Among Us: How to lie and get away with murder
In every game of Among Us, the imposters are expected to kill someone, even if it takes some time. Of course, the pace of Among Us is ultimately determined by the imposters and how skilled they are. Surprisingly, however, many imposters make the same mistakes, and frequently fluster when they come under questioning.
Let’s talk about lying in Among Us
Today, we’re going to take a look at the skill your parents wish you never learned: lying. Despite the fact that many of us lie semi-frequently, usually about small or mundane things, lying is a skill that most of us don’t bother to develop, largely because of the negative connotations associated with it.
But lying isn’t inherently bad, and like all things it depends on how you use it, and less on whether you use it. I think we could all agree that a game of Among Us where everyone always told the truth would be a pretty boring game, so if you’re already expected to lie then you should at least lie well.
So how should you lie in Among Us?
First of all, lying should be used in Among Us with precision. That is to say, as an imposter you should lie to sow uncertainty and discord among the crew, and as crew you should lie only when you have a good reason to do so. In general, the crew benefits more from accurate information, so as a crewmate you’ll have more reason to clearly communicate what you know.
We won’t worry about when and why a crewmate might lie just yet, but just note that there may be times when being an unreliable crewmate might be more useful to your team in Among Us than being totally reliable, but that will naturally depend on your playgroup and play style.
Imposters, on the other hand, benefit greatly from denying the crew their information, and sometimes even from providing confusing or inaccurate information. Of course, if you play with a consistent playgroup, they may notice if your participation in meetings changes drastically, so you’ll have to be careful with how you present yourself in both situations.
Remember, sometimes the way you want to play crew isn’t necessarily to play as well as you can, but to allow you more options when playing as an imposter.
Crafting an alibi in Among Us
When a body is discovered, usually what follows is a description of when it was found and a round of questioning where everyone gives their alibis. As a crewmate, this part is trivial, as you simply recall exactly where you were and what you were doing. This part, however, is where some imposters falter, as it can be quite difficult to create a believable alibi on the spot.
A common imposter strategy in Among Us to avoid having to create a complete alibi is to try to kill someone in a location that isn’t likely to be discovered, that way you can be seen by a group and simply say that you were with them. The longer the body goes without being discovered, the more difficult it will be for the crew to figure out who killed them.
But that can’t always be done, and certain playgroups are more capable of finding these bodies than others. As a result, you’ll want to know some simple rules for crafting a believable alibi.
- A good alibi is one that keeps you alive
- When creating an alibi, you should attempt to learn what everyone doesn’t know and go from there
- You should only be as honest as you need to be
- Sometimes, getting the table to suspect someone else is more useful than fully clearing your name
- When in doubt, take control of the situation
- Confidence and certainty can make you more believable
How these rules help you lie in Among Us
As an example, watch the above video. If the body were to be discovered shortly after you had left the area, how might you lie to cover your tracks?
Perhaps the easiest thing to do in Among Us would be to say that you were simply in another area, but you’d have to be careful to say that you were somewhere you know nobody else was. Because White in that clip went back up, she knows that there likely wasn’t anybody in navigation, the victim excluded, between the time of the kill and the end of the clip, and so you might simply state that you had gone to navigation.
But what if someone had seen Black go towards navigation, and was able to conclude that White and Black likely encountered each other before their predictable demise? By being eager to excuse yourself from the kill and use what seemed like a safe alibi, you’ve actually implicated yourself in the murder.
Instead, you could have taken a moment to consider where everyone else was at the time. If you believe that your Among Us playgroup hadn’t kept track of your position, and you noticed that the camera’s on the map weren’t blinking, you might instead try to figure out who was on the left side of the map, and instead implied that you were on your way to the cameras.
If you had been seen by people, or a lot of the crew seemed to be near where you wanted to be, then you’ll instead need to corroborate their stories so as not to sound obviously suspicious. However, you might be able to figure out that someone was near comms around the time of your kill, and if you can get the group to suspect them then you can wind up safer than merely being undetected.
Someone saw me kill in Among Us, what do I do?
Everyone makes mistakes, even imposters in Among Us. If you find yourself in a situation like the above clip then it might seem like all is lost. However, a charismatic and skilled Among Us player could do what the above player must have done (my Danish is a little rusty), and convince the group that your witness was indeed the killer.
If you can pull this off, you can accomplish multiple goals at once. You will get your kill, trick the Among Us crew into killing a second innocent player, and eliminate a witness all at once. Of course, most witnesses will immediately begin opposing your lies, so you’ll want to remember the rules for lying.
Take control of the situation by being the first to talk, self-report if you have to. Provide the group with very clear (false) information so as to sound like a member of the crew. Confidently claim that the witness is the killer, and discredit anything they say as lies.
People are more likely to believe the first piece of information they hear over secondary conflicting information, which is why you should speak first. People are also more likely to believe someone who is confident and absolutely certain about what they say, even if it’s wrong, over someone who is uncertain and wavering.
Among Us is a game as much about taking advantage of gaps in logic as it is simply tricking your friends. While there will certainly be times when you can’t get away with murder, skilled lying and using these rules will help make your imposter abilities stronger and your Among Us games more fun.