Introduction

Demons, by SPI, is a game that is as hard to classify as it is to get a hold of on the collectors market. It is neither fish nor fowl, having elements of both history and fantasy. Games of such a bastard nature often fail to satisfy, as fans of one genre prefer their pet element receiving more exposure. Demons (subtitled The Game of Evil Spirits) takes place in a historical setting, and deals with our own Occult history, rather than fantasy and science fiction visions of the supernatural. The tradition of supernatural belief is a rich historical field, covered in depth by scholars such as Richard Cavendish (whose monumental Man, Myth and Magic graces the reference section of all major libraries) and Jeffrey Burton Russell. In games, however, it has rarely gotten a scholarly treatment. The first edition of Chivalry & Sorcery (long unavailable) remains by far the best treatment.

The magic systems in other games, both board and role-playing, are mostly so much fluff Leave it to one man, the icon of our hobby, to change all that. I refer, of course, to Jim Dunnigan. Demons was designed in 1979 by the master himself The date is significant for two reasons, one hobby related and the other cultural.

Demons was one of Jim Dunnigan's last designs for SPI, and is worthy on that note alone. It was also the dawning of the Reagan Era in the United States. The 60's brought an interest in things Occult and mystical, which continued lazily throughout the 70's. With the conservative backlash of the Religious Right in the 80's, it is unlikely a game such as Demons would have seen print any later than it did.

Background

Demons is set in medieval Armenia, in the year 1091, Why Armenia, you ask? Yes, it sounds about as exciting as my hometown of Summerdale, Alabama (population 1,000 counting the cattle) on a Saturday night. This region in the 11th century was in the throes of religious turmoil and intolerance, with rival Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim interests creating a unique tension. Constantly fought over, the place is teeming with treasure. Thus, various magicians (i. e., the players) wander onto the map in quest of my favorite of the Seven Deadly Sins: Greed (followed closely by Sloth which explains why I'm not rich!) A primary aid to the treasure hunting sorcerer is the ability to summon Demons (or Daemons to the Greeks).

The book of demonology used in the game is based on the Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon, the oldest manuscript of which we have dates back to the 17th century.

According to this "history", King Solomon (of cutting-babies-in-half fame) was a master magician who bound the demons who were plaguing the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem. The book was written to aid later sorcerers in capturing the demons, should they be loosed on the world again. Unfortunately, not all magicians are noble like our good and wise king of biblical fame. The players in Demons use his book to control the supernatural beings for private gain rather than the common weal.

Components

The first thing that impresses the gamer is the smallness of the design. Demons is part of the series of fantasy and sci-fi games that SPI produced in its later years in an effort to capitalize on the Metagaming concept of micro sized games. The Creature That Ate Sheboygan is possibly the most famous of these little wonders.

The game has 100 counters (six blanks for the benefit of those who may have bought a used copy), a 12 page digest-sized rule book with two pages of charts that can be removed for use during play, and an 11"x 17" mapsheet, half of which is play aids!

Mentioned in the games notes is the tidbit that you can write SPI, sending an SASE, and they will send a historical sheet giving some of the invocations used in the Lemegeton (one wonders what Rev. Jerry Falwell would say about this") Since our beloved SPI no longer exists, a copy of Demons with this invocation sheet will increase the value of the game to collectors. A counter manifest is included within the rules, always a good thing with out of print games.

Game Play

From one to four players can compete, each representing a magician looking for fame and fortune. The players interact with both the supernatural (the demons), each other, and the forces of church ("Bum her, she's a witch!") and state ("Sorry Magus Alaric, the treasure hoard is taxable and must be declared"). Victory conditions are quite simple: the game ends when all-magi are dead or have exited the board. The one with the most loot wins ... and dead magicians tell no tales (and can't win besides). Other than the ability to move, magicians are essentially helpless without the power of the demons they summon.

The forces of secular and religious law have set up hexes which represent their home base (captured magicians are brought back there) and a combat strength, ranging from seven (the King of Armenia) to one (the lesser known but infamous Bastard of Atarbekyn). These movement of these forces is controlled by the game system, basically they will try to capture the nearest magician. If successful, the magician can escape by conjuring or bribing (this doesn't work with the ecclesiastical authorities). Torture and death will be the result barring a minor miracle.

There are 72 demons in the game and they each have unique characteristics. They are ranked according to hierarchy and given alignments (friendly, neutral, unfriendly) for dealing with the magicians who summon them. Most have a combat rating (this is how a magician fights) and skills which range from causing storms, granting invisibility, or my personal favorite, causing women to show themselves naked (used to distract other magicians). The ability to summon these spirits is often tied to a locale (Earls may only be summoned in woods, for example) and the strength of a magician's personal shield. This can be strong or weak, but the stronger the shield, the more you are penalized for determining victory. Thus it pays to take a little risk.

The demons have only one use each before they are removed from the game, so a magician must husband resources well, and know when to cut losses. If a player is lucky, he may find Solomon's Ring, which will aid in control of these spirits.

Problems

There are only a couple. It is not at all clear, upon reading the rules, how the demons' hierarchical order effects the magician's ability to control them. In game play it starts to make sense, but could have been explained better. Also, the fact that the magicians have four wounds is well concealed in the rules, and not found in the section relating to their being captured and tortured, where it is needed to be said the most. Otherwise, we are dealing with a clean little game.

Evaluation

I must say it is an honor to actually review an SPI game, nearly 20 years after its publication! Only in a journal like Simulacrum, dedicated to the gaming collector, would this be possible. As print runs become fewer and our "Golden Age" recedes further in the past, this becomes more and more important. As stated earlier, Demons is a difficult game to classify. Having both elements of history and fantasy, it fits in neither genre in total. Players may find themselves wishing to play the game they would have designed, rather than the one that was.

A reviewer must also avoid falling into a cunning trap. I must avoid reviewing the game I wanted to see rather than the game that was designed. I fully understand why this series of games was designed in the small format. Yet, I fully believe a larger playing area would increase the replay value. The constricted area for maneuver restricts players options a great deal. Even so, Demons is a worthy addition to one's collection, either to play or simply to have.

Also, with its unique subject matter, a certain predisposition toward this game can be held by the garner. A perfect case in point is illustrated by two good friends of mine. One, a Christian, was quite offended by the subject matter and refused to consider playing it. Another, a Gothic-Vampire lover (you may have seen him at Origins) practically salivated over the demonic looking cover art! My own materialistic, neo-Marxist view of religion finds both equally amusing.

In a sense, however, we all prejudge games. Whether our criteria is the People's Opiate or a preference for World War 11 over the Napoleonic era, we all make choices as to what games we play. Yet religion is quite capable of evoking an argument that would rival a Yankee and Rebel playing an American Civil War game in the 1880's, when the blood feud was still hot!

From a collector's standpoint the game is quite a find, and hard to get a hold of Prices will range from $12 to $20 depending on condition and format. Even if you only intend to display the diabolical cover art to frighten off unwanted visitors, the game is a good investment! More than the appeal of the obscure subject matter, the game isjust another testament to the design genius of Jim Dunnigan. He may be famous for such games as Wacht am Rhein and War in the Pacific, but his true talents, in my humble opinion, show best in his small designs. Battle for Germany may be the most famous example of this, but Demons is another.

Born catatonic in Alabama (or is that the Catatonic State of Alabama) I began gaming at the tender age of six. Dad. enroute to the hardware section of the local TG&Y store. made a mistake leaving me in the toy aisle. He ended up buying me Hit the Beach by Milton Bradley. Of course, he was forced to do this since I had opened the box and was playing with the little soldiers when he found me ...

Two years later. an issue of Boy's Life featured an ad for the Avalon Hill Classics, and the rest is history. I served as Vice-President (two years) and President (also two years) for the Strategy Gaming Sociery. I've also been a member of the long gone (and quite lamented) National Monster Gaming Society.

I am foremost a gamer and collector, though I have dabbled in the professional side of things. This convinced me even further, that I am a gamer and collector.Playtest credits include Blood and Iron (PacRim) and The Great War at Sea, Vol. I (Avalanche Press). Development credits include Byzantium and Twilight's Last Gleaming, both by Decision. My, first design, Scotland the Brave, will be published in Shadis magazine and released at Origins '98. Viking's Wrath is pending publication by Avalanche ... all my.friends should begin a massive letter writing campaign demanding to see it in print.--)