Blood on the Clocktower cover
2022BGG rank #68

Blood on the Clocktower

by Steven Medway · The Pandemonium Institute

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Players6–21
Time30–120m
ComplexityMedium
Age15+

About the game

What is Blood on the Clocktower?

In the quiet village of Ravenswood Bluff, ‌a demon walks amongst you. During a hellish thunderstorm, on the stroke of midnight, there echoes a bone-chilling scream. The townsfolk rush to investigate and find the town storyteller murdered, their body impaled on the hands of the clocktower, blood dripping onto the cobblestones below. A Demon is on the loose, murdering by night and disguised in human form by day. Some have scraps of information. Others have abilities that fight the evil or protect the innocent. But the Demon and its evil minions are spreading lies to confuse and breed suspicion. Will the good townsfolk put the puzzle together in time to execute the true demon and save themselves? Or will evil overrun this once peaceful village? Blood on the Clocktower is a bluffing game with players on opposing teams of Good and Evil, overseen by a Storyteller player who conducts the action and makes crucial decisions. The goal of the game is to successfully deduce and execute the demons before they outnumber the townfolk. During a 'day' phase players socialize openly and whisper privately to trade knowledge or spread lies, culminating in a player's execution if a majority suspects them of being Evil. During a 'night' time, players close their eyes and are woken one at a time by the Storyteller to gather information, spread mischief, or kill. The Storyteller uses the game's intricate playing pieces to guide each game, leaving others free to play without a table or board. Players stay in the thick of the action to the very end even if their characters are killed, haunting Ravenswood Bluff as ghosts trying to win from beyond the grave. If you arrive late to a game, you can enter after it's started as a powerful Traveller character with unusual talents and questionable allegiances. Each character comes with their own special ability and no two players in a game are ever the same character.

How it plays

Mechanics

Betting and BluffingDeductionHidden RolesNegotiationPrisoner's DilemmaRock-Paper-ScissorsRoles with Asymmetric InformationTeam-Based GameTraitor GameVariable Player PowersVoting

On the shelf

Categories

BluffingDeductionMurder / MysteryParty Game

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in Blood on the Clocktower?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?