Imposter is a social deduction word game for a group. Everyone receives the same secret word except one player, the imposter, who receives only a hint. Going round the group, each player says one word that shows they know the secret word. The crew tries to spot the player whose clues don’t fit, and the imposter tries to blend in and work out the word from what everyone else says. This guide covers how to play the imposter game step by step, the rules for votes and ties, the common variants, a sample round and how many imposters to use for your group.
Watch: how to play Imposter
How to Play Imposter: Party Word Game Rules Explained
Chapters
Overview
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Players | 3 to 12 on this site; best with 4 to 8 |
| Typical time | 5 to 10 minutes per round |
| Ages | Anyone who can read the card and think of a clue |
| Equipment | One phone or tablet passed round the group, or slips of paper |
| Other names | Word Imposter, Who Is the Liar |
Setup
Sit in a circle so everyone can hear each other. Choose the number of imposters, the word categories, the hint the imposter gets and how voting works. On this site you enter the names in seating order, and each player gets a color and a seat number that stay with them for the whole session.
Objective
- The crew wants to vote out an imposter and then see that imposter fail to name the secret word.
- The imposter wants to survive the vote, or, if caught, to guess the secret word.
How a round works
1. Secret cards
The phone goes round in seat order. When the pass screen shows your name, take the phone, tap Show my card and read it while everyone else looks away. A crew card shows the secret word and its category, for example lighthouse in Places. The imposter’s card says You are the imposter and, with the default hint, shows the category only. Tap Hide and pass and hand the phone to the next player. Nothing secret is on screen before you tap or after you hide the card.
2. Clues
Put the phone in the middle. The game picks a random player to start; after that, clues go round in seat order. On your turn, say one word out loud that is connected to the secret word, then tap Next. You may not say the secret word, spell it or use an obvious part of it. You can play 1, 2 or 3 rounds of clues; two rounds give the crew more to compare and give the imposter more to learn from.
3. Discussion
Everyone talks it over. Which clue didn’t fit? Who hesitated, or copied an earlier idea? The optional timer can be paused or extended by 30 seconds. Tap Start the vote when the group is ready.
4. The vote
- Together: the group agrees on one person, taps their name and confirms.
- Secret: the phone goes round again. Each player votes alone for anyone except themselves. The person with the most votes is caught. A tie leads to one revote between the tied players. If the revote is tied too, nobody is caught.
5. The last chance
If the vote catches an imposter, they get one last chance to name the secret word. On this site they pick it from 8 words in the same category: the secret word plus 7 others. A right guess steals the win; a wrong guess hands the win to the crew. If the vote catches a member of the crew, the round ends at once and the imposters win.
A sample round
Five friends play with one imposter, two rounds of clues and the vote taken together. The secret word is pancake, in the Food category. Ana, Ben, Cara and Eli read pancake on their cards. Dev reads You are the imposter and the category, Food.
The game picks Ben to give the first clue, so the order is Ben, Cara, Dev, Eli, Ana.
- Round one: Ben says “stack”, Cara says “flip”, Dev says “breakfast”, Eli says “batter” and Ana says “syrup”.
- Round two: Ben says “fluffy”, Cara says “griddle”, Dev says “warm”, Eli says “round” and Ana says “lemon”.
In the discussion Cara asks Ana about “lemon”; Ana says she has it with sugar, and Ben and Eli nod. Then Eli points out that Dev’s two clues are true of almost any hot meal, while everyone else gave something you could only say about one food. Dev argues that “warm” was a fair second clue, but the group agrees on Dev and confirms the vote.
Dev is an imposter, so he gets the last chance and sees 8 food words. He heard “stack”, “flip” and “batter” but thought of a layer cake, picks cake and misses. The crew wins, and Ana, Ben, Cara and Eli each score 1 point. Had Dev picked pancake, he would have stolen the win and 2 points.
Winning and scoring
At the end of the round the game reveals the secret word, every imposter and, in secret voting, how many votes each player received.
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Crew catches an imposter who then guesses wrong | 1 point to every crew member |
| Imposter caught but guesses the word | 2 points to every imposter |
| Vote catches a crew member, or ends in a tie | 2 points to every imposter |
Points add up for the whole session. Rematch deals a new word and new imposters, and the first clue moves to the next player. Words used in your last 50 rounds on the same device are not dealt again while the chosen categories still have others.
Variants
Similar word
The imposter receives a word close to the real one, such as tiger when the crew has lion, and is not told they are the imposter. Every card looks the same, so the imposter gives honest clues about the wrong word and may only realize late in the round. This variant is great for groups who find the standard game too easy to bluff.
No hint
The imposter learns nothing at all, not even the category. Their first clue is a real gamble, especially if they are first in the clue order, so this suits experienced players.
More imposters
With 6 or more players you can choose 2 imposters, and with 9 or more up to 3. Imposters don’t know who the others are. Catching one imposter who then misses the word is enough for the crew to win, but if that imposter guesses right, every imposter scores.
Secret voting
Secret votes stop the loudest player from steering the group. Each person votes alone; the result shows the totals at the end. It takes a little longer, so many groups use it for the last round of the evening.
How many imposters to use
| Players | Imposters | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 | 1 | Every clue matters; two imposters would be too many to catch. |
| 6 to 8 | 1 or 2 | One imposter for a tense hunt, two for more confusion. |
| 9 to 12 | 2 or 3 | Big groups need more imposters to keep the crew busy. |
Keep the number of imposters below half the group. With half or more, the imposters could win every vote just by agreeing with each other.
Sample words by category
The game deals from 10 categories of everyday words. A few examples from each:
- Food: pancake, watermelon, popcorn, broccoli, honey, sandwich
- Animals: giraffe, penguin, octopus, kangaroo, hedgehog, owl
- Places: lighthouse, library, airport, castle, aquarium, bakery
- Jobs: firefighter, astronaut, chef, detective, lifeguard, pilot
- Sports: archery, surfing, karate, volleyball, rowing, high jump
- Around the house: toaster, umbrella, pillow, doorbell, bathtub, kettle
- Nature: volcano, glacier, rainbow, waterfall, cactus, canyon
- School: backpack, calculator, microscope, spelling bee, field trip, recess
- Celebrations: piñata, fireworks, confetti, magic show, sleepover, trophy
- Transport: hot air balloon, submarine, cable car, snowmobile, ambulance, gondola
Playing with paper instead? Write the secret word on every slip but one, write Imposter and the category on the last slip, fold them and shuffle.
Quick rules summary
- Everyone reads a secret card in turn; all but the imposters see the same word.
- Each player says one word about the secret word, for one to three rounds.
- The group talks, then votes for one player.
- A caught imposter picks the word from 8 options: right steals the win, wrong loses it.
- Catching a crew member, or a tied secret vote, is a win for the imposters.
Common mistakes and rule disputes
- Saying the word. A clue that is the secret word, its spelling or a rhyme that gives it away is not allowed. Ask the player for a different clue before moving on.
- Clues that are too obvious. “Yellow” for banana helps the imposter more than the crew. Good clues are true but not the first thing everyone thinks of.
- Voting on one weak clue. Anyone can blank once. Look for a pattern across both rounds.
- Peeking. On one phone, the pass screen and the hidden card do the work; just look away while someone else reads.
Play it now
Open Imposter to play a round with 3 to 12 people on one phone. To get better at giving clues and bluffing, read the imposter strategy tutorial. For more games to play as a group, browse our party games and family games.