How to play the imposter game
The imposter game is a word game of bluffing and deduction for 3 to 20 players. Everyone shares a secret word except the imposter, who has to fake it. Here are the complete rules as they work in this game.
What you need
- 3 or more players (up to 20)
- One phone, tablet or laptop to pass around
- About 5 to 10 minutes per round
Setup
- Add every player's name.
- Choose your word packs. Mixing packs makes the category harder to guess.
- Choose the number of imposters. The crew must always outnumber the imposters, so the maximum is 1 for 3–4 players, 2 for 5–6, 3 for 7–8, and so on. Turn on Random imposter count to keep everyone guessing.
- Choose the imposter hint: a hint word, the category only, or nothing.
- Set the number of rounds and the discussion timer.
The reveal
Pass the phone to each player in turn. They press and hold the card to see their secret word and let go to hide it. The imposter sees “You're the imposter”, plus a hint if hints are on. Nobody says anything out loud.
Clues and discussion
The game shows a speaking order. An imposter is never first, because going first with no information is unfair. Each player says one word or a short phrase connected to the secret word. Then the whole group discusses: whose clue was suspiciously vague? Who seemed to be copying everyone else?
Voting
Agree as a group and vote out one player.
- You voted out an innocent player: the imposters win the round.
- You voted out an imposter and others are still hiding: keep discussing and vote again.
- You voted out the last imposter: the crew wins the round.
Last-chance guess (optional)
With this rule on, a caught imposter gets one guess at the secret word. Guess it right and the imposters steal the win. This forces the crew to be careful: clues that are too obvious give the word away.
Undercover mode
Instead of a blank card, the imposter gets a word that is close to the real one, like Tea instead of Coffee. Their card looks exactly like everyone else's, so they don't know they are the imposter. Listen for clues that fit the category but are slightly off.
Scoring
- Crew wins: every crew member gets 1 point.
- Imposters win: each imposter gets 2 points.
- Imposters steal the win with a last-chance guess: each imposter gets 3 points.
The player with the most points after the final round wins the game.
Tips for the crew
- Be specific enough to prove you know the word, but not so specific that you hand it to the imposter.
- Watch players who go late. They've heard every clue and can build a convincing one.
- Vague clues like “nice” or “normal” are a red flag.
Tips for the imposter
- Use your hint, but don't repeat it word for word.
- Listen to the first clues and pick a broad word that fits all of them.
- Accuse someone else confidently. Hesitation gets people voted out.