Catherine Merritt ’21; Art: Sara Kaplan ’26
“There is 1 Imposter among us,” a phrase seen, heard, and spoken almost everywhere these days. Among Us is an online game that can be played with friends or strangers. The game is completely anonymous as a host creates a game, shares the game code, and admits people who join the server. Once there are ten players on the server, each one a cartoon astronaut who has been personalized with unique names and outfits, the game begins. There can be one, two, or three Imposters out of the ten players on the spaceship, and the rest are called Crewmates. The identity of the Imposter(s) is unknown to the Crewmates, who then work together by completing tasks around the spaceship. They can spot Imposters peeking out of vents (a space by which only Imposters can travel), call meetings or report bodies to narrow down the options, play detective, and ultimately vote out the Imposter. The Imposter wins the game by sabotaging the ship or by “killing” each player without being detected or caught. Then, if the crewmates work together and get all of their tasks done, the crew wins the game.
The game is enjoyable to play alone or with friends. During this pandemic, video and phone games serve as a prime way to connect with others. There are often chat rooms like Discord, or video chats like Zoom or FaceTime to play with a group of friends. The game uses lots of deception, falsities, and doubt, so playing with friends gives an exciting and mysterious twist to the night. As more and more groups of friends hop on this trend, the game is growing increasingly more popular. Notably, people like James Charles and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been seen playing the game, which draws an even bigger demographic. The resurgence of the term “sus” (short for suspicious) has also sparked due to the popularity of Among Us. By using abbreviations in the chatbox of the game, it is easier to write and get a point across in a quicker fashion. This game has brought back a lot of attention to texting and quick-typing lingo. As the fun of this game floods into people’s phones and laptops, it also flows into day-to-day life. There is a huge meme platform centered around Among Us and the bean-shaped characters, and lots of people also dressed up as Among Us characters for Halloween, an easy costume with a solid color shirt, ski goggles, and a hat of choice. The game Among Us is truly among us, everywhere!