Imposter game words about places: 30 locations that make good clues
A place is the easiest thing in the world to describe and the hardest to describe without giving it away. That is what makes places such a good category for this kind of game. Everyone knows a market, a ferry or a launde
A place is the easiest thing in the world to describe and the hardest to describe without giving it away. That is what makes places such a good category for this kind of game. Everyone knows a market, a ferry or a launderette, and everyone has a different memory of it. These 30 imposter game words about places are picked for that mix of familiarity and surprise.
What makes a place a good word?
A place with a smell, a sound and a routine. A ferry terminal has engines and gulls; a launderette has warmth and a hum. A clue about the sound is true and personal. A clue about the function is safe and obvious. The strongest words allow both, and the table argues about which a clue was.
Around town
- launderette
- market stall
- ferry terminal
- bus depot
- town hall
- car wash
- betting shop
- roundabout
- cash machine
- phone box
Leisure and nature
- bowling alley
- boating lake
- allotment
- caravan park
- observatory
- skating rink
- beer garden
- fairground
- ski slope
- rock pool
Buildings with a story
- clock tower
- windmill
- castle ruin
- lock-up
- tollbooth
- canal lock
- church hall
- lighthouse stairs
- old cinema
- railway footbridge
How do you clue a place?
Use the senses. For "launderette", "warm" or "humming" works. For "ferry terminal", "salt" or "waiting". Avoid the function, because the spy will guess it. And avoid famous landmarks by name, since they identify the word at once.
How does the spy handle a place category?
The spy hears the category and thinks of types: indoor or outdoor, busy or quiet, old or new. The first clue from a civilian narrows these. The risk for a spy is giving a clue that fits only one kind of place. A safe spy says something sensory and general: "busy", "echoey", "bright".
What do civilians do wrong?
They name the activity. If the word is "bowling alley", "pins" is the first clue everyone thinks of. A better clue is the smell of shoes, or the sound of a strike from the next lane. Sensory clues give the spy less and prove more.
How do you play it as a story game?
After the reveal, each player says a memory they have of the place. The table learns how differently the same word lands for people. It is a quiet, warm way to end a round.
How do you add your own places?
Write down ten places from your own neighbourhood, the ones your friends would know: the bakery on the corner, the park with the broken swing, the station cafΓ©. Local words are the strongest fuel for a spy game online or offline, because every player has a memory of them and nobody outside the group can bluff. Mix them with the list above, and the table will find itself laughing at its own streets.
It also helps to include a few places that are almost the same, like a launderette and a car wash, so the clues overlap and the suspicion grows.
Playing it online and at home
The game deals the words, so you can play who's the spy with a table of three to eight, or twelve around one phone, without preparing anything.
A closing thought
A good place word is a small door into a memory. Use it to let the table in, and give each player a moment after the reveal to say where they last stood in that very place. The stories are better than the scores.
Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site.
Originally published by Dev.to WebDev. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes β full credit and traffic to the original publisher.