Imposter
A short parlor game of bluffs and close reads.
Three to eight players. Ten to fifteen minutes.
Setup
One person creates a room and shares the four-letter code. Everyone joins with a nickname. Rooms hold three to eight players; the host starts the round once at least three are in.
When the round begins, players are secretly chosen as the imposter. The count scales with the table:
- 3-4 players → 1 imposter
- 5-7 players → 2 imposters
- 8 players → 3 imposters
Imposters don't know who else is on their team. Everyone else is a crewmate.
What each side sees
- Crewmates see the category and the secret word.
- Imposter sees only the category. They do not know the word.
The clue phase
Players take turns in a random order. On your turn you give one one-word clue that hints at the secret word.
Crewmates want to signal enough that the group knows they're real, without making it trivial for the imposter to piece together the word. The imposter has to bluff a clue that fits the category convincingly enough to pass as a crewmate.
Each player gives one clue per round. The table plays three full rounds of clues before voting.
The vote
After the clues, everyone votes for who they think is the imposter. You can't vote for yourself. Votes are locked in once cast.
If one player has a clear plurality and they were an imposter, that imposter is caughtand gets one last chance to guess the word. When there are multiple imposters at the table, the others stay hidden — their fate is tied to the caught imposter's guess.
A tie still counts as a catch if every top-tied target is an imposter (e.g. a 2-2 split between two imposters) — one of them takes the guess. But if the tie includes any crewmate, or the plurality lands on a crewmate, the imposter team escapes and wins the round outright.
The final guess
The caught imposter sees the category and every clue that was given, and submits one guess at the secret word. The system judges exact vs. close matches. If there's a second imposter at the table, they can only watch.
Scoring
- Imposter escapes+2 each imposter · 0 crewmates
- Caught, guessed exactly+2 each imposter · 0 crewmates
- Caught, close guess+1 each imposter · +1 each crewmate
- Caught, wrong guess0 imposters · +1 each crewmate
Timers
Every phase has a clock so the room doesn't stall on a disconnected or distracted player.
- Clue (per turn)45 seconds
- Vote3 minutes
- Imposter’s guess90 seconds
If the clock runs out on a clue, the player is skipped with a blank clue and the turn passes. If the vote timer expires, the room tallies whatever votes were cast. If the imposter doesn't submit a guess, it counts as a wrong guess.
Playing for a pot
The host can optionally turn on a pot in the lobby. Every player antes one USDC on Base; the contract holds it until the round is resolved.
- Imposter winsimposter takes the entire pot
- Crewmates winpot is split evenly among crewmates
- Close guesspot is split across the whole table
If the host voids the game mid-round, every ante is refunded to its original wallet.