Blood on the Clock Tower is a rather complicated social deduction game that has somewhat taken the world of genre fandom and geeky gaming by storm. It’s similar in premise to games such as Mafia, Coup, Werewolf, or The Traitor. They are two teams, one evil, one good, and the players have to figure out which side everyone is on in order to win.
Blood on the Clock Tower Live! takes this game and puts it on the stage. The rules are simplified, but the short version is that a band of comedians have to work together in order to figure out who the bad guys are. Each player has a special ability that may make this easier to do, but as it’s a bluffing game, this isn’t guaranteed. Players can lie about their abilities, or they might simply lie because it’s funny; this is a comedy show, after all.
Our purple-suited host is the charming Jon Gracey, who is our Dungeon Master of sorts – he makes sure that the players know what they’re doing, that the audience participation is fun for the audience and so on. He’s also a quick and clever comedian in his own right and adds a charming and mischievous presence to the whole affair.
This is an unpredictable show, and Gracey keeps the ship on an even keel throughout, which is no small skill.
We went to see the show a few times to get a good feel for it, as it has a mix of guests that can radically change the vibe of a show, and we were delighted to discover that Gracey is frankly brilliant at choosing guests. (And yes, this means that if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see a super-star comedian in the mix, but really, it’s just the luck of the drawer depending on when you go see the show, and Gracey is so good at balancing the show that it does not matter too much.) One of the shows we saw featured world-class gameshow host Sam Reich, and Gracey rose to the occasion by being just as clever and as much fun.
Blood on the Clock Tower Live! is a fun show that’s well worth seeking out as it tours and does the rounds at local games, conventions, and the like. Geeky Fun. Fabulous, treacherous stuff.
Find out more about Blood On The Clocktower Live! here.
