The complete how-to-play guide: setup, questions, voting, scoring and strategy — explained in less time than it takes to pass the phone around.
Everyone secretly sees the same secret word — except the impostors, who see nothing. Going around the circle, each player asks their neighbor an indirect question about the word. Then the group votes on one suspect: catch an impostor and the citizens score, accuse an innocent citizen and the impostors score. New round, new word, new roles — highest score after a few rounds wins the night.
The game walks your group through every step — reveal, questions, vote, scores. Free, on one phone, nothing to install.
▶ Start a round nowYou need 3–20 players, one phone, and about a minute. Type the players' names in seating order around the circle — the game uses that order for passing the phone and for the question round. Then choose how many impostors will hide in the group.
| Group size | Recommended impostors | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 3–5 players | 1 | Tight and tense — every answer is under the microscope |
| 6–9 players | 2 | Impostors can cover for each other — trust no one |
| 10–13 players | 3 | Party mode: alliances, accusations, chaos |
| 14–20 players | 4 | Full theater — see the large-group guide |
The game suggests this automatically and caps the maximum so that citizens always keep the majority (always fewer impostors than half the group) — otherwise the vote could never win.
Pass the phone around the circle. On their turn, each player presses and holds the reveal button privately:
Once the last player has seen their role, the discussion opens. Going around the circle, each player asks the person next to them one indirect question about the word — like "Would you take this to a desert island?" — and that person answers, then asks the next player. That's the whole engine of the game:
Stuck on what to ask? We wrote a full list of 25 battle-tested imposter game questions, sorted from casual openers to killer closers.
After the discussion (add a 1–5 minute timer if your group loves to ramble), the group talks it out, argues, and agrees on one prime suspect. Mark them in the app and hit accuse:
| Outcome | Points | Who scores |
|---|---|---|
| The group catches an impostor | +2 | Every citizen |
| The group accuses an innocent citizen | +3 | Every impostor |
| An impostor guesses the secret word | +1 bonus | That impostor |
Impostors score more because their job is harder — they're outnumbered and blind. Points carry over between rounds on the scoreboard: play 8–12 rounds, then crown the champion of the night.
The rules take a minute to learn — the mind games take years to master. Start here:
The group must agree on one prime suspect before accusing — if you're split, keep debating until a majority forms. Can't agree at all? Use the "skip the vote" option to reveal everything: nobody scores, and you jump straight into the next round.
Absolutely — and good impostors always do. Accusing someone else with confidence is the impostor's strongest camouflage. Staying quiet during the vote is one of the most common ways impostors get caught.
House rule: the round is void — start a new one with a single tap (same players, new word, new roles). The reveal screen is designed to be held privately, and the pass screen reminds everyone not to peek.
About 5–10 minutes: a minute to pass the phone around, a few minutes of questions and discussion (you can set a 1–5 minute timer), then the vote and the reveal. A full game night is usually 8–12 rounds with cumulative scoring.
Practically never — the word is drawn in secret from a bank of over 5,000 English words in 11 categories (plus 5,000+ in Hebrew), so even a long game night won't repeat itself.
Only for the first load. After that the game is saved on your device and works fully offline — planes, road trips, camping. You can also add it to your home screen and open it like an app.
3–20 players, one phone, 5,000+ words, zero setup. Free, no app, no sign-up — and it works offline.
🎭 Play The Impostor freeAlso available in Hebrew — חוקי המשחק בעברית