Bluff
Imposter
Everyone gets the same secret word except one player, the imposter, who is only told that they do not know the word. Each person says a single word linked to the secret, the group debates for ninety seconds, then votes someone out. The civilians win by eliminating every imposter; the imposter wins by surviving until they match the civilians, or by finding the word on their last chance.
The best bluffing game that fits in a single phone. Nothing to set up, nothing to deal, and the first game explains itself in thirty seconds.
How to play, step by step
- Settings, before you start: three to ten players, a category among Animals, Food, Jobs and Places, the number of imposters, and the time per clue (twenty, thirty or forty-five seconds).
- Pass the phone round: each player flips their card privately, memorises it, then hands it on. Everyone sees the same secret word; the imposter reads "You do not know the word. Listen to the clues and play along."
- Clue round: in a randomly drawn order, each player says a single word linked to the secret. Not the word itself, and not a clue already given.
- Debate, ninety seconds. Who hesitated, who stayed vague.
- Vote: on the signal, everyone points. The most accused player is eliminated and the screen reveals their role.
- If they were a civilian, a new clue round starts with the survivors. The imposters win as soon as they equal the number of civilians left.
- When the last imposter falls, they get a last chance: find the word in a grid of nine proposals, one attempt only. If they get it, they steal the game.
Variants
- Several imposters. The app allows up to half the table, rounded down: two from five players, three from seven. They do not know each other, which doubles the paranoia.
- Near word. The imposter gets a neighbouring word instead of nothing, "cat" against "tiger", and never learns they are the imposter. The setting is on by default up to four players, where they would have nowhere to hide.
- Forced clue. House rule: each player must reuse a syllable from the previous clue. Expert level, brutal.
Playing tips
- As an informed player, aim for second-degree association: not "meow" for "cat" but "sofa".
- As the imposter, speak early rather than late. Waiting feels safe and is the most suspicious thing you can do.
- The simultaneous vote matters. A sequential show of hands turns into herd behaviour.
Frequently asked questions
Three minimum, ten maximum: the app refuses more. It hits its stride from six players up.
Yes by default: their card tells them, and asks them to play along. The "near word" setting hands them a neighbouring word without revealing their role, and it is on by default up to four players.
As many as it takes. One clue round, one debate, one vote: if the group picks wrong, a new round starts with the survivors, until the imposters fall or take over.
No. It all runs on one phone, offline.
Other games
13 party games. One app.
Forbidden Words, Guess in X Words, Charades, Puppet Charades, Directed Charades, Headbands, Hum the Song, Sing the Song, Spicy Questions, Debates, Drawing Game, Imposter and Whose Photo Is This?