SUSThe daily word game where one hint is lying
Case #1 · Thursday 29 October
Each suspect holds a one-word hint, picked by a player or written by the game. Some may be lying, pulling you toward a fake word. Guess the secret word in 3 tries, then point at the liar.
The secret word has 7 letters. Playing needs JavaScript switched on.
What is SUS?
SUS is a free daily word game. Every day there is one secret word, the same for everyone. Four suspects stand in a police lineup, each holding a one-word hint. The hints are picked by players chosen as writers (the game fills in any that nobody wrote): most writers are honest, but one may be an imposter who was shown a fake word and picked a hint to pull you toward it.
You get three guesses at the secret word. If you are stuck, buy a true hint from the game (it costs a point), or ask one suspect one yes-or-no question: honest suspects answer about the real word, and the imposter answers about the fake one. Then point at the liar.
Why one hint lies
A good imposter hint fits both words. In the example below the word is VOLCANO and the fake word is GLACIER. ICELAND has both, so who is lying: FROZEN or ICELAND? That doubt is the game.
Paranoia days and the Sunday Big Case
Some days there is no imposter at all, and some days there are two. The game never says which, so "No one lied" is always an answer. Every Sunday is a Big Case: six suspects, two imposters and harder words.
Write tomorrow's hints
After you play, you may be asked to pick a hint for an upcoming case. About one writer in five is secretly the imposter. On that day you watch your case instead of playing it, and see how many players your hint fooled.