Dread takes the stage: Smosh launches WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

Welcome to Dread, a tabletop role-playing game involving just one thing: a Jenga tower.

The rules are easy to follow: players must pull blocks from the tower when attempting challenging or risky actions. If the tower stays standing, the player survives and continues. If it falls…the player dies. That’s it.

Each game is led by a Games Master (GM), and in this case, it’s always the brilliant George Primavera, whose storytelling and ability to multi-role NPCs under pressure is masterful. The GM decides how risky an action is and how many blocks a player must pull. Players can choose to fail instead of pulling (with in-game consequences) or even sacrifice themselves by intentionally pushing the tower over to advance the story and help their fellow players.

You may have seen Smosh Games play Dread before in past themed specials: Smosh vs. Zombies, Smosh vs. Aliens, Smosh vs. Christmas, and The Smosh and the Furious. Now a new series has launched: WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

With my seasonal pass, I was able to watch The Audience, the pilot episode, and it exceeded all of my expectations

Premiering live on 7 June  2025, at the Dynasty Typewriter at the Hayworth Theatre in LA, this pilot episode offered fans a taste of what’s to come in the official anthology series. For us across the pond, it aired at a completely ridiculous hour GMT, so I was grateful for the replay. With my seasonal pass, I was able to watch The Audience, the pilot episode, and it exceeded all of my expectations.

The story’s premise was simple: a pair of influencers and their manager book an evening in the supposedly haunted mansion of author Molly P Jackerby to film some spooky content. This bed and breakfast, run by her last remaining descendant, delivers on its reputation.

Before the chaos began, George introduced the rules and welcomed special guest NPC Nick Williams to the stage, who briefly greeted the crowd with a bow.

Then came the players:

Angela Giarratana as Prudence Wall – a snappy, experienced talent manager who just wants to get the content and leave.

Spencer Agnew as Bryan Reader – an ageing debunker influencer, emotionally checked out and full of mystery.

Mariah Rose Faith as Evangeline Walker – a young, unpredictable BookToker who claims to be a fan of Molly Jackerby, though is clearly in it for the content.

Jon Matteson as Jacky Jackerby – the jittery B&B host with way too much caffeine in his system.

And so, the game began. As the group explored the estate, they came across many strange happenings. Enter Nick Williams, this time fully immersed as a delirious groundskeeper with ominous warnings.

Pulls were made from the tower, and the tension was immediate. I truly thought one player might send the tower tumbling on their first try, and judging by the look on George’s face, I wasn’t the only one. But miraculously, the stack survived.

Every time that stack wobbled, my heart skipped a beat

More exploration led to more risky actions, and the players handled it with a mix of focused concentration and shaky hands. Every time that stack wobbled, my heart skipped a beat. I’m pretty sure George’s stopped altogether.

And then, it happened. The inevitable collapse. One player gone.

The tower was rebuilt and quickly became a precarious skeleton. Another pull, another fall. Another player dead. It wasn’t long before there was just one player left standing.

In a twist I did not see coming, towards the end, George turned to the audience and said, “Who’s feeling like their hand is steady?” An audience member was chosen and asked to make three pulls in one minute to decide the remaining player’s fate. George masterfully wove them into the narrative as a last-hope saviour. Did they succeed? Well, you’ll have to see for yourself.

WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!: The Audience was an absolute triumph of live-action RPG storytelling and collective dread (excuse the pun). George’s skill as GM and the suspense of every single pull made this a must-watch for fans of improv and games that get your heart pounding. Episodes of WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!! release roughly every month, starting on 29 July through to 12 December exclusively at live.smosh.com. You can buy a seasonal pass to watch The Audience, as well as the rest of the anthology as it is released. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.