by Ricky Thompson
Like Monopoly ruins friendships as people make each other go bankrupt, Among Us ruins trust in friendships. The simple to play, outrageously popular game consists of groups of up to 10 players. Each player has a character with a unique color, and, depending on the specifics of a particular game, 1-3 of players are known as the “Imposters.” Played on a map with rooms and corridors, where the “crewmates” (not the Imposters) participating must complete tasks in these rooms, the imposter’s goal is to kill everyone else. If, in the rare event, all tasks are completed, the crewmates automatically win. However games usually end with the Imposter(s) getting voted out during meetings, which occur when players report a dead body, or with the Imposter(s) killing a sufficient number of people to win.
Now that I have established the fundamentals of the game we can move on to my thoughts on the game. This game is best played with a group of 10 friends, and two Imposters that hunt everyone down. The ability to communicate with each other clearly and quickly, is crucial to the game’s success. The difficulty of distinguising between crewmates and Imposters leads to speedy distrust among friends in the game. Friends must learn to lie themselves and identify the lies of their friends if they want to win this game, breeding hatred in the process.
Despite the triviality of little, crudely drawn oval figures waddling around a spaceship, Among Us has become a serious game of shouting in defense, arguing to vote someone out, and begging for one’s own life to be spared.