How to play Impostor

What you need

Impostor is built for a group in the same room or on a call, each on their own phone or laptop. You need:

• 3 to 12 players. One of them creates the room and becomes the host.
• A browser each. Any modern phone, tablet, or computer works — nothing to install.
• A couple of minutes. A single round takes only a few minutes, so most groups play several in a row.

Setting up a game

One player creates a room and shares it two ways: read the six-character room code aloud, or let people scan the QR code. Everyone else opens the join screen, types a name, and they are in — no signup, no download.

Before starting, the host can tweak a few settings, including adding a custom word list. Bring your own words to theme the game around your friend group, your class, a party, or a running inside joke. If you skip that, the built-in word bank handles it.

The two roles

When the round begins, every player taps a sealed card to reveal their role privately — so a neighbour glancing over cannot see it.

Role	What you see	Your goal
Crew (everyone but one)	The same secret word	Give clues that prove you know the word, then find and vote out the impostor
Impostor (one player)	Only that you are the impostor — no word	Bluff a clue that fits in, work out the word, and survive the vote

That single asymmetry — one person in the dark, everyone else in the know — is the whole game.

Giving a good clue (with an example)

On your turn you say one word only. A clue has two jobs: prove to the crew that you know the word, and not hand the answer to the impostor.

Say the secret word is Beach.

• "Towel" — a strong crew clue. Clearly related, but it could point to a pool or a gym too, so it does not spell it out.
• "Sand" — too obvious. It basically announces the word and gifts it to the impostor.
• "Ocean" — fine, but generic enough that a clever impostor could have bluffed it.
• The impostor, with no word, hears "towel" and "ocean" and might risk "vacation" — vague enough to pass, related enough to survive.

The best crew clues live in that narrow band: specific enough to be believable, loose enough to keep the impostor guessing.

Discussion and the vote

Once everyone has given a clue, the table talks it out. This is where the game is won or lost. Whose word was suspiciously broad? Who hesitated? Who echoed someone else instead of adding something new? Read the room.

Then everyone votes at the same time for the player they suspect. The player with the most votes is revealed.

How to win

As the crew, you win by voting out the impostor. Pitch your clues in that believable-but-not-obvious band, and in discussion push on the vaguest word — the impostor almost always plays it safe.

As the impostor, you win by surviving the vote. Listen hard to the early clues to triangulate the word, give something plausible, and never be the most generic answer at the table. If you can, quietly cast suspicion on someone else.

Tips for a great game

• Vary your clue strength. If the crew is always razor-specific, the impostor stands out for being vague. Mixing it up gives the faker nowhere to hide.
• Watch the order. Going last is easier for the impostor — they have heard the most. Going first is a tell if the clue is too safe.
• Play a few rounds. Roles shuffle each round, so keep a scoreboard and let everyone take a turn being the impostor.

Ready to try it? Create a room and share the code — the first round is always the loudest. New to the genre or know it by another name? See how Impostor plays as a Chameleon-style game, Spyfall online, or the classic Undercover word game.