Blood on the Clocktower at Joto's Eindhoven
Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game for 5 to 20 players, set in the cursed village of Ravenswood Bluff. One player acts as the Storyteller, a kind of game master who runs the night phases and keeps everything moving. Everyone else is secretly assigned a role: either a good villager trying to root out an evil demon, or a member of the evil team protecting this hidden demon.
During the day, players talk, share clues, argue, and vote to execute someone they think is evil. At night, everyone closes their eyes, and the demon quietly claims another victim. The good team wins by figuring out who the demon is and executing them. The evil team wins by staying hidden long enough to whittle down the village.
Simple enough on paper. Chaotic in the best possible way in real life.
What Makes It Different from Werewolf?
If you've played Werewolf or Mafia before, you'll find Blood on the Clocktower familiar in some ways but quite different in others. Both games have unique character abilities, so that's not what sets it apart. The real differences are deeper than that.
For starters, there is no player elimination. When you die in Blood on the Clocktower, you stay at the table, keep listening, and can still cast one final vote. The game keeps everyone involved and engaged from start to finish.
Another big difference is that you can have private conversations during the day. Players can pull each other aside, share information quietly, and build alliances away from the group. This turns the game into as much of a puzzle as a social deduction game. You are not just reading faces and making gut calls. You are piecing together clues, cross-referencing information, and figuring out who is lying and why.
Then there is the Storyteller. In Werewolf, the host simply narrates what happens. In Blood on the Clocktower, the Storyteller actively shapes the game to keep it balanced, exciting, and fun all the way to the end. They make judgment calls to ensure neither side runs away with it too easily. That human touch makes every session feel like a crafted experience rather than a mechanical one.
Does It Sound Complicated? It's Really Not.
The first time you hear the rules, it can feel like a lot. But within about ten minutes of playing, everything clicks. The Storyteller walks everyone through it at the start, and you pick up the rest as you go. We've had complete newcomers walk in with no idea what Blood on the Clocktower was and leave wanting to play again immediately.
The sweet spot for the game is somewhere around 10 to 15 players, which is exactly why it works so well as an event. It's genuinely better with a big group, and that's not something you can easily pull off in your living room.
Come Play With Us
We run Blood on the Clocktower events at Joto's at least once a month, and spots fill up fast. Our WhatsApp community is also a great way to stay in the loop. Members organise extra sessions all the time, so there are often more games happening than what's officially on the calendar.
Check out our events page to see what's coming up, or join the WhatsApp community to get notified when the next game is being planned.
If you've never been to Joto's before, we're tucked inside the creative hub of Strijp-S in Eindhoven. Entry is just €4 per person for the full day, and our game library has hundreds of titles beyond Blood on the Clocktower. Come for the game, stay for the atmosphere. Book a table here or just show up on event night and dive straight in.
