Among Us: Task wins, the mistake many playgroups make
Perhaps one of the most confusing experiences I have personally had while playing Among Us has been playing a game where multiple people complain about the number of task wins while simultaneously resisting changes to the tasks. If your Among Us playgroup sees a lot of games decided by tasks then here’s some things you should consider.
What are task wins in Among Us?
Every game of Among Us assigned the crew a series of tasks to complete. When all tasks are completed the game ends in a crew victory. This is a fairly straightforward way to win the game for some crewmates, but some players fail to understand what purpose the tasks serve.
The purpose of the tasks isn’t to be the primary way that crewmates win in Among Us, tasks are effectively a timer placed on the game. Their purpose is to make sure that the imposters have to take some action to advance the game or else lose to the sheer work ethic of the crew.
When a game of Among Us ends in a task win, it should be a sign that your group’s task balance is off. While sometimes a task win can mean that the imposters need to take more risks and play more quickly, in many games it feels like groups just use too few tasks.
How to know if your group uses too few tasks in Among Us
In general, the recommended sweet spot for tasks is 1 common task, 1 long task, and 4 short tasks. However, this recommendation should not be taken as gospel, it’s not meant to be something you follow all the time. The most fun task distribution is going to be different based on your specific playgroup.
If your playgroup isn’t used to playing imposters, and tends to run through tasks as quickly as possible, then you’ll almost certainly need more tasks to balance out the game. In my own personal games of Among Us I tend to push for 2 common tasks, 2 long tasks, and 5 short tasks. This might sound like a lot to some groups, but this distribution still results in some task wins, especially with inexperienced imposters, while placing more emphasis on investigation.
However, I have also received a lot of push back from these recommendations. In groups I don’t run, I’ve seen games as low as 0 common tasks, 1 long task, and 3 short tasks, and to no surprise the overwhelming majority of games ended in task wins.
If your Among Us playgroup is struggling with imposter victories, and if you find the crew saying they should “just complete tasks” frequently, then you should strongly consider adding more tasks to the game.
Don’t consider tasks as the main way to win, the crew should be forced to vote people off at some point. Otherwise, Among Us won’t play out like a social deduction game so much as a task simulator.