In Comic Book Boom!, you play as a publisher at the heights of the 1990's comic book craze, looking to make your fortune in the booming market. Whoever makes the most cash by the time the boom busts is the winner.

There are three kinds of cards you'll collect and use throughout the game:

Books – The comics titles that you publish. The amount you can profit from a book is its Collectibility × its Readership. Many Books are lacking Collectibility, Readership, or both, but have trendy '90s Themes, like "Cyborg" or "Motorcycle", that you can manipulate to achieve higher profits.

Stunts – Attention-grabbing plots, like "Crossover" or "All-New Look", that Hype up a Book's Themes. Hype drives those Themes higher and higher up the shared Market Board, reaching increasing levels of Readership. If you get too greedy and overhype a Theme, though, Books with that Theme will get canceled and won't turn any profit.

Enhancements – Manufacturing gimmicks, like Foil Covers or Holograms, that add Collectibility to a Book.

Comic Book Boom! is played over several rounds. Each round is made up of 5 phases that are played simultaneously:

1. Research – Pay money to acquire new a Book, Stunt, or Enhancement card. Research as many times as you'd like, but the cost grows along with your hand.

2. Develop – Secretly plan out your line, playing new cards facedown and adding Stunts and Enhancements onto your Books.

3. Publish – Reveal your Books and move their Themes up the Market Board based on how much Hype they have.

4. Profit – Cancel any overhyped Books, losing any cards on them and moving the Bubble up the Market Board. Make money from the rest of your Books based on their Collectibility and Readership.

5. Cleanup – Get ready for the next round by picking up your temporary (Stunt and Enhancement) cards, moving the Bubble up the Market Board, and resetting the Themes down to the Bubble's level.

The game ends after Cleanup if the Bubble reached "Burst" on the Market Board or if any player went bankrupt. Whoever has the most money wins. Otherwise, you'll start a new round with another Research phase.

-description from publisher

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