Among Us: How to marinate your friends
I try not to write too much about Among Us strategy unless there’s some aspect of the game I feel is being overlooked, however after Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar streamed with DisguisedToast’s playgroup it would be hard to avoid talking about Toast’s marination strategy. So here’s what it means to marinate a U.S. Congresswoman in Among Us.
Marinating your friends, a common imposter strategy for slower paced games
Marinating someone in Among Us refers to when an imposter player stays close to a crewmate in order to convince them that the imposter is actually safe, effectively turning the marinated crewmate into someone who will defend your innocence to the others.
The marinated player, convinced of your innocence, can then be used to drive a wedge between the crew, to split up votes, and attack other crewmates. This can allow you some freedom to move about the map and score kills, not to mention it could help you win 50/50s where a vote hinges on whether or not you can convince someone to vote along with you.
This is occasionally referred to by Among Us players as making the other player into a “third imposter,” however someone can end up being a third imposter without being marinated, and a marinated player may not always become a third imposter.
When is marinating worth it in Among Us?
While this strategy might seem fun, it’s worth pointing out that it won’t always be the right strategy when playing as an imposter in Among Us. Rather, it should be thought of as simply another tool to use when you can.
First of all, there are some clear times when you don’t want to marinate someone. Specifically, if tasks are nearing completion, or your playgroup plays with very few tasks on, then you won’t have time to marinate someone to full effect before the game ends. Additionally, if your Among Us playgroup knows about marinating, they may call you out for it rather than fall for it.
If you end up being an imposter, you’ll want to decide whether to marinate, and whom to marinate, very quickly after the game begins. You’ll want to stick close to your target, fake tasks frequently, and try to find time to be alone with them in positions where you could feasibly kill them without anyone noticing.
Usually you’ll want to do this for at least a round, but if the other imposter is playing slow as well then you might want to find some reason to call an emergency meeting to start talking with your group. Once in chat, you’ll want to bring up that you and your marinated friend were together a lot, and that you’re sure they are safe.
If you marinated them well, and faked tasks convincingly, then they should return the favor by claiming that you are safe. While this takes a lot of work, and doesn’t always work for every Among Us playgroup, it can be very useful when it pays off.
What should you do after fully marinating your friend in Among Us?
Once you’ve gotten a friend to fully buy in to your marination you’ll want to be careful so as not to waste it. While you can take advantage of their support for 50/50s, you don’t want to abuse it with obvious kills. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure to reinforce their support in you by spending some time with them even afterwards.
Sometimes the only available kills may be to kill someone just outside of their vision and self-report. If your marination has gone well, they won’t even think to consider that you had killed them, and instead they’ll believe that another killed must have followed.
If you want to look into this Among Us strategy more, perhaps the single best example of a successful marinaton is the video below.