How SUS Cases Are Made
Where SUS's words come from, the rules every case has to pass, who writes the hints in a lineup, and when each answer is published.
Every daily case starts as an entry in the SUS word bank: a secret word, a fake word, the game’s own hints, the lists writers pick from, a true hint, and the answers to the 16 interrogation questions. Here’s how entries are made, how they become cases, and when the answers come out.
Where do the words come from?
The word bank is written in advance, with the help of an AI writing assistant. Each entry pairs two common, concrete things that are easy to mix up: the same kind of thing, or the same scene. Think VOLCANO and GLACIER, or PIZZA and PASTA. Those two, and the other example pairs in our guides, are kept out of the real bank (the checking program below refuses them), so the guides spoil nothing.
The rules for an entry say both words must be things most English speakers know. No brand names, no people’s names, and nothing rude, political, religious or frightening.
What does every entry have to pass?
Before an entry goes into the bank, it has to pass a checking program that tests it against the game’s rules. Among other things, the program checks that:
- the fake word has the same number of letters as the secret word, so the letter count never gives it away;
- no hint is either word, contains either word, or hides inside one (no CAN for VOLCANO);
- the first true hint is a short sentence that names neither word nor any hint, and never talks about letters;
- at least one of the 16 questions gets different answers for the two words, so a good question can always expose an imposter, and at least three get the same answer for both.
Some rules are about meaning, and no program can test them. The first true hint must be true of the secret word and false of the fake word, the way “It’s hot inside” fits a volcano but not a glacier. Each recorded yes-or-no answer must be the one most people would give for a typical example. Those are written into each entry when it’s made, and if one is wrong, we want to hear about it.
How is each day’s case chosen?
The game hands out entries from the bank in order, a few days ahead, because writers need them early. Once handed out, a case is fixed: changing the bank later only affects cases still to come.
Difficulty follows the week. Monday and Tuesday get the easiest entries, Wednesday and Thursday the middle ones, and Friday and Saturday the hardest. Harder means a less obvious word and a closer fake word, never an obscure one. Every Sunday is the Big Case: six suspects, two imposters and hard words. Friends cases come from a separate list, so a friends case never spoils a daily case.
How are paranoia days decided?
By the game, in advance, using a secret that only our server knows. On a paranoia day, the daily case has no imposter, or two, and the game never says so. The rules simply say it can happen, which is why “No one lied” is always an answer on a daily case. A Big Case always has exactly two imposters, and the game says so.
Who writes the hints in a lineup?
Players, as far as their picks go. After finishing a daily case, some players are asked to write a hint for an upcoming one. Each writer is secretly honest or, about 1 time in 5, the imposter (more often when a case needs two), and picks one hint from a list. Nobody types a hint.
When the case opens, its lineup is fixed. Each honest spot takes one of the honest hints picked by the most writers, and each imposter spot one of the most-picked imposter hints. Spots no writer filled get the game’s own hints. The order of the placards is shuffled. While the case is open, the lineup doesn’t say which hints players picked: fewer writers are imposters, so the counts would point at the liar. Once the case closes, its case file shows each placard’s source, such as “picked by 12” or “by the game”.
Where do the interrogation answers come from?
From the game. When you question a suspect, the game answers yes or no from the entry’s recorded answers, based on the suspect’s role: an honest suspect answers for the secret word, and an imposter for the fake word, whether a player or the game picked the hint. Writers never answer questions themselves.
When is the answer published?
Once the case’s date has ended everywhere on Earth, at noon UTC the next day. Until then, someone somewhere is still playing it, so the answer isn’t on the site. Then the case closes, and its case file is published with the other case files.
The file shows the secret word, the fake word, which hints lied (if any did), the true hints, and how everyone did while the case was open. Closed cases can still be played from their files, and those plays are kept apart from the live numbers.
Something look wrong?
If a true hint seems untrue, an answer to a question seems off, or a case seems unfair, tell us and include the case number.
Today's case is waiting. One secret word, four hints, and maybe a liar.