THE GAME オバケやしきのすうじのアクマ is a new incarnation of The Game where players struggle to seal away ghosts and other creatures lurking about a haunted mansion.  

The premise of the game is that players are naughty children who enter a haunted house and accidentally open a book that releases a host of demons. They must work to seal these escapees back into the book. However, the demons are actually Demons of Numbers and therefore the players cannot speak in numbers (or else be cursed and die).

The basic gameplay is the same as The Game, where players work together to discard all cards into four piles depending on the UP/DOWN conditions of each pile. During their turn, players discard either a larger or smaller value card(s) as appropriate. Afterwards, players refill their hand.  

Players cannot share the numbers of the cards in their hand with other players but must find ways to collaborate in order to effectively place cards in the four piles so that all players can have zero cards in their hand at the end of the game.

If there is an exact difference of 10 between the card a player discards and the last card in a pile, the player is free to play the card regardless of the UP/DOWN direction of the pile.  

In Demons of Numbers, there are also six types of effect cards (which are number cards with an effect written at the bottom): Reverse, Skip, Short, Draw 2, Silence, and Declaration of Death.

There are three types of ending results for the game: Total victory, victory, and loss.

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Additional Information:

This all new game builds upon the original The Game with additional rules for a spookishly fresh gameplay experience.

Unlike The Game Extreme which added rules to make gameplay even more challenging for players, Demons of Numbers offers a more interactive, conversational experience. The new design also allows for up to 6 players.

Familiar “effects” are added to the game to give it a more UNO-esque familiarity. In fact, these changes have earned this version of the game the nickname “The Game Junior” by the original publisher.

The increased player number, new rules, and random events make it more difficult for players to find a repeatable pattern to beat the game and result in a making Demons of Numbers more of a “party game” for all ages and for gamers and non-gamers alike.

The designer, 326, felt that the original The Game had a title that was really not ideally optimized for easy internet searches, as well as artwork that would make it for children to convince their parents to purchase the game for them. He wanted to take a new approach and was able to find a willing partner in Arclight Games.

Illustrations are also by 326.