An imposter game for team building works best as a short, optional social activity. Colleagues hear the same clues, offer different interpretations and have something light to discuss afterwards. It does not measure honesty, leadership potential or workplace competence, and a successful round is not evidence of improved business performance.
This plan is for a team that wants a 20-minute break with clear rules and little preparation. If your group dislikes bluffing, choose one of our team building games for small groups instead. There is no reason to make everyone enjoy the same activity.
Check whether the game fits
Choose an imposter game when people are comfortable with playful hidden roles and can take turns in a shared language. Pick familiar categories such as everyday objects, food or animals. Specialist categories work only when everyone knows them; a football fan and a non-fan do not start with equal information about footballers.
Choose a cooperative alternative if colleagues would rather build or explain something together. New starters should not feel that their first task is to deceive their manager. Offer an observer role and an easy way to pass, without asking someone to explain a personal reason.
What you need
| Format | Practical setup | Limit per game |
|---|---|---|
| In the same room | One phone or tablet, passed privately | 3–15 players |
| Remote | One browser per person plus a separate voice call | 3–15 players |
| Larger event | Multiple tables or online rooms, each with a facilitator | Keep each group within its game limit |
The website is free to play and contains ads. Remote calls or meeting software may have their own limits or costs. Do not promise a zero-cost event if it also needs equipment, paid conferencing or staff time.
A 20-minute session you can copy
Minutes 0–3: explain and offer a choice
Tell the group: “Most of us will see the same secret word. The imposter will not. We each give a clue, discuss what fits, then vote. A strange clue is part of the game, not a judgment about its speaker. You can observe or pass.”
Keep the explanation concrete. With an example word such as umbrella, “rain” and “folding” are possible connections. Show this practice example before the real private assignment, so nobody mistakes it for the actual answer.
Minutes 3–6: set up and check privacy
Open Find the Imposter. Add local players, or create an online room and share its joining details. Open Categories and select Office Life for 40 everyday workplace words, including Keyboard, Meeting room and Coffee machine. Keep only Office Life selected for a workplace round, or add other familiar categories. It is available in standard Pass & Play and online rooms; Undercover has separate paired-word categories. Use one imposter to begin and leave the category hint on if the group is new.
In a shared-device game, everyone hides their card before passing the phone. Online, do not screen-share a private role card. A facilitator can read instructions aloud without broadcasting the secret.
Minutes 6–12: play a practice round
Give each person similar thinking time. Keep clues short and let everyone speak before discussion. The facilitator can invite quieter people to take their turn, but should not demand an explanation of someone's confidence or body language.
Vote, reveal and briefly explain any confusing clue. Follow the app's result rather than adding a new win rule halfway through. If the first round takes longer than planned, skip the second instead of rushing people.
Minutes 12–17: play again or switch
Ask whether people want a second round. Rotate the starting player so the same person does not always speak before hearing anyone else. If the category was unfamiliar, change it. If bluffing was the problem, use a cooperative game instead of raising the difficulty.
Minutes 17–20: ask two useful questions
“Which clue did you understand differently from its speaker?” and “What should we change next time?” are enough. They invite feedback about this session. Avoid turning the reveal into a manager's assessment of who communicates well under pressure.
Play the session on Zoom or Discord
- Meet in your usual Zoom call, or join the same Discord voice channel. The call carries your voices; Find the Imposter runs separately in each player's browser.
- The host opens the online game, creates a private room and selects Office Life under Categories. Share the room invitation or code in the call chat, then check that all players have joined.
- Each person reads their card privately. Keep screen sharing off while revealing roles, give clues over the call and submit votes in the game. Test switching between call and game on a phone before the first round; using a laptop for audio and a phone for the game is another option.
No Discord? Use Zoom instead. Guests can normally join a Zoom invitation without an account, unless the host requires authentication. Browser joining also depends on the host's settings. See Zoom's guest joining instructions. If your team already uses Discord, select a voice channel you have permission to enter; Discord's voice channel guide explains where to join. Neither platform is a required game integration.
Adapt for a larger or remote team
For 20 remote colleagues, use two rooms of ten and two voice-call breakouts. Give each room the same short instructions, and name one person to keep time. Do not put 20 people into a single online game: its maximum is ten.
For an in-person event, smaller tables usually make turn-taking easier than one large circle. A person can observe and join the next round. Observing means watching in the room or call; it is not a promise of a dedicated spectator feature in the app.
Connection delays can look like hesitation. Allow someone to repeat a clue after an audio interruption. If the call keeps breaking up, use a text-friendly activity or postpone; stricter timers will not fix a poor connection.
Keep the debrief proportionate
Record whether people opted in, whether everyone had a turn and whether they would choose it again. Those observations can help plan the next social session. Do not claim that playing has increased productivity or calculate an “infinite ROI” from a free game.
Keep personal disclosures out of the categories. There is no need for words about colleagues' relationships, health or performance reviews. The shared reference can be a cup of coffee or a familiar animal.
Common questions
Does bluffing make this unsuitable for work?
It depends on the group. Explain the premise before people commit and offer a cooperative alternative. Do not treat opting out as a lack of team spirit.
Should the manager lead every round?
A facilitator should explain the rules and keep turns fair. They do not need to dominate the discussion or tell the group who to suspect. Rotate facilitation if people want another session.
What should we play next?
For a choice by headcount and materials, use the small-group activity guide. For a remote-only meeting, see the remote team icebreakers. If everyone wants another hidden-role round, open the game.
