How to play Imposter, the party word game

Imposter is a word game of bluffing and deduction. Everyone in the group gets the same secret word, except one player: the imposter, who only knows the category. Then everyone gives a clue, and the group has to work out who's faking it before the imposter works out the word.

A game takes a few minutes, it needs three or more people, and it's one of the best games we know for a group that's only just met.

The rules

1. Deal the words. Each player sees the secret word in private. The imposter sees only the category, for example "Animals".
2. Give clues. Going round, each player gives one word related to the secret. With three or four players, everyone gives two clues; with five or more, one each.
3. Vote. Everyone picks the player they think is the imposter.
4. The last chance. If the group catches the imposter, they get one guess at the word, picked from six. Guess right and they still win.

A game ends one of three ways:

• Caught: the imposter gets the most votes and then guesses wrong. The group wins.
• Stolen: the imposter is caught but guesses the word. The imposter wins.
• Got away: the votes land on someone who knew the word, or end in a tie. The imposter wins.

On one phone

The phone goes round. Each player taps to see the word, then hides it before passing the phone on, so nobody sees anyone else's word. Clues are said out loud, and when the talking's done, the group taps who it's voting for and the imposter makes their last guess on the phone.

On one phone you choose the category (or let the game surprise you) from twelve: Animals, Food, Places in town, Jobs, Sports, At home, Weather and nature, Getting around, Music, Fantasy, School day and Celebrations. You can also pick a dare pack for the loser: a caught imposter takes the dare, or whoever the group wrongly voted out. A successful steal costs nobody anything.

Online, a phone each

In an online room everyone plays on their own phone, which also works over a video call. The imposter's phone is never sent the word at all, so there's nothing to peek at. The category is a surprise every game.

• Clues are typed, with 45 seconds each. A clue that gives the word away, like the word itself or a word that contains it, is turned back with the reason, and you try again.
• The vote opens as soon as the last clue is in. You have 60 seconds, you can change your vote until everyone has voted, and you can argue it out in the room's chat or on the call while you do.
• A caught imposter gets 30 seconds to pick the word from six.

Play Imposter online: start a room with the game ready to go, and send the link.

How to give a good clue

The whole game lives in the clues. A good one proves you know the word without handing it to the imposter.

• Too obvious: the word is "penguin" and the clue is "Antarctica". Now the imposter knows too.
• Too vague: "animal". That's what the imposter would say.
• Just right: "tuxedo". If you know the word, it clicks. If you don't, it could be a dozen things.

Pick a detail rather than a definition, and build on earlier clues instead of repeating them: after "tuxedo", go somewhere new ("waddle").

How to bluff as the imposter

Being the imposter is the best part. You start with only the category, and your job is to blend in long enough to work out the word.

• Listen first. If you're not the first to give a clue, every clue before yours narrows it down.
• Go general, but not too general. For "Food", something like "crunchy" or "breakfast" fits a lot of words without sounding lost.
• Say it like you mean it. A clue said with confidence sounds like knowledge; one said with a question mark sounds like an imposter.
• If you're caught, don't panic. Think back over every clue: the word is usually the one thing they all have in common.

Playing several games

The imposter is picked at random for each game, so the same person can be the imposter twice in a row, and someone may wait a while for their turn. That's part of the fun: nobody can be sure it isn't them again. If your group wants everyone to have a go, keep playing until they have.