“Who is the Imposter” is a social deduction game where most players receive a secret word or role, and one person is the “Imposter” who must bluff and blend in without this key information. The goal for the non-imposters is to identify the fake player, while the imposter tries to remain undetected.
- General Information
- Genre: Social deduction, bluffing, and mystery.
- Players: Typically for 3 or more players (some versions support up to 16).
- Objective:
- For the “Innocents” (or crewmates/genuine guests) is to identify and vote out the imposter.
- For the “Imposter” is to blend in, avoid detection, and achieve their win condition (which varies by game version).
- Basic Rules (Common Word Game Variation)
- This version is popular in apps and can be played with just paper and pen.
- Setup:
- One player is chosen to be the “Maker” or “Host” for the round.
- The Maker selects a secret word (e.g., “Apple”) and a category (e.g., “Fruit”).
- The Maker writes the secret word on small slips of paper for all players except one. On the last slip, they write “IMPOSTER”.
- The slips are folded, shuffled, and distributed randomly, face-down, to each player.
- Players secretly look at their slip.
- Gameplay (Giving Clues):
- Players take turns, in a circle, saying one single word clue related to the secret word.
- The Innocents try to give clues that are specific enough for other Innocents to understand, but vague enough that the Imposter cannot easily guess the secret word.
- The Imposter must quickly invent a plausible-sounding clue based on the category and previous clues, trying to “fake it” and blend in.
- Discussion and Voting:
- After each player has given a clue (or a few rounds of clues), the group discusses who they think the imposter is.
- Players can ask questions about others’ clues and challenge their reasoning.
- A majority vote is taken to accuse one person.
- Resolution and Scoring:
- The accused player reveals their identity.
- If the group was right and voted out the Imposter, the Innocents’ team scores a point.
- If the group was wrong and voted out an Innocent, the Imposter scores a point. The Imposter then gets one chance to guess the secret word; if they guess correctly, they get a bonus point.
