In the social deduction multiplayer game Among Us, the players will try to complete the various tasks that are assigned to them. However, one (or more if the settings are changed) of the players is an imposter. There is no position more difficult or stressful than imposter. It is also a lot of fun. The imposter must pretend that they are just a regular crewmate, all while killing off the other crewmates and not drawing attention.
When a dead body is reported, or if someone calls an emergency meeting, the players can discuss who they believe to be the imposter. The person with the most votes against them is ejected into space, or elsewhere depending on the map. What hope is there then, if the imposter is caught in the act of murder? They cannot simply kill the witness, as there is a cooldown timer. They will need to think fast and be very good at lying, which does not come naturally to most people.
Getting out of a bad situation by lying in Among Us
Here’s an example scenario: Let’s say the imposter is the Red player, and they murder Green. Yellow enters the area and sees them do it. Things are about to get interesting, and what happens next is crucial to not getting ejected.
The first tactic is for the imposter (Red) to report the dead body before Yellow does. Red can lie, and claim they saw Yellow kill Green. Of course, Yellow will know it’s a lie, but the goal is simply to be convincing enough to the other crewmates. This can work well later in the game if the imposter has an alibi, and if Yellow was accused of acting “sus” (short for suspicious) before. If this works, Yellow gets ejected, which leaves Red free to continue their murder-spree.
The second tactic is the reverse of this. Yellow hits the report dead body button first. In this case, the imposter will lie and claim that the crewmate self-reported the dead body to frame Red for murder. Again, having a good alibi is crucial.
If either of these scenarios happens, and the crewmate is ejected instead of the imposter, the game continues. Chances are all eyes will turn to the imposter, which means they are likely to be voted off next in an emergency meeting. However, emergency meetings cannot be called if something has been sabotaged. It needs to be fixed first, which gives the imposter time to kill again.
Part of the success of the strategy of having a good alibi is crafting a convincing narrative. To do this, knowing the game systems is essential. Know what the tasks are, know approximately how long they take, and the correct position the player needs to stand to complete them. One option is to read gaming guides, but also it just comes with experience.
The most important thing is never, ever, EVER admit to being guilty. The game is not over until the players either see the Victory or Defeat screen. Even if the imposter believes they have lost, sometimes people will skip voting, or vote for someone else, and the game continues.
Among Us is available now on PC, Android, and iOS.