How to Play the Imposter Word Game, and How the Difficulty Works
The imposter game needs one phone and three or more people. Everyone in the group is given the same secret word except one player, the imposter, who is given only a hint. Then you take turns saying a single word that relates to the secret, and try to work out who is bluffing. It takes a minute to explain, a few minutes a round, and works for family evenings, classrooms and parties alike.
Start by typing the players' names, one per line. Choose a difficulty, how many imposters there should be, and, if you like, which categories the word can come from. Then press Deal. The phone shows "Pass the phone to" and the first name. That person taps to see their card, reads it privately, taps "Hide it and pass on", and hands the phone to the next name. Most players see the secret word. The imposter sees "You are the imposter" and a hint instead.
When everyone has looked, the game picks who goes first. Going round the circle, each player says one word linked to the secret. This is where the game lives. Say something too obvious and the imposter learns the word; say something too vague and everyone starts to suspect you. The imposter has to listen, use the hint, and say something that sounds as if they know. After two rounds, everyone points at their suspect on a count of three. If the group catches the imposter, the imposter gets one guess at the word, and a right guess steals the win. Press Reveal to show who it was.
Difficulty changes two things: which words come up, and how much the imposter is told. On Easy the words are everyday ones and the imposter sees the category and a close hint, so for Pizza they would see Food and Cheese. That suits younger players and first games. Medium widens the word list and drops the category, leaving just the close hint. Hard uses trickier words and gives the imposter only a loose association, for Pizza simply Round, so the imposter has to work much harder to blend in.
With seven or more players you can add a second imposter, and a third from ten players, which makes the discussion much harder to read. Words are not repeated within a session until the list runs out, and nothing is uploaded or stored: the names and words stay on the phone you are holding.
How to play Imposter Word Game
- Type the players’ names, one per line or separated by commas. You need at least three.
- Pick Easy, Medium or Hard, the number of imposters, and any categories you want.
- Press Deal, then pass the phone round. Each player taps to see their card privately and hides it before passing on.
- Starting with the player shown, go round saying one word each that fits the secret word. Do two rounds.
- Vote on the imposter, then press Reveal. A caught imposter can still win by guessing the word.