Oh no! You’re outnumbered and you don’t know what you’re doing!
First step, stop panicking. Many of the best Clocktower players prefer to be on the Evil team!
Yes, you’re outnumbered, but you have a lot of advantages as a member of the Evil team. First of all, you know for a fact who is on your team. The Good team does not have that luxury! Also, the demon receives three out-of-play roles (“bluffs”) that the Evil players can pretend to be. So you want to start by figuring out your job on the Evil team, but more on that in a bit.
Second step, talk to the Storyteller. It doesn’t make you look as suspicious as you might think. The Storyteller wants everyone to have fun, and stress isn’t much fun. So they’ll be happy to help you as much as they can within the confines of the game. Once you know what character you’re going to pretend to be, make sure you talk to the Storyteller so you know how that character works. Many first-time evil players go down by not having the right information for the role they’re claiming. For instance, if you are say you are the Investigator and that Will is a minion with no other info, your story will quickly fall apart. If, however, you say that you saw Will or Anna as the Poisoner, you now have complete information that makes your story more believable.
Another reason to talk to the Storyteller is so that they know what your bluffing and can back you up. The Storyteller’s job is to balance the game, and since there are fewer evil players, they will usually do their best to help reinforce the world that the Evil team is trying to create. So if you are executed and the Undertaker is poisoned or drunk, and the Storyteller knows you’ve been telling town you’re the Empath, they can show the Undertaker the Empath token and make your info seem legit.
Now, about those Evil jobs. If you are the demon, you are the captain of the Evil ship, deciding who to kill. If you’re a minion, you get the easy job of just sowing as much chaos as possible! You will likely want to see how your demon prefers to play, but if you get caught out in a lie and town executes you, at least it doesn’t end the game. There are two common strategies for playing as a minion.
1) Coordinate with your demon to plan your attack. If you are the Poisoner, you can select the Ravenkeeper the same night the Imp kills them. Then they may learn that the widely-trusted Empath is the Spy instead. This type of joint attack is especially useful for getting rid of pesky Soldiers and Mayors.
2) Don’t coordinate with your demon at all. Go rogue! Cozy up to Good players and then get caught in blatant lies. People will see that the Fortune Teller was talking to you all day and not believe their story either, assuming you both to be Evil.
One of the most stressful things for a new player is being the demon. If you are not playing with all new players, odds are good you will have a more experienced player as a minion who can help you strategize. Remember to talk to the Storyteller as well. And the Imp comes with a couple escape hatches. Find out if you have a Scarlet Woman; they will become the demon if you get killed early in the game, so you can feel less stressed. And it’s important to note that the Imp can always kill themself at night (as long as there is a living minion) and then a minion becomes the new demon! This is commonly referred to as a “star pass” and is almost never used by new players, but it’s part of the character ability for precisely this reason! You can do it early if you’re not up to the pressure of selecting kills, but you might be able to build some trust for a couple days, then when you die at night your story holds more water.
Lastly, you can always turn to the Blood on the Clocktower Wiki (though it’s hard to read with your eyes closed during the night phase). But most of all, have fun! It’s only a game, and sometimes the most ridiculous and silly plays make for the best stories you’ll share with your friends months or years later!
