Although complicated to understand, Among Us is wildly entertaining to play among friends and family. Available on your device’s app store, it allows people to take part in a game of deception, survival, and teamwork. It's received rave reviews with one user writing, “Among Us has made quarantine so much easier to get through...so fun to play with friends over zoom…”
Here's how the Game Works:
The game starts off by players choosing a local or online game and depending on this decision, the player will be able to play with others of their choosing or people at random. The holding room is where players customize their character with accessories like hats, pets, and skins. All players are also separated by color and during this time, players personalize their name.
After all players are ready, the host launches the game where everyone is notified whether they are a crewmate or the imposter. The game takes place on a spaceship with areas like the cafeteria, navigation, security, etc. Crewmates are assigned tasks and continue them until finished, while also trying to avoid being killed by the imposter.
Some of the crewmates' tasks include destroying incoming asteroids, fixing wiring, and cleaning out vents. Everyone has access to a map so if there’s a task in a specific area, they are able to find the location. The imposter has no tasks other than having to kill off crewmates without acting suspicious. There may be a wait time in between kills. If a player is killed, they float around the ship like a ghost, but are still able to finish their uncompleted tasks. The imposter, unlike any of the crewmates, is able to move in and out of vents. This can be a dead giveaway if the imposter isn’t careful.
A dead body has to be reported by either the imposter themselves or a crewmate. The players are then led to a screen where they vote for whichever player they think is the imposter. Similar to the wait time for killings, there is also a timer for voting, all of which can be adjusted in the game’s settings. After every player casts their vote, a screen shows the player being ejected into space and text reveals whether or not they were the imposter.
If players unsuccessfully vote, the game continues. An imposter can sabotage the ship which creates a problem for the crewmates that needs to be fixed in a matter of time or the imposter automatically wins. With all the players rushing towards an area of the ship, it's easier for the imposter to essentially go on a killing spree of crewmates. During certain sabotages, more than one crewmate is needed to save the ship.
If a crewmate suspects someone of being the imposter, they can call an emergency meeting. There’s a limit on how many can be called each game by a player so meetings shouldn’t be used frivolously. They can get quite intense with players trying to convince one another of who the imposter may be and afterwards, they are sent to another vote-off.
The objective of the game is for players’ tasks to be finished or vote off the imposter. If there is an even amount of crewmates and imposters or the imposter kills all crewmates, then the imposter wins. One of the game’s developers shared, “...seeing how many people are enjoying Among Us 1 really makes us want to be able to...take it to the next level.” Even though it took two years for the game to truly take off, its future is looking bright!