In the summer of 2020, amongst the fires, pandemics, and protests rose a game that has taken the internet by storm. Among Us, a PC or Mobile app, was created in June 2018, but rose to popularity in the summer of 2020. 

The game’s sudden popularity is due to twitch streamers and YouTubers such as Ninja and Pewdiepie who have a huge influence on people of all ages from around the world. Some of these influencers were looking to do their job as entertainers to keep their viewers happy during quarantine. 

How to play 

In the beginning, the game starts with 4-10 players in a spaceship. There are two different positions you can be in in this game: a crewmate or an imposter. 

The crewmates need to go around the map completing different tasks and trying not to get killed by the imposter. At the same time they need to have an eye out for any suspicious activity coming from any of the players because that might hint towards them being an imposter.

The imposter, on the other hand, needs to go around the map pretending to be a crewmate by faking tasks and looking as inconspicuous as possible while they kill and sabotage the other players. 

When a body is found, or an emergency meeting is called, everyone must try to figure out who the imposter is and get them kicked off the ship.

The end of the game can come in a couple different ways. For the crewmates to win, everyone has to either finish all of their tasks or get all the imposters kicked off the ship.

For the imposters to win they either have to kill off enough players, go through the entire game without getting voted off, or successfully sabotage the ship without anyone fixing it. 

Why is everyone hooked on this game?

All around the world people are stuck at home, bored and looking for something to spend their time doing. Many have found haven in playing Among Us, including sophomore Kylie Robinson. 

“I think a lot of people have found it as a nice distraction, especially with everything happening in the world,” Robinson said. “It gives them a place to go in that need for diversion. It’s also something different and new from a lot of other games and that makes a lot of people attached to it.”

Along with the use of the game as a distraction, it is also very easily understood by younger kids, which makes the age range of the game very wide. 

“In a lot of games [of Among Us]  I have noticed a vast variety of people ranging in age,” Robinson said. “Despite their age each person has a grasp on how the game works thanks to the simplicity. ” 

Another thing that attracts people and makes the game so diverse is the ability to adjust the settings of any game. You can make it harder by assigning more taste per person, or making the imposters kill cool down- the time they must wait between each kill- longer. Or, if you want the game to be easier or quicker, you can give crewmates less tasks or turn the kill cool down down. Many people really like this feature of the game, including sophomore Abigail Hayes. 

“I like the simple graphics, and the game itself can be manipulated so it can be as hard or easy as you want it to be,” Hayes said. 

Besides the simplicity of this game, many really enjoy the strategic element of the game. To be an imposter you have to be able to make sure you go undetected as you sabotage and kill your way to victory, but if you do get called out, you have to be able to lie your way out of suspicion or convince everyone that you are not the imposter.

“Though it can be extremely stressful being the imposter, I prefer it over being a crewmate,” Robinson said. “It being and posture is really when you start to kick in the strategy. You have to piece together the perfect plan in order to become undetected. I enjoy having to create a strategy.”

Character Customization

Before the game starts, you have the option to choose a color, hat, skin or pet. Like in every game, people love these customization options and go crazy over them. 

The thing is though, only one person can have each of the colors per server. So, only one person can be red, only one person can be cyan, etc. Which can really ruffle some feathers amongst the different players. Many people have different color or hat preferences that they always want to be every round. 

“I tend to go for either orange or black with the egg as a hat,” Robinson said. “There isn’t really a specific reason other than I just really enjoy how the colors looked and how the egg compliments both colors.”

Some colors though can have certain stigmas or stereotypes attached to them.

“According to my past games, people who choose pink usually are relatively dumb,” Robinson said. “My brother believes orange is the most popular color for impostors which makes him believe orange is always suspicious.”

Celebrity influences

With the growth of the games popularity also came the rise in YouTubers and streamers playing this game. 

“Watching other people play has really advanced my skills in the game,” Robinson said. “People like PewDiePie and Mr. Beast are personal favorites who I’ve taken a few tips from. I also watch a lot of tip videos that have educated me on the game a ton. I also really love watching people who’ve never played Among Us play it for the first time. It’s interesting to see people reacting the same way I did the first time I played.”

Usually when a game becomes popular you’ll only see all the big gaming channels playing it, but this time, you can see people ranging from famous TikTokers like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio to U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez playing along with them. With the wider range of celebrities taking part in the game, there are more people hearing about and trying out the game. 

“At first I wanted to try it because AOC and a bunch of my favorite BreadTubers did a voting drive on Twitch while playing it, and then I downloaded it and it was kind of fun,” Hayes said. 

In the end

This game requires strategy, cunningness, and the ability to convince a group of people that you haven’t been going around killing their friends, but in the end is an overall fun game to play with your friends during these hard times when you can’t see them in person.