Imposter game rules: how to play the word imposter party game
The imposter word game is a simple bluffing game for 3 to 10 or more players. Everyone knows a secret word except one player, the imposter, who has to blend in. You only need one phone.
What you need
- 3 or more players. It’s best with 5 to 10.
- A phone to pass around, or one phone each. A free app like Bahurupiya picks the word and the imposter, so nobody has to sit out as the host.
How a round works
- Deal the word. Each player looks at the phone privately. Everyone sees the same secret word, say Samosa, except the imposter, who only sees the category: Food.
- Give clues. Going round the circle, each player says one word linked to the secret word, like “crispy” or “chutney”. Not too obvious, or the imposter learns the word. Not too vague, or people suspect you.
- Go round twice. Two rounds of clues give everyone enough to judge.
- Vote. Everyone points at who they think the imposter is. The player with the most votes is out.
- Last chance. If the group caught the imposter, the imposter gets one guess at the secret word. Guess right, and the imposter still wins.
Scoring
A simple way: if the imposter escapes the vote, or is caught but guesses the word, the imposter scores 2. Otherwise every other player scores 1. Play several rounds with a new imposter each time.
Tips
- As the imposter: listen to the first few clues before you speak, then give a clue that fits them without being specific.
- As a player: pick clues that only make sense if you know the word, so the imposter can’t copy you.
- Bigger groups: with 6 or more, try two imposters who don’t know about each other.
- Twist: sometimes play a round with no imposter at all. Watching everyone accuse each other is half the fun.
More party games: dumb charades (see our dumb charades rules) and Tilak, the forehead guessing game. Or see every party game, picked by occasion.