacts, traps, and even spells are coming to enhance your gameplay. A new card type is coming as well; monsters! As if all that just weren’t enough, you’ll get 16 new player characters with abilities you have to see to believe. Let’s start with a look at them. *Remember to click on images for better view.

The Superhuman: Player characters represent you on the board and this is a great one for that. When you get him, you get to reveal cards from the main deck until a power is revealed. Then you get to use that power for the whole game. The best part is that you can’t lose that power unless you stop being the superhuman. Better yet, this power doesn’t count for your power limit of three, so you actually could build up to four powers! His stats aren’t too shabby either!

The Minotaur: Several mythical beings are going to be available and the Minotaur might just be the coolest of them. He’s a little clumsy when it comes to things like traps and magic but his charging attack makes him useful in other ways. Could it be fun to run up and slam into your opponents? Yes, yes it could.

But what about those goals? As you might remember a goal is your randomly given mission to win the game. Well, there will be at least 4 new goals to shuffle into your goal deck. That includes:

Ultimate Warrior: Win five combats of any kind. That’s right, attack other players or just keep it to what jumps out of the deck. If your character is strong enough, you’ll be a real threat to take the win on this goal. It still won’t be as easy as it sounds as nothing in this game is.

The Combo Goal: This could be one of the most challenging goals. Or the easiest depending on your luck of the draw. You complete one of each challenge on the list to win the game. It’s only four challenges but note the extra ruling on the card. Since it’s possible to wipe out the game at a focal point because you reveal three cards, you can’t count anything at a focal point for the other three challenges. Otherwise, this would become the most broken goal of them all.

Let’s look at a couple monsters next. Of course there is a monster slaying goal to go with them. That’s too easy to guess.

The Mud Man: He’s ooey and gooey and wants to eat your character! He’s pretty average in combat unless you try to sneak away from him and fail. Items don’t count against him because he’s made of mud. Use powers and magic, especially fire to take him down. Of course you can just beat him into splattery submission.

The Werewolf: Now here’s a monster that can alter the pace of the game. If you lose the combat with this guy, you get to be the next werewolf. If that happens, you forsake your current goal in order to attack other players. If you win a combat against a player, they become the next werewolf and you are cured. The only other way for your character to be cured is to get killed. There are a couple of goals that will count if you are the werewolf. Those are a goal where you have to attack other players and a new one where you actually have to get killed. More on that second one later.

For the last peek of the day we have an item that you have to obtain as if it were an artifact:

Cyber Implants: Of the new items, this is the first one you have to roll dice to get. It’s only fitting with all of that this does for you. Not only does it boost a couple of your stats and your movement; it gives you the ability to peek at the top card of the deck. That’s a strong advantage when you need certain cards to come out for your goal.

That’s all the preview you get for now. Don’t forget to visit the links in the upper right if want to get your hands on the board game or books. Follow the fun on Twitter and Facebook!