The Imposter Word Game: Rules, Word Pairs and How to Play It Online
How the imposter word game works, how to run a round, tips for both sides, 70 family-friendly word pairs, and a way to play it online.
The imposter word game is a party game for a group of friends. Everyone gets the same secret word except one player, the imposter, who gets a different word or no word at all. Players take turns saying one word about their secret word, and then everyone votes on who they think the imposter is. The group wins if it catches the imposter. The imposter wins by staying hidden, or in some versions by working out the secret word.
How does the imposter word game work?
It’s a game of saying just enough. Your clue has to prove to the others that you know the secret word, without handing the word to the imposter.
Say the secret word is VOLCANO and six of you are playing. Five people see VOLCANO on their slip of paper. The sixth sees IMPOSTER, or, in another version, sees GLACIER and has no idea their word is different. Going around the circle, each player says one word: CRATER, SMOKE, MOUNTAIN, ICELAND. When it’s the imposter’s turn, they have to say something that sounds right. Then everyone talks it over and votes.
The fun is in the middle ground. Say LAVA, and you’ve practically told the imposter the word. Say BIG, and you look like you don’t know it. Good players find clues like CRATER: obvious to anyone who knows the word, and only a small nudge to anyone who doesn’t, since a crater could just as easily be on the moon.
What do you need to play?
- Three or more players. Four to ten works well: enough clues to compare, and not so many that a round drags.
- A way to deal words in secret. Folded slips of paper work fine, or one phone passed around so each player can look in turn.
- Someone to pick the words. Either a host who sits the round out, or take turns being host so everyone plays most rounds.
- A list of word pairs. There are 70 below, sorted by theme.
How do you run a round?
- Pick a pair. The host chooses a pair from the list and decides which word is the secret word.
- Deal the words. Make one slip per player. Every slip gets the secret word except one, which gets the imposter’s word (or just the word IMPOSTER, in the no-word version). Fold them, shuffle them and hand them out.
- Look in secret. Everyone reads their own slip and keeps a straight face.
- Give clues. Pick a random starting player and go around the circle. Each person says one word connected to their word. No saying the word itself, and no repeating a clue someone already gave.
- Talk it over. Give the group a minute or two. Who was vague? Who seemed to be describing something slightly different?
- Vote. On the count of three, everyone points at the player they suspect. The player with the most votes is accused. If there’s a tie, the tied players each give one more clue, and you vote again.
- Reveal. The accused player shows their slip. If they’re the imposter, the group wins. If they’re innocent, the imposter wins.
In the no-word version, a caught imposter gets one last chance: name the secret word and steal the win. You can also play two rounds of clues before voting, which gives the imposter more to work with and everyone else more to judge.
Which version should you play?
If your group is new to the game, start with the no-word version. Once everyone knows it, try the different-word version, which is sneakier. Every twist below works with the same word list.
The imposter gets no word
The imposter’s slip just says IMPOSTER. They know they’re the odd one out and have to bluff from the first clue. This version is the easiest to learn, and the last-chance guess keeps it tense to the end.
The imposter gets a different word
The imposter gets a close cousin of the secret word, like GLACIER when everyone else has VOLCANO, and isn’t told they’re the imposter. They might give an honest-sounding clue like COLD and only then realize the others are talking about something hot. SUS borrows its fake word from this version, with one change: the SUS imposter is shown the real word too, and lies on purpose.
Two imposters
For groups of eight or more, deal two imposter slips. In the different-word version, both imposters get the same word, so they may end up backing each other up without meaning to.
One vote per round
Instead of one big vote, the group votes someone out after each round of clues. The group wins when the imposter is out. The imposter wins by surviving until only two players are left.
Everyone knows the theme
The host announces the theme first, such as “animals”. It gives a no-word imposter a fighting chance, which helps with younger players.
Keeping score over a night
If you play many rounds, keep a tally. One simple way: each innocent player who voted for the imposter gets a point, an imposter who isn’t caught gets two, and a caught imposter who names the secret word gets one.
How do you play the imposter well?
- Listen before you speak. Every clue before yours is information. If you hear CRATER and SMOKE, you can make a decent guess at the word.
- Aim for the middle. Too vague (BIG, NATURE) looks like you don’t know the word. Too specific is risky if you’ve guessed wrong.
- Match the room. If the clues so far are places, give a place. If they’re things you can touch, give one of those. A clue in a different style stands out.
- Check your word against theirs. In the different-word version, ask yourself whether the clues fit your word. If you have GLACIER and people are saying SMOKE and CRATER, you’re probably the imposter. Switch to clues that fit both, like MOUNTAIN or ICELAND.
- Keep your timing normal. Long pauses and nervous laughs give away more than words do.
- Vote like an innocent player. Pick a suspect and give a reason.
- Have a guess ready. In the no-word version, your last-chance guess can still win the round.
How do you catch the imposter?
- Give clues only insiders can use. CRATER helps people who know the word and barely helps someone who doesn’t. LAVA gives the game away.
- Listen for neighbor clues. A clue that fits a close cousin of the word is the classic giveaway. COLD in a volcano round points at GLACIER.
- Be wary of clues that fit anything. BIG, OLD or NICE could describe half the world, and someone who doesn’t know the word reaches for clues like those.
- Watch for echoes. An imposter often builds on the clue just before theirs. SMOKE followed by FIRE might be a player who knows the word, or one following the crowd.
- Go easy on the first speaker. Whoever goes first has the hardest job, so a cautious first clue isn’t proof of anything.
- Ask why. In the discussion, ask a suspect to explain their clue. Honest players usually have a quick answer.
- Don’t all pile on. The first name someone says is easy to agree with. Make up your own mind before the vote.
How do you play the party game with younger kids?
- Pick pairs they know well. Food, animals and things at home are safer than jobs or places they haven’t seen.
- Say the theme out loud. Knowing it’s “animals” helps a young imposter keep up.
- Start with the no-word version. It’s easier to follow when the imposter’s slip simply says so.
- Let them act it out. A gesture or a sound can stand in for a word when a clue won’t come.
- Keep the vote friendly. Getting caught is part of the fun, and next round someone else gets the imposter slip.
What makes a good word pair?
A good pair is two things that are easy to mix up, but not too easy. Check four things:
- Same kind of thing, or same scene. PIZZA and PASTA, GUITAR and VIOLIN, PHONE and WATCH, MOON and STAR.
- Some clues fit both. CHEESE works for pizza and pasta. STRIPES works for a tiger and a zebra. Shared clues let the imposter blend in.
- Some clues fit only one. A violin has a BOW and a guitar doesn’t. A watch goes on your WRIST, and a phone goes in your pocket. Those splits are how imposters get caught.
- Everyone knows both words. If a younger player doesn’t know what a glacier is, they’ll look like the imposter for the wrong reason.
Two kinds of pairs fall flat. Near-twins, two words for the same thing, give nobody a clue to catch. Strangers like PIZZA and GLACIER share nothing, so the imposter is caught on the first clue.
Word pairs to play with
Here are 70 family-friendly pairs, sorted by theme. Give most players the first word and the imposter the second, or swap them to play the same pair again. For the no-word version, just use the first word.
| Theme | Most players get | The imposter gets |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Coffee | Tea |
| Food | Pancake | Waffle |
| Food | Ketchup | Salsa |
| Food | Taco | Burrito |
| Food | Hamburger | Hot dog |
| Treats | Cupcake | Muffin |
| Treats | Cookie | Brownie |
| Treats | Ice cream | Milkshake |
| Treats | Chocolate | Caramel |
| Treats | Lollipop | Cotton candy |
| Animals | Dog | Wolf |
| Animals | Owl | Eagle |
| Animals | Rabbit | Hamster |
| Animals | Sheep | Goat |
| Animals | Elephant | Rhino |
| In the sea | Dolphin | Shark |
| In the sea | Penguin | Seal |
| In the sea | Crab | Lobster |
| In the sea | Whale | Submarine |
| In the sea | Jellyfish | Octopus |
| At home | Pillow | Blanket |
| At home | Shower | Bathtub |
| At home | Broom | Vacuum |
| At home | Lamp | Candle |
| At home | Couch | Armchair |
| School | Pencil | Pen |
| School | Backpack | Purse |
| School | Notebook | Diary |
| School | Scissors | Stapler |
| School | Calculator | Ruler |
| Nature and weather | River | Lake |
| Nature and weather | Mountain | Hill |
| Nature and weather | Desert | Beach |
| Nature and weather | Rainbow | Sunset |
| Nature and weather | Thunder | Lightning |
| Places | Airport | Train station |
| Places | Library | Bookstore |
| Places | Museum | Zoo |
| Places | Castle | Fort |
| Places | Restaurant | Cafe |
| Getting around | Bicycle | Skateboard |
| Getting around | Bus | Train |
| Getting around | Airplane | Helicopter |
| Getting around | Ambulance | Fire engine |
| Getting around | Sailboat | Canoe |
| Sports and games | Baseball | Cricket |
| Sports and games | Tennis | Badminton |
| Sports and games | Skiing | Snowboarding |
| Sports and games | Chess | Checkers |
| Sports and games | Bowling | Darts |
| Music and shows | Drum | Tambourine |
| Music and shows | Trumpet | Saxophone |
| Music and shows | Flute | Recorder |
| Music and shows | Microphone | Speaker |
| Music and shows | Magician | Clown |
| Jobs | Doctor | Nurse |
| Jobs | Teacher | Librarian |
| Jobs | Chef | Baker |
| Jobs | Pilot | Astronaut |
| Jobs | Dentist | Barber |
| Clothes | Socks | Slippers |
| Clothes | Gloves | Mittens |
| Clothes | Pajamas | Bathrobe |
| Clothes | Sunglasses | Goggles |
| Clothes | Hat | Helmet |
| Parties and holidays | Birthday | Wedding |
| Parties and holidays | Balloon | Kite |
| Parties and holidays | Fireworks | Sparkler |
| Parties and holidays | Sandcastle | Snowman |
| Parties and holidays | Picnic | Barbecue |
None of these pairs will turn up as a SUS case. In SUS, the secret word and the fake word always have the same number of letters, and every pair above has two words of different lengths.
How does SUS turn the party game into a daily puzzle?
SUS keeps the heart of the imposter game, one-word clues with a liar among them, and turns it into a puzzle you can play on your own, once a day, in a few minutes.
- The clues are written ahead of time. Instead of a circle of friends, the hints come from players who were picked to write for that day’s case, topped up by the game’s own hints when too few have picked. Writers pick from a list, and about 1 in 5 is secretly the imposter, shown a fake word.
- You’re the detective. The hints stand in a police lineup: four suspects, each holding a placard. You don’t give a clue. You work out who’s lying.
- You guess the word first. You get three tries. If you guess the imposter’s fake word, the game tells you, and that’s a clue in itself.
- You get tools the party game doesn’t have. You can buy true hints from the game, which never lie, and you can ask one suspect one yes-or-no question. Honest suspects answer about the secret word, and the imposter answers about the fake word.
- Then you accuse. Some days there’s no imposter, or two, and the game never says which, so on a daily case “No one lied” is always an option. Every Sunday’s Big Case has six suspects and two imposters.
- Everyone gets the same case. Everyone on your date plays the same lineup, so you can compare scores with friends using the share card.
Here’s a finished case, with each suspect stamped after the accusation:
A player could have caught FROZEN two ways: by guessing GLACIER and getting the fake-word message, or by asking FROZEN “Is it hot?” and hearing NO. For the full rules, see how to play SUS.
Can you play the imposter game online with friends?
Yes. SUS has a friends mode: a private case for your group, played through a link you share in your group chat. Your friends write the hints, and the game secretly shows one of them a fake word to pull the others toward. Nobody needs an account, and it’s free.
- Go to friends mode, choose how many friends will write the hints (3 to 6), and decide whether paranoia is on.
- Send the link to your group.
- The first friends who choose to write become the writers. Each one types a name and picks one hint from a list. The game secretly makes one of them the imposter (with paranoia on, there could be no imposter, one or two).
- Everyone else plays: they see the hints with their friends’ names, guess the word, can ask one question, and accuse a friend.
- After playing, everyone sees how the group did and who the imposter was.
It works for friends in different cities or time zones, since everyone plays whenever they like. A friends case stays open for 7 days after it’s made.
Party game or SUS: what’s the difference?
| Way to play | Who gives the clues | How many imposters | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party game | The players, out loud, one at a time | Usually one | Give a clue, then vote |
| SUS daily case | Players picked as writers, ahead of time, from a list | Usually one; some days none or two; always two on Sundays | Guess the word in three tries, then accuse |
| SUS friends case | Friends who choose to write, from a list | One, or with paranoia on, none to two | Guess the word in three tries, then accuse a friend |