Bracknell and Maidenhead Board Gaming

AAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!

Halloween Special gaming meetups have returned from the dead!! 🧟‍♀️

To quote our old motto for these events…
“The prize for victory today will be survival; the price of defeat will be your very souls... muwahahaahaaahaaaah…”

Our main focus this time will be 2 or 3 rounds of Blood on the Clocktower, an epic social deduction game, similar in many ways to Werewolf/Mafia (and a bit like the BBC’s “The Traitors”) but with more player interaction and no player elimination. See further down in this event description for more thematic info.

While it can be played with up to 20 players, it’s generally considered best with around 8-12, especially when there are beginners involved - so I’ll cap each game at 12 participants (+1 Storyteller). If we have more than 13 attendees, we’ll figure out a way to make sure that everyone who wants to try it gets to participate in at least one game - and I’ll give some consideration to those who sign up earliest as being the most enthusiastic, and therefore more likely to get a spot in multiple games.

Other Halloweeny games will also be available for anyone who isn’t interested in, or won’t fit into the scheduled games of Blood on the Clocktower… however let’s all leave those jolly, friendly party games at home this time, and only bring the spookiest, most ghoulish of games… 👻

(Examples from my own collection that I might bring include: Blood Bound, Coach Ride to Devil's Castle, Don't Mess With Cthulhu, Mysterium, Nosferatu, Obscurio, One Night Ultimate Werewolf/Vampire/Alien, Paranormal Detectives, Salem 1692, Shadow Hunters, and more…)

Everyone is of course welcome to bring their own games.

Oh yes, here’s an important point…
Coming in Halloween fancy dress is highly encouraged!
(but not compulsory).

And one more thing - I’ve set a later end time on this occasion, in case people are interested in playing a bit further into the dark and haunted hours (although of course everyone is free to leave when they wish - RSVPs do not necessarily constitute a blood-oath or demonic contract 😈)…

However, Blood on the Clocktower can be a long game (2+ hours is typical for a 12-player game), and unless we start adding more complex roles, won’t work well with players joining/leaving in the middle. So even more than usual, please try to be punctual, and keep us informed of your expected arrival/departure times in the comments.

Description of Blood on the Clocktower from the official website (https://bloodontheclocktower.com):
During a hellish thunderstorm, a scream echoes through the sleepy town of Ravenswood Bluff. The townsfolk rush to investigate and find the beloved local storyteller has been murdered, their body hanging limp from the clocktower. As blood drips onto the cobblestones below, a realisation slowly dawns… a demon has been unleashed, killing by night and taking on human form by day.

Can good find the demon in time? Or will evil overrun this once peaceful town?

Blood on the Clocktower is a game of murder and mystery, lies and logic, deduction and deception for five-to-twenty courageous players and one devious storyteller.

A social game played in person, seated in a circle, each player receives either a ‘good’ or ‘evil’ token with their unique character on it. Good players share information to solve the mystery whilst evil players lie about who they are and what they know. The good team wins if they can piece together their knowledge, trust each other, and execute the demon. The evil team wins if the demon can sow distrust, evade detection, and wipe out the village.

We're back in the Easthampstead Works building off Bracknell town centre as part of our new calendar of events in Bracknell and in our new gaming space lovingly prepared by Alex.

Princess Square car park offers an evening rate of £1.60 after 6pm and The Avenue car park offers an evening rate of £2.20. There is a small free car park in Bay Road which is a bit further away (about a 10 minute walk) but spaces are limited.

This is a private space so there isn't food or drink to buy on site, feel free to bring anything you'd like to eat or drink, usual rules apply: treat the space with the same respect you would your own and leave no mess behind!

As it's an evening event I recommend sticking to games which are 2 hours max, but there will be a mix of different light and medium games to choose from!

The planned start time is 6:30pm, but feel free to join later if that’s too early - please just let us know your expected arrival times in the comments.

There’s no fixed agenda for these sessions - ideally we’ll try to accommodate a mixture of:
- “Light” simple/party games with easy rules that anyone can join in;
- “Medium” games that require a bit more thought or tactics;
- “Heavy” games for the strategy game enthusiasts who enjoy a mental challenge.

If there’s something you’re particularly keen to play (especially in the medium/heavy categories), please let everyone know in the comments. And if you’d like to play a “heavy” game that’s likely to take more than 2 hours or so, I highly recommend arranging it with all players in advance, either in the comments here, or through the meetup message function.

The RSVP limit is currently set to 12, but this can be extended if enough people are able to bring and lead games.

The Bear is a Wetherspoons pub, so food is available, and both food and drinks are cheap. Everyone is welcome to eat/drink before or during the games session, but please take care and do your best to keep cards/other game components clean and dry.

We're back in Bracknell for the first Sunday of the month!

To reach room 404, take the lift to the 4th floor, turn right as you exit the lift, go straight through the conference area, and room 404 will be on your right.

Drinks and food: bring whatever you like, including takeaways. There is a small kitchenette on the floor for our use. Please treat the space and people's games with respect: throw away your rubbish, be careful of spills, and handle games with clean hands.

Parking: Bay Road has a small but free car park a few minutes walk away. Any other car parks serving the town centre are a short walk from the Easthampstead Works.

Public transport: the closest train station is Bracknell. If you stop at Bracknell bus or train station, walk towards the town centre, and then past Fenwicks. The Easthampstead Works will be the building directly in front of you.