In recent months, a mobile game called Among Us has blown up among gamers. The game was released June 15, 2018. Even though the game is already about two years old, its popularity grew from the search for new entertainment due to COVID quarantine conditions. Among Us is like pre-existing in-person games such as Mafia, but more fast paced and impersonal. The game works like this. There are two teams: Crewmates and Impostors. Crewmates have to complete tasks around the map while the Impostors must kill the Crewmates. Impostors can kill Crewmates directly or through sabotaging critical facility systems. Crewmates can call Emergency Meetings if they suspect someone is an Imposter or report a dead body if one is found. The players are then taken to a discussion room and must compare players’ alibis to root out the imposter. Players are ejected from the crew by popular vote. This means the innocent are just as susceptible to removal as the guilty. Crewmates win by ejecting all the imposters while the Impostors win by killing all or enough Crewmates that a majority vote cannot eject them.
One big fun factor in Among Us is seeing how mob mentality works. When one player is labeled “sus”, it is often very hard to clear their name. Time constraints place a sense of urgency to the decision making process. It also allows very little detail to be put out to the masses. One loud player can sway the vote of all the others. One player can spam the chat with irrelevant “facts” to “prove” someone is guilty. In other words, you are guilty until proven innocent. Sounds familiar right?