Fall Update: Guess what's here!

This week has been loaded with surprises and now you can catch up on all of them at once. The first image you are seeing with today's post is the cover art for the box and yeah, it's the expansion set! I'll be getting my first copy from Thegamecrafter.com sometime in the next week. After I check it over, so long as all looks good, it will be launched. How much is it going to be? Just 24.99.

Now, with holiday shopping already starting, it's as good a time as ever to plug the board game and you get get your copy HERE for 44.99. It's new and improved to match the new layout of cards in the expansion. But then there's the lore of it all and there's something new to that too.

The newest novel and the second book in the Chessmen series is now available via Amazon and Kindle right HERE.  Be sure to use the "look inside" function for a quick sampling of the story as it begins. If you haven't read the first Chessmen story you can find it at the link in the upper right regarding the books. Here is where I have to address something more serious.

There is one thing the new book is  not going to be, aside from filled with action and adventure. It will not be FREE. For every book prior to this, I have done a free giveaway and put a lot of free books into people's hands. Unfortunately, it's time to admit that this has not been good for my own bottom line. I strive to be low cost in a tough age and I hope my readers will understand. The idea behind the free giveaway marketing is that it brings in sales of the other books and, in the last five years, this has simply not happened. That's not to say I'll never give anything away for free again, you can bet I will. Just not at that magnitude anymore. Just can't do it.

Okay, enough seriousness. I have been asked to clarify the order the books go in for people who want to catch up. Where to start? The exact order of the books is as follows:

Chessmen: Opening Moves
GZ Tales Vol 1
Chaos Rising
GZ Tales Vol 2
Chessmen: The Queens Gambit

Now, in the first three books, you could start with any of them. There is a character connection, however from Chaos Rising to the second Chessmen book. I won't tell you what those are of course, you'll just have to read for yourself.  So what will this have me working on now?

Crazy Harry

More artwork of course and more stories. My next bookwork will be GZ Tales Vol 3 and that is going to have some awesome stories in it. I can tell you that the adventures are only going to escalate from here. After that, I will dive into chapter work for the book that comes after Chaos Rising, tentatively called Wicked Ways. And for my in between time when I'm not writing I'll be working on the game expansion for New York City and the GZ combat system card game as well. Sound like enough for me to do?

Outside of Galaxy Zento, I want to point out that my family/party game Marshmallow Fight now has two glowing reviews (reviews are not easy to get) and you can check those out at the following links by author:

PaladinElliott
FatherGeek

And you can get this game HERE also at theGameCrafter.  If you are considering developing your own game, I highly suggest looking into theGameCrafter. Not only can you put together a playable and nice looking prototype; you can continue developing with their step by step process and even sell your game on site (print on demand). Excellent quality, shuffleable cards, and bright colorful rendering. I have loved making my games through them so far. Customer service also gets an A+ from me. So check it out. And if you are looking for games further off the beaten track and want to support some true indy designers, you will be in the right place.

Seems like I have enough to keep me busy during the school year. The only thing I haven't been doing is conventions. Well, that will change around Spring, so stay tuned! Much more to come!

You may enjoy the GZ Board game IF...

Because such exciting times are coming up in the next couple of months, it seems fitting to share this list. I'm still seeking the audience I know is out there for my game. In that I'm still hard at work learning new ways to reach people (hopefully without falling into the spam trap). I'm going to have to dedicate a blog to that later on.

Besides that, if you like any of the following in your games, you may find GZ to be quite a bit of enjoyable fun!

-If you like rolling D20s for any reason: The 20 sider is used heavily in the game for almost everything you have to roll dice for. It's for escaping traps, recruiting allies, combat, evading enemies and more. The simple combat system employs taking turns with D20 rolls to hit your targets defense. First person to score three hits wins the combat. No chance of ties.

-If you are a fan of games like Munchkin. Mostly the random draw from the main deck, gives the game style a little bit of a "munchkin feel". Kind of like "kicking in doors" for Munchkin, for every move you make on the board for GZ, you reveal a card from the main deck and deal with what ever jumps out at you. It's a randomization that will keep your game on its toes.

-If you like games you can customize or change with expansions: The planned expansions will allow you to change your game up in practically any way you want. You decide what kind of characters, monsters, and traps will await you on your mission. And it doesn't stop with just those. Items, spells, artifacts, and special events are all available to spice things up.

-If you like to beat up other players: Because you totally can! Not only can attacking your opponents be fun, it can keep them from completing their mission before you do the same. The game is all about completing your mission before anyone else does theirs. A well timed combat can really slow someone down. Player revenge has not been uncommon among players so far.

-If you like fantasy adventure with original characters: With the game based on the characters from my first novel (with a 3.5 star rating on Amazon), you get to interact with a unique character base. You don't have to know the story to enjoy the game, but it sure doesn't hurt. As I'm currently working on my fifth book, you can expect the adventures to continue! But guess what, you may be able to get a free copy the book as a pdf, just for being involved with GZ!

Yep, all you have to do is send me a request to be on the GZ mailing list for updates, stories, and more. Once you send me your email address (that will not be shared) I will send you a pdf copy of Chessmen: Opening Moves. With the king and queen of Chyssia dead, only an infant stands in the way of the killer taking the throne. After being framed for the royal murders, the royal guard have no choice to but to take their princess on the run to protect her. They face mercenaries, assassins, and monsters but those are only the beginning.

It's a great chance to get your read on! Now, if any of the above are of interest to you in your games, then you are just the people I am looking for! Check out the free print and play where you can read the rules for yourself!