Deceive your friends with these sneaky Among Us tips

Need some Among Us Imposter tips to help you lay low? How about knowing how to sniff out bad apples as a Crewmate? Jumping into a game with friends can be challenging when you're out of the loop, but don't let that slow you down. I'm here to help you strengthen your skills as a self-assured prosecutor, while realising your potential as a top-tier trickster.

Keeping safe and on task as a Crewmate is one thing, but you want to find the best Among Us strategy for operating undercover as the Imposter. Whether you're an honest Crewmate or a slippery Imposter, I've put together this Among Us guide to help you get started.

Among Us is also one of our best laptop games that you can play with friends on a low-spec machine.

Essential Among Us tips for new players

Among Us supports between four and ten players split across two teams: Between one and three Imposters, and the rest Crewmates. Crewmates win by performing simple tasks around the map, or by ejecting all the Imposters. Imposters win by killing Crewmates and evading ejections until only a few Crewmates remain. When a body is found and reported, it'll pull all players into a meeting for a discussion. Players can then vote on who they think potential Imposters are, or skip the vote if they're unsure. Here are a few general tips to help you prepare for a match.  

Familiarise yourself with the map and tasks

Similar to other games, watching a few rounds on Twitch and learning where certain rooms and tasks are located is a good start. Consider keeping a tab open with the map you're currently playing on until you learn the names of each room. Knowing the names of each task and where they can be completed is also useful as you can confidently recount everything you've done as the Crewmate, or lie persuasively as the Imposter. 

Shh!

There's no talking while completing tasks. The only occasions where you're allowed to talk (usually via Discord) is before the match begins, or during meetings. You're also not allowed to speak after you've been killed. Crewmates can still float around the map completing tasks as a ghost, but you cannot speak during meetings. 

Vigilance is key

Keep a mental note of what others are up to as you move around the station. For example, if you see three other players on the way to Admin on The Skeld, and then a body is reported closeby, you can share this information with the rest of the team. Similarly, if you're playing as an Imposter, knowing where others are on the map will help you remain hidden, and could even help you frame someone else for your dastardly deeds.

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Among Us Crewmate tips: How to weed out rogue agents

Complete your tasks

This may sound obvious, but it's easy to get swept up in the game and forget that you have objectives to work on.There are a mixture of long and short tasks, depending on the settings your game host has opted for. Thankfully these assignments are as simple as punching in numbers on a keypad, or dragging some leaves into a vacuum. Remain alert when observing suspicious activity, but try to keep your eyes on the prize to put pressure on the Imposters.

Don't ignore sabotage events

If an Imposter is sabotaging the station, you may have to rush to a specific room to fix the malfunctioning equipment. If the entire team ignores the O2 and Reactor events the Imposters can snag an easy win. So, follow the arrows that appear on your map promptly in these situations, and work with the rest of the crew to clear them quickly. Other sabotages include closing doors and turning off the lights. It's possible to fix the lights, but there's little that Crewmates can do about the doors until they open again, apart from hoping they're not stuck in a room with an Imposter.

Don't delay, call an Emergency Meeting

It's possible to call an Emergency Meeting in Among Us if you believe you've uncovered valuable information regarding the Imposters. Every map has an Emergency button, and the number of Emergency Meetings per game can be tweaked by the host. Remember that you can use this button as part of your Among Us strategy for narrowing down who the Imposter could be. The button location varies per map: On The Skeld and MIRA HQ it's in the Cafeteria, whereas on Polus it's in the Office. 

It takes a few seconds for the animation to finish after you interact with the Emergency button, so if an Imposter is lurking closeby, you could get caught off-guard. Sabotages involving O2, Reactor, Communications, and Lights all disable Crewmates' abilities to interact with the Emergency button, and there's also a cooldown following each Emergency Meeting.

Among Us Imposter tips: How to deceive your friends

Vent

Unlike Crewmates, Imposters can move around the map much faster by hopping in and out of vents—the small, grey grills on the floor. You can lurk in these as you decide which room to travel to next, but your sabotage and kill cooldowns will pause while you're out of sight. Before dashing out of a vent, it's worth waiting a few seconds to see which Crewmates are nearby—you want to avoid appearing in front of them and giving yourself away.    

Look busy 

As the Imposter, your objective is to sabotage and pick off Crewmates, but you need to have backup tasks in mind to help you blend in with the rest of the team. Pick a few tasks you can claim you've been working on between meetings so you're ready to reel them off with confidence, when questioned. This is a solid Among Us strategy, but it also helps if you're good at lying. Remember that you cannot fake visual tasks, though—that's one way to admit you're the Imposter immediately. 

Heading to terminals and pausing for a few seconds to make it look as though you're getting on with your tasks also helps. Others will be watching, and good Crewmates will highlight those who aren't completing tasks in meetings. After you've played for a few hours you'll notice ways in which you can build a convincing defence, while seizing opportune moments to pin the blame on others.

Sabotage!

Switching off the lights, breaking the Reactor, and sealing doors are just a few ways that you can slow down the Crewmates and orchestrate a kill. There's a cooldown after executing a sabotage event, so plan ahead and think about how you can target players and get away quickly afterwards. Killing close to vents provides you with an escape route, but consider locking a Crewmate in the room with you to avoid them leaving, or someone else entering and witnessing the attack. 

Turning the lights off restricts Crewmates' vision to help you perform a quick kill, even while others are closeby, before you slink off to another part of the ship. You can even trigger sabotage events that require Crewmates to fix the machinery, and then fix it yourself to appear innocent. 

Watch out for cameras

Crewmates use the security cameras to check up on others. While it's best to avoid killing in view of the cameras altogether, sometimes you only have a few seconds to seize your opportunity. Thankfully, you can tell when a security camera is active as it'll display a red, flashing light. Even when killing out of range of a security camera, if you've noticed that someone is watching the area, it's worth taking extra care to ensure you go through the motions of entering and leaving a room normally.

Report bodies

Gaining others' trust can be challenging, but you can try to frame an innocent Crewmate by reporting the body of a player you've killed. This strategy is certainly risky and can easily backfire if other Crewmates are already dubious. However, if you've played carefully up until this point and have managed to get others to clear you in previous meetings, hiding in plain sight can work surprisingly well. Similarly, if you're aware that the crew suspect an innocent player, reporting the body while they're conveniently close by helps you to build a persuasive case against them, and removes you from the ejecting line.    

Coordinate with other Imposters

This Among Us strategy is difficult to pull off, but it can end games quickly. If you're in a match where there are multiple Imposters, be sure to keep an eye on what they're up to. You may not be able to speak to them, but you can work out what their intentions may be based on the sabotages they're initiating, as well as their movements and positioning on the map. 

Operating separately ensures you'll each have different Crewmate alibis, but you can vouch for each other, providing your stories are plausible. Towards the end of the match, when few Crewmates are left, or when they may be close to completing all tasks, teaming up with the other Imposter can close the game quickly. Choosing a sabotage that benefits you both, such as switching off the lights, could lead to a double kill. This ensures you're making the most of your time between cooldowns.