WIP This guide is aimed at story teller and experienced players, we may write a guide for new players later
Blood on the Clock Tower Blood on the Clocktower | Blood on the Clocktower – A captivating new social bluffing game
There is already a great page on Accessibility | Blood on the Clocktower – A captivating new social bluffing game
The short rules explanation:
https://wiki.bloodontheclocktower.com/Rules_Explanation
New Player advice:
Blood on the Clock Tower, New player advice – Here for Games Knowledge
Our documents! These are aimed at Trouble brewing and newbie heavy games, we often take our games into festival and places where there is zero game experience so this is heavily supportive for the best new player experience. For experienced players use your judgement.
All of these are work in progress and we welcome any feedback.
1) Demo / sales pitch and golden rules (BOTC and trouble brewing) including Key rules reminder http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/BotcAdvertandRulesHereForGames.pdf
2) Mini Trouble brewing night order so you can just hold half of the grim
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NightOrderTiny.pdf
3)Teaching guide
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BOTC-teaching-guide.pdf
TB Back sheet with teaching notes
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BOTC-TB-back-teaching-aid.pdf
Visual Impairment
Night order
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BOTC-night-order-Large.pdf
Large Print Trouble brewing
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BOTC-TB-Large-Print.pdf
Seat numbers:
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BOTC-Seat-and-Status-numbers.pdf
Win Signs
http://herefor.games/knowledge/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BOTC-Win-signs.pdf
These are all work in progress! all feedback is welcome
Summary of our accessibility changes.
Medallions to mark who is dead / alive and when (Reduce the requirement on memory / speed the game up)
Tea candles (as above)
Seat numbers,, visual impairment friendly easier to describe and nominate people, avoids missgendering and night confusion.
Large print night order
Large Print Script
Teaching notes on back of script
Key interactions on notice board.
Teaching guide which includes additional steps which include;
+Option to leave the game
+Options on how to be woken up
+Reminder to ask for accessibility support
+ Option to swap seats before the game starts
+ Active support and from the story teller
+ Mentoring from experiences players
+Pauses for rule reminders
+Schedule of when to reminder key rules
+Phased teaching to introduce new rules
+active challenge ‘bad’ behaviour and support quieter guests
Ongoing
Visual Impairment aid
Reminder: In my opinion running Clocktower especially TB for begineers, is MORE about the social, looking after guests, keeping pacing, supporting people than actually the rules. You need to know the rules of course, but a fun game with a rules errors is better than a badly run game.
As the scripts get more complicated and players more experienced the focus will switch more to rules but just because you have experienced players it doesn’t mean you should be less aware and supportive.
———–
Here are some of the things we’ve done to make the game better for folks, we probably aren’t the first to do them, some are in the rules already and lots of folks often do variants of them, but there are the things we find make our games run better.
Purpose:
To make the game more enjoyable for all.
To support new players to learn enjoy and get involved
To support new and experienced story tellers.
We’ve turned the below into three guides above, but I will leave it here for now! In case I have missed anything
Currently a random order! I will aim to categorise once complete
1) Replace / modify the reminder cards with much clearer and larger print, additional cards, pick 1 player, pick 2 players, talk to me tomorrow, you are good / evil, added the word bluff.. (These are also wipe clean for emergency notes!)
2) Mentors
Coaching experienced players how to support new players, initiate chats in the day, providing a good role model, including being patient
3) Stop the clock to explain rules
In complex situations stop the clock and explain the rules, it is better coming from the story teller than a player which may add suspicion or attention to them (they are more likely to be killed). For example a gollem, witch or virgin kill.
3) Lights for dead vote counting
Knowing how many dead votes there are – are important we use light up tea lights to make it very clear – we also play in dimmly lit places. We switch from white to dark candles when you die and the lit status means you have a vote left.
4) Lanyards and medalions
Knowing who is dead, especially when choosing people at night is important we’ve added lanyard and also a medalition to say when you died, these are also useful during day chats. Clock tower already requires a lot of memory, publicly avaliable information we will help you remember so you can concentrate on the important stuff. This has nearly half the time the night phase takes
5) Empasising – its ok to talk to the story teller
When introducing the game, make it very clear talking to the story teller is not suspicious
6) time with newbies the first 2 days.
To continue above i take all newbies aside the first two day phases to talk, I will offer check their plans, and understanding of the rules, I will also strategy advice where needed i.e. what are you planning to do? Thats great but have you considered.
7) Privacy signal
For low mobility we have a signal to create space, seeing what conversations are happening is valid, listening in. isn’t
8) Tracker for who is ‘on the block’
I have a wooden stand which points at who is on the block and their votes, this is important for me as a story teller as i forgot but it is visible for everyone.
9) Name / pronoun tags
Offer name tags as this game involved speaking to and about people a lot, lets get it right and make it easy
10) Name / pronoun introduction on the first day.
See 9 This allows me to add name / pronoun to be grim name tags
11) Asking at the end of the night phase- have I forgotten to wake any one up.
This helps with missing people and awkward conversations during the day
12) Ask about anyone not wanting to be touched during the night phase by the story teller
We can tug on the script for example or something similar.
13) Remind folks about personal space at night (smaller venues)
Not generally an issue but to reduce confusion – accidental wake ups remind folks to stay in their space, I’ve had a player who talks with their hands even when their eyes are closes almost knock the grim out my hand when show their spy neighbour the grim.
14) I personally don’t narrate deaths or do to much Fluffly narrative speak
I mostly do newbie games so I tend to keep it mechanical, for two reasons i don’t like to pull players on the spot to be funny or creative and I don’t want to use non mechanical words which may confuse. – Where is steamroller on the character abilities) DO NOT PUT new players on the spot to be funny.
15) Set dressing I enjoy making the venue you look nice, with props, lighting.
It’s just nice it sets the theme
16) Making the social rules very clear, we will not lie about the rules of the game.
Stress this! it gives new players confidence and sets the tone for the game
17) Name pronoun tags in my grin.
see 8 and 9. This also helps me count if I remember where one player is sitting I can count from therem
18) use the correct terminology and summarise actiosn.
Ted has 6 votes and will be executed at the end of the day phase, they are on the block.
19) We’ve organised our grim into a Ultra pro binder card folder with a baggy (marked for base scripts) for tokens and reminder and our scripts are in an accordion case.
20) When playing in dim light, making sure there are lighter areas for folks who may not have good night vision and a light for the story teller both for playing and for the spy!
21) Timer for folks know how much time is left in the day ( I don’t always use this)
22) Coin capsules for quick home brewing tokens
23) Teaching note the difference between execution and died at night!
24) Ephasis the difference between execution and died at night
25) Support the social player, help quieter player get a chance to speak, reign in louder players.
26) New imps are often confused about the bluffs
27) Player rules reminder
28) Giving players a chance to drop out or become travellers after the rules explanation
29) If there are big fans of No rolls Barred or other theaterical / creative shows, remind the players this is one way to play the game, the same way Critical Role is one way to play Dnd, there is no requirement to be funny or do skits and no one expects it.
30) Remind the players there is no lieing about the mechanics of the game.
Related Blood on the Clocktower Content
Blood on the Clock Tower- our improvements and tips – Here for Games Knowledge
Blood on the Clock Tower story teller tips – Here for Games Knowledge
Blood on the Clock Tower, New player advice – Here for Games Knowledge
Blood on the Clock Tower- Online tips – Here for Games Knowledge
Blood on the Clocktower, Visual Impairment Improvements – Here for Games Knowledge
Print your own dead lanyards
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7277264
