Let’s take a look at the elephant in the room – Werewolf. Werewolf is a social deduction game, that is a re-theming and re-imagining of the Russian game, Mafia. It is an incredibly popular social deduction game and seems to be one of the most “core” and “pure” social deduction games. Please take everything I’m about to say with a grain of salt though, because I haven’t really played many social deduction games, and only ever played Werewolf about a dozen times. I really, really liked werewolf when I first played it, and wanted to make a game similar, but different. Something that included all the things I liked and removed all the things I didn’t.   

Many people encouraged me to play The Resistance, Town Of Salem, 2 Rooms and a Boom, Avalon, or Secret Hitler to get a feel for how social deduction games worked, but instead I wanted to design blind – to not expose myself to other games in the genre, precisely so that the design of BOTC wouldn’t be influenced by them. Obviously, there will be certain things that end up similar, but I hoped that something entirely new, or at least recognizably unique, would emerge from this process of deliberate isolation from the greats in the genre. Recently, I’ve been exposed to the above social deduction games, so I know a leeeeetle bit more what I’m talking about, but I think my comments here are still only really valid for the comparison to the “vanilla” version of werewolf that I have personally encountered. Your opinion may differ.

I don’t think that there can be any true, final judgement on how similar or dissimilar 2 things can be. It all depends on your level of magnification. For example, if you never play nor care about sports, then Australian football and American football may seem like basically the same game. They have two teams, a field, a set of goal posts, and roughly the same rules. Of course, for those familiar with the way things actually play, there is a huge difference between the two sports, because the heart of the game is wildly different, and the fans of one are unlikely to be fans of the other, even though to an outsider, the cosmetic differences are minor.  The other point of view… that they are both iterations of the same basic principle: i.e. two different versions of the same game, is correct from a different level of analysis. Compare Australian football to American football to a bowl of fruit, to Beethoven, to the number 4, to Chess, to Queen Elizabeth… and yeah, the two footballs certainly “are” the same thing. It depends how you look at it.

So, let’s dive in and look at how Blood on the Clocktower is similar to Werewolf…

The core concept:

In Werewolf, there is a good team, and an evil team. The good team do not know who each other are. The evil team do, but are outnumbered by the good team. The aim of the game for the good players is to figure out who is on what team. The aim of the game for evil is to convince the good players that they are good. From what I’ve seen this idea is the core idea for EVERY social deduction game. Werewolf has it, Clocktower has it, Secret Hitler has it. It is the core idea that everything in the genre is built upon.

Some core mechanics:

In Werewolf, there is a day phase and a night phase, and a player dies in each phase – during the day, by popular vote, and during the night, but the actions of the evil team. Clocktower is the same, at least in Trouble Brewing. In Werewolf, each player gets a vote. They use their vote to remove other players from the game, effectively neutralizing their influence, and reducing the number of players “alive”. Clocktower is the same, although the actual voting process is slightly different to allow for multiple votes and no executions if the players don’t feel it is wise to do so. Nevertheless, the basic mechanics of day & night and lets-vote-to-execute-people-we-think-are-the-enemy are present.

Both Werewolf and Clocktower are talking games. Players use their words, body language, social skills and wit to avoid being killed, and to convince others to be killed instead. They are, fundamentally, “last player left alive, wins” games, although that isn’t precisely true in terms of how each game achieves this.

Theme:

You could make the argument that BOTC differs greatly in theme, but I don’t buy that. They are pretty similar. In Werewolf, a group of villagers need to band together to trust each other and reveal the supernatural evil in their midst, or perish. In Clocktower, the setting is more modern and city-like, and the enemy is a Demon and the Demon’s evil Minions, but the themes are similar. Upon the usual level of magnification, they are not as dissimilar as if say, BOTC was a game themed around a cyberpunk Morocco where people use coca leaves as currency, and the aim of the game is to find the secret coca-baron and negotiate a breakdown of their crippling monopoly. If you are a fan, and want to make the argument that BOTC has a radically different theme than Werewolf, be my guest, but I would disagree. A different tone, yes, but a similar theme.

Player count:

Werewolf and Clocktower both work best with larger than normal player sizes. Whilst most board games cater for 3 to 5 players, Werewolf seems to be best with around 9 to 21 players. BOTC was originally designed to be best for 5 to 9 players, but has since been beefed up to cater for groups up to 20 players as well.

So – how is Clocktower different to Werewolf? What can you expect as a player?

Character types:

The first, most obvious difference is that there are 4 main character classes: Townsfolk, Outsiders, Minions, Demons. With two extra classes, Travelers and Fabled (more on these later). Instead of just the good team and the evil team, the game very much relies on the effective strategies of the players, based on which character type they are. Townsfolk either passively gain information about the alignments or characters or actions of the other players, or actively have a power to use to affect the game in some significant way. Outsiders have a “negative” ability – a personal challenge to overcome – and are usually more suspicious, even though they are good. Minions have powerful, disruptive abilities that hamper the good team, and are encouraged to sacrifice themselves to save the Demon. Demons have different ways to kill at night, and every Demon has an extra ability in addition to their “kill a player at night” ability.

What this means is that each player needs to play to make the most of their character ability and type, not just their alignment. It also means that determining whether a player is good or evil often isn’t enough information to win – the good team will need to learn specifically which Minions and which Demon is in the game in order to win, because different evil characters have different strategies. Also, the strategies of the evil team will be heavily dependent on which good characters are in the game.

Travelers are characters that can enter a game late, or leave early, without unbalancing anything. Their character is announced to the group, but their alignment is not known. It allows everyone to be included and gives them a chance to play. A handy mechanic if there’s someone in your group who has outside commitments but still wants to be a part of the game. They also allow games to go over 15 players without increasing the amount of time the game takes.

Fabled characters were created to help with some of the more social aspects that occur as a result of this style of game. These are roles that can be brought into the game at by the Storyteller and they can assist with things like allowing new players to speak and not be dominated by veterans (Buddhist, Hell’s Librarian), protecting very new players from death (Angel) or make a game go much quicker or end when it needs to (Doomsayer, Fiddler). They assist in managing the *social* aspects of playing a social deduction game and Storytellers are encouraged to use them.

Information:

In every game of BOTC, there is an ENORMOUS amount of information available for the good team to use. In a game with 9 Townsfolk, that is usually 8 separate pieces of information, all combining to confirm which players are allies, and which players are enemies. 1 player might know that they are sitting next to 1 evil player, another player might know that 1 of 4 players is the Demon, another player knows that the most recently dead player is the Librarian, and that Librarian knows which player the Drunk is.

What this means is that each game is a game about information, logic and lies. Instead of relying on intuition, social cues, body language, or voting patterns, good players have all the information that they need to base their decisions on. The actual experience of playing a game is very much about comparing what you know, with what others are saying. You’ll need to find out what information is true, what information is false, what information is conflicting, and be bold enough to put your theories to the test. A game of BOTC is much more about what people are saying, as opposed to how people are acting.

Misinformation:

Some of the information that players get is incorrect. A player that is drunk or poisoned usually gets false information. This means that evil players can effectively deny accusations thrown at them, and continue playing the game, even when one or two players is fairly certain that they are evil. It also means that extremely ridiculous or specific bluffing is encouraged, because if you get caught in a lie, you’ll often have a backup lie to make the first seem more legitimate. 

Misinformation is a necessary element of BOTC, because without it the huge amount of provably correct information at the good team’s fingertips would allow them to identify evil players far too quickly, and that’s not fun for an evil player. With selective misinformation, the really juicy puzzle-solving elements of the game are enhanced. You’re not just playing the player… you are playing the game itself.

Roles are not revealed when you die:

A player who dies by execution, by the Demon, or by other means, does not have their character revealed to the group. It remains a secret, known only to them and the Storyteller. This allows evil players to continue bluffing right up until the end, and their participation is not only encouraged but usually necessary for their team to win.

You keep playing when you die:

If you die, you lose your character ability, just like in Werewolf. However, you may continue to talk, and you still get a vote to use at your leisure. Whichever team you are on, this vote will be CRUCIAL in the late stages of the game. Dead players still win or lose with their team, and often become even MORE vocal and participate even more furiously after their death. This mechanic means that all wins and losses are based on entire teams decisions. Nobody is left out. Some players become more powerful when they die, because their ability triggers upon death, or simply because the combined voting power of the dead players actually decides the outcome of the game. 

Crucially, what this means for the actual experience of playing is that death is not something to be feared. The aim of the game is not to stay alive. The aim of the game is to help your team win, sacrificing yourself if necessary. I’ve found that this mechanic greatly encourages communication, pleasantness, and co-operation between the players.

There are no generic roles. Every role is unique:

When you get your character token at the beginning of a game, you know that nobody else is that character. There are no duplicate or generic roles.

What this means is that you know that anyone who bluffs as your character is exactly that – bluffing. It’s time to have a private chat with them as to why. 

Another reason for this mechanical change is that there is nowhere for evil to hide. Evil players can not simply say “I’m just a generic character. Please ignore me.” They will need to make a positive stance on which character they are, and do so convincingly. Instead of quietness being the default, quietness is suspicious. This further encourages talk and participation amongst the good players, and creative and bold bluffs for the evil players.

Every game has different characters:

You never know which characters are in the game you are playing (at night, the Storyteller is silent and character roles are not called out). The possibilities are listed on the character sheet, but precisely which is a mystery. Every game is different, because every game has a different combination of characters, in a different seating order, learning different things even with the same character abilities. 

If you are evil, this means that bluffing as whatever character you want to bluff as is easier, because it is likely that that character is not even in the game.

If you are good, this means that you will need to figure out exactly which Demon you are facing! And which Minions are in the game too! Each Minion and Demon leaves clues as to their identity, and knowing not only which players are evil, but exactly which evil characters are even in the game, could mean the difference between victory and defeat. For example, if the Mastermind (a Minion) is in play, the game continues after the Demon dies. The good team will need to learn as much as they can about much more than who they think is evil.

The character roles are mostly (?) completely original:

This is a bit contentious, because there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of Werewolf roles available for you to use in your Werewolf games should you choose to. I’m sure there are many double ups with Blood On The Clocktower. For example, I’d be shocked if nobody has already made the:

Slayer: Once per game, choose a player: if they are the Demon, they die.
Steward: On the first night, you learn one good player.
Monk: Each night, choose a player: they are safe from the Demon.
Soldier: You are safe from the Demon.

I’m not saying that everything in BOTC is a unique design. The nature of game design itself means that there are bound to be double-ups. What I am saying is that I’ve done my absolute very best to make sure that every character in the game is as interesting, as bold, as original, as powerful, and as dazzlingly strategy-encouraging as possible. For example:

Savant: Each day, visit the Storyteller: you learn 1 true and 1 false piece of information.
Flowergirl: Each night, you learn if the Demon voted today.
Mayor: If there are 3 players alive and no execution occurs today, good wins.
Pixie: If you pretend (convincingly) to be the same character as another good player, you gain their ability when they die.
Marionette: You have no idea that you are evil, and are sitting next to the Demon.
Ravenkeeper: If you die at night, choose a player: you learn which character they are.

…and many more. I truly hope you get to experience the awesome power of these characters first hand.

The characters roles are designed to interact:

Each character role has not been designed so that the player acts in isolation. Some are, but not most. Most roles require that the player actively seek out other good players to co-ordinate with, otherwise their character ability may be wasted. What this means is that the game becomes not about “what can I do?”, but “what can WE do?”. The characters are designed specifically to encourage team building, trust, communication, co-ordination, and of course… devious ways for the evil team to artfully and invisibly disrupt that group-think and turn it to their nefarious ends.

For example, the Butler can only vote when their master votes… so the player will need to continually seek out trustworthy masters to serve. The Librarian may learn that 1 of 2 players is getting false information… so will need to talk with those players so that they can use this in their calculations. The Bone Collector can give a dead player their ability back once per game, so they will need to communicate with the entire group of the dead in order to choose the best player to use it on.

When good players intelligently co-ordinate the use of their abilities, evil is in serious trouble. When the evil players co-ordinate their bluffs and their powers, the good team can be led down the garden path and lose dramatically, singing the songs of their own success the entire time. The game is about teamwork and co-ordination, not just on the level of voting but on the level of information and individual character powers.

The game is split into editions, each tailored for a unique experience:

The three editions that the game arrives in (Trouble Brewing, Bad Moon Rising, and Sects & Violets) are more than just a collection of characters thrown together. They have been finely tuned over several years so that the characters interact in powerful, interesting, and thematically similar ways. The experience of playing each edition is significantly different, and the strategies vary extremely between them, for both good and evil players.

For example, in Trouble Brewing, the good team’s main goal is simply determining who is good and who is evil, and must make well timed sacrifices in order to gain information. In Sects & Violets, the good team’s main goal is to find out which Demon is in-play, so that they can make sense of their information fountain.

I’ll be going into each of the editions, and their differing design philosophies in a future Behind The Curtain.

It is not as accessible:

Unfortunately, BOTC is not as immediately accessible to new players as Werewolf is. In Werewolf (at least, when playing the more vanilla version), you can be totally new to the game, have the rules explained in under a minute, and be good to go. You can be in a pub, full of noise, and chaos, and players dropping in and out. Werewolf also crosses the language and age barrier better than BOTC since there is no text to translate and the rules are such that even entirely new groups can be engaged in minutes.

BOTC has a bit more of a learning curve for a player. I’ve probably run 1,000 to 1,500 games of BOTC so far, and what I’ve noticed is that it takes a new group of players about a 5 to 7 minute rules explanation, and about half a game to really get the hang of things. There can be a lot of information to sift, and a few misconceptions about established strategies in the genre before players ‘click’. It is usually not a misconception about the rules of the game… the basic rules are fairly simple. It is usually that a new player does not understand how their character works, or know that they are encouraged to talk and share information, or realise that death is actually a good thing.

New players usually have a question or two for the Storyteller on some aspect of strategy or generally “what they are supposed” to be doing, but that is usually sorted out sometime during the experience of actually playing for the first time. Nevertheless, Werewolf does seem to be the more immediately accessible game for players of all ages and abilities.

The Storyteller (moderator) role is creative:

This has been mostly covered in the review by Shut Up and Sit Down, but it bears repeating. The Storyteller role is creative, dynamic, and challenging. As the Storyteller, you’ll need to think on your feet, listen to what the players are saying, and even bluff to support the arguments of one team or another.

This could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your temperament and desires. If you are familiar with moderator roles that are mostly rote, where your involvement could (and should) be replaced with an app or removed entirely, the Storyteller role will be something new for you. The Storyteller role is supposed to feel like a cross between the Dungeon Master role in Dungeons and Dragons, and a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Your role as the Storyteller is to create a puzzle for the good team to solve, to give them all the clues they need to start their journey, and to help the evil team dismantle that logic. Your role as the Storyteller is to really think, plan, and craft an interesting drama for your players – not by “being dramatic”, but by gently nudging the information available to the players so that they create the thrill themselves

If you are up for the challenge of being the Storyteller… you are in for a treat. It is not a role for everyone though. If you would rather solve a puzzle than create one, or be in a story instead of facilitate one being formed, being a player is recommended instead.

Strategy & experience

(Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced strategies for BOTC was explored in Behind The Curtain #3 article.)

The biggest, noticeable difference between Werewolf and Blood On the Clocktower is the strategies involved when you are actually playing, and the different experience that this provides.

I can not speak for particular games for Werewolf that you have played, because everybody plays differently, and the huge amount of characters available online means that it would be foolish of me in the extreme to say what is and is not possible in your Werewolf games. Similarly, not all BOTC games are like heaven on a stick… some games fall flat. What I can say is what is typical, what has been the goal of the design so far, and what I’ve noticed from the players.

Players often relate their actual experience of playing BOTC as something really unique. They love the intense communication, the team-building, the intricacy of the information and the many ways that the evil players can deftly turn the tide from certain defeat to glorious victory… or vice versa. Things have been engineered for maximum climax, maximum player engagement, maximum dynamism and flow… like a great mystery novel where you suspect one character for several chapters, then another for the next, then just before the detective figures out who-done-it, YOU figure it out! And then you realize that you are wrong… but the real clues were there in front of you the whole time. It can be an incredibly thrilling experience.

In Werewolf, the strategies and the experience are based around who has voted for who, who has killed who, who is vocally supporting who and is rallying for who’s execution. It is a game about intuiting alignment from the social dynamics in the group, based on which player used which game mechanic, and how.

In BOTC, the strategies and experience is about a team of sleuths putting together a puzzle that is gradually revealing itself, but with a few of the pieces missing and a few of the pieces wrong. It is a game about hidden strategies and outrageous bluffs to bamboozle, confuse, and illuminate what picture the puzzle is forming (yes, I am using the analogy of the SU&SD review here… it is a good one).

Every social deduction game is doing something different. Some focus on body language and voting. Some focus on character powers. Some focus on selective exclusion. Some focus on information. I’ve tried to design a game that moves away from analysing body language, and instead places a heavy focus on information and the intricate interaction of character power

I hope this peek into the design ideas behind Blood On The Clocktower has helped you determine whether Blood On The Clocktower is the game for you and your group. And if it is, I hope that these Behind The Curtain articles will help you really get the most out of the game - whether you are a player looking for strategy and insight, or a Storyteller looking for ways to engineer more fun for your players.

- Steven