Aleph Null | Board & Book

About Aleph Null, from BoardGameGeek:

As a successful Magician, you have been able to fund a lifetime of research by delivering to the petty demands of liars, philanderers, gluttons and the least of Humanity. How refreshing, then, when a client should emerge with a commission of horrifying simplicity that has the potential for acquiring a vast amount of knowledge - perhaps the ultimate knowledge - albeit at the expense of many millions. "Release the denizens of Hell into the Earth, with Baphomet - The Sabbath Goat - at their Head, for one night only and let them run amok. Let us see the consequences - for aesthetic reasons only, of course." However, do not expect this matter to proceed without interference from the Church and/or from Hell itself: the best-laid plans do not always go the way expected. Inspired by the Black Easter novellas by James Blish, the aim of Aleph Null is to successfully summon the demonic Prince Baphomet who, when he appears, expects there to be no cards in your hand, the main deck and the discard pile; if there are any cards remaining in these ‘zones', you lose. However, ‘not losing' in this way doesn't mean that you have won: any cards still in play also count against you – too many and you shall lose also. The sooner you ‘win', the better your chance of surviving any due punishment. -description from the designer