How much work goes into a successful social deduction game? If Blood on the Clocktower is anything to go by, a whole lot. Today we’re joined by Steven Medway, designer of this long-awaited game about the improper use of timekeeping apparatuses, to discuss unreliable identities, player elimination, and how chaos fosters memorable stories.

Listen here or download here. Timestamps after the jump.

TIMESTAMPS

00:40 — a quick overview of Blood on the Clocktower
2:59 — what sets Blood on the Clocktower apart from other social deduction games
6:36 — “drunk,” “poisoned,” and unreliable identities
9:13 — the necessity of the storyteller
22:12 — the game’s curated cast of characters
34:07 — memorable stories come from chaos
42:25 — the cutting room floor
45:29 — player elimination
50:51 — Blood on the Clocktower as a spectator sport
56:18 — the value of ambiguity
1:01:48 — what’s next for the Pandemonium Institute?

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