A new escape from school and the world around us has appeared right when it was needed most. Teenagers and younger kids from all around have flocked to their computers and their phones to log onto the fast growing game, Among Us. 

Being a difficult game to describe, I will compare it to the well known party game, Mafia. Like Mafia, there is one or more killers; in this game the killers are called impostor(s). The job of the impostor is to eliminate all of the crewmates without getting caught. Meanwhile, the crewmates are completing their assigned tasks, which are scattered across the map. These tasks can be anything ranging from flipping a few switches or connecting a few wires, to mimicking flashing lights in a pattern (nicknamed Simon says) or shooting down asteroids headed towards the ship. As the game progresses, the crewmates, or even the impostor(s) — as a tactic — report the bodies of the dead crewmates as they are found. After this, a meeting is held where the group can discuss and eventually choose to either vote another player off or skip voting. Another way to call this meeting is to hit a button in the middle of a room on the map labeled “Emergency meeting.” Players may choose to use this button if they see someone vent (a way only impostors can get around the map) or if they fear they are going to be killed by someone. This button is not available during certain times. One of these times is if a player has used all of their emergency meetings, the other is during sabotages. These are caused by the impostors breaking something on the map that must be fixed or, it will result in the loss of the game for the crewmates.

Many players enjoy how strategy plays into the game, claiming their favorite part being the sabotages. Others enjoy the simplicity of just going around and completing their tasks. Overall, the game is highly rated by most of its players. 

There are some flaws in the game though, as pointed out by sophomore Ava Brokate who states, “I would add a friending option, more than once I have kept playing the game simply to keep talking to some people.” Many agree with this statement, wanting to have the option to be able to play with the same people again. Another suggestion made by Teagan Strecker was for the game to have buttons with predetermined sentences that one often types during discussion, to make it easier and spend more time figuring out who the Impostor is. Strecker says, “On the phone especially, typing can be a pain, and I often run out of time to vote while typing to say something in the chat.” Some of her suggestions were “blue (or insert any color) sus” (sus being the abbreviation for the word suspicious, used by almost every player) or “I saw them vent”, two heavily used phrases in the game. 

One other thing to note is how the color of the little characters plays into the probability of being impostor. There have been claims that certain colors have a higher chance of being the impostor, with red often being called out during rounds for little to no reason. These claims have not been proven. Regardless, most players have a habit of choosing the same color,, whether it impacts this probability or not. This color is very important to some, Brokate stressing, “YES. I must always be black.” while others don’t care at all and will be whatever color is available.

Overall, Among Us, has found its way into the free time of many students around the world, and is greatly enjoyed. And if you haven’t played it yet… you’re a little sus, bro.