Trust nobody: our Blood on the Clocktower night under the glass roof at Malt Cross

Affinity members headed into Nottingham for a night of quiet scheming and very loud accusations, as Blood on the Clocktower returned to Malt Cross on St James's Street. A full table, name badges on, drinks in, and within about ten minutes nobody trusted a soul.

If you have not played it before, Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game, the grown-up relative of Werewolf and Mafia. A Storyteller runs the night while everyone else is handed a secret role. Some of you are good, some of you are quietly working for the demon sitting two seats along, and the whole thing plays out through conversation, careful questions and the occasional bare-faced lie.

The cast list includes poisoners, fortune tellers, washerwomen and a demon with a very straight face. Michelle, Claire and Nilesh were all in the thick of it, along with a good mix of familiar faces and a few new ones who had come along on their own.

That is the thing about this game. It gives everyone a reason to talk. You cannot sit quietly at the edge of a Clocktower table, because sooner or later somebody is going to point at you and ask exactly where you were on night one. The quiet ones find their voice, the confident ones talk themselves straight into trouble, and every round throws up a new suspect and a fresh round of good natured finger pointing.

There were a couple of beautifully misplaced accusations, at least one person who was very obviously lying and got away with it anyway, and a good deal of laughing at how badly we had all read the room.

Malt Cross is a lovely spot for it too. A Grade II listed Victorian music hall with the glass roof above you and a proper long wooden table to spread out on, it has just the right amount of atmosphere for an evening of polite betrayal.

Thank you to Adam for hosting so brilliantly and keeping a table of suspicious minds in order all night, and to everyone who came along and threw themselves into it.

Meeting new people, sharing great moments and creating memories is what these evenings are all about, and Thursday had all three, one accusation at a time.

We are back at Malt Cross on Wednesday 14th October for Board Games Night, so if you fancy a table, a drink and some friendly competition, come and join us.

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