Not gonna lie, I know next to nothing about Demons: The Game of Evil Spirits (1979). What I do know is that the cover art is amazing. I had the option of picking up the boxed version and I passed in favor of this book-in-a-baggie mini version because it has a fuller view of the cover painting. I love the look of the demon, I love his little sigil necklace and I love how he seems to be trapped behind a giant pentagram. This is all you need to get me to buy your game, I guess. Bummer the artist isn’t clearly credited inside. Signature on the painting is…maybe Clark? I dunno.

The core concept here is pretty cool. You play Armenian wizards who use magical powers to conjure demons, who help them find treasure. The lords of Armenia aren’t keen on this, so they send soldiers to deal with you (though your demons might deal with them first). The object is to grab some loot then get off the map alive, avoiding soldiers and rival wizards (both of whom can torture you into giving up your hard earned riches). Wizard with the most ducats wins.

Lovely. Doubt I’ll ever get around to playing it, but it sure seems more fun than these sort of hex and chit games usually are. Amusing thing: the demons are the same 72 buggers from the Lesser Key of Solomon the Great, or the Goetia. There is a historical note about the Goetia in the rules. SPI even offers to send copies of the conjurations from the book to interested players who send them a self addressed stamped envelope. For educational purposes only, of course.