Impostor Game rules

The secret word

The group picks one category. The game chooses a word from that list and skips words already used in this sitting. When every word has been used, the list starts over.

Every regular player sees that same word. Impostors do not. Impostors are not told who the other impostors are.

Roles

There is always at least one impostor and at least one player who knows the word. The impostor count cannot include every player.

Roles are shuffled at the start of each round. Play again deals a new word and new roles for the same names, category, and settings.

Who starts

The first speaker is chosen at random from the players who know the word. That name is shown to everyone when the talking starts. The starting player is not an impostor.

Discussion and timer

Talk in clues. Do not say the word. The impostor’s aim is to avoid standing out and to learn the word from other people. There is no separate button for guessing the word. The only scored decision is the vote.

With the timer on, the clock runs from the moment discussion starts. You can pause and resume it. Opening the vote pauses it. At zero, a sound plays and the vote screen opens. With the timer off, vote when you want.

The vote

The group chooses one player. If that player is an impostor, the players win. If that player knew the word, the impostors win.

If there are two or three impostors, voting for any one of them is a win for the players. The result then shows every impostor’s name. After that you can play again, change category, or reset the players.

• Players win: the voted person was an impostor.
• Impostors win: the voted person knew the word.
• One vote for the whole group. Players do not cast secret ballots one by one.