Among Us Guide: Tips, Tricks, Trivia [Ultimate Guide]

Welcome to Borderpolar's Among Us guide, containing everything you need to know about 2020's massive party game hit. Among Us is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game developed and published by American game studio Innersloth. Innersloth originally released the game on iOS and Android devices in June 2018 and on Windows in November 2018, featuring cross-platform play between these platforms. The game was also ported for the Nintendo Switch in December 2020 and has planned releases for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 in 2021. To discover what's coming next, you can read our Among Us roadmap and the latest patch notes guide.

Rise to Success

For the first two years since its release, Among Us was not a household name. However, the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing and streaming the game helped Among Us become a mainstream powerhouse and one of the most popular games in 2020. Innersloth went on to announce Among Us 2, a project which has now been canceled.

What is Among Us?

Among Us is a multiplayer game for 4-10 players, where the players are split into two groups. Most of the players are crewmates in a spaceship, while 1-3 of them, depending on the game settings and the player count, play Imposters' role.

The Imposters are the bad guys belonging to an alien race, and their goal is to take down the crew and destroy the spaceship. The win conditions for the Imposters require them to kill enough crew members to ensure they cannot be voted out of the game by the remaining ones.

Meanwhile, the Crewmates must find out who the Imposters are and vote them out of the game.

The challenge is that on the outside, Imposters look and act exactly like all other crewmates.

The Among Us characters are all humanoids dressed in a full spacesuit, carrying a backpack that looks like an oxygen tank.

The game looks very simple; however, if you are familiar with the Night Falls in Palermo board game, you can expect similar challenges.

Crewmates need to be observative, cunning, perceptual, and communicative to expose the Imposters. Simultaneously, the Imposters need to be stealthy, opportunistic, and very good at misdirection.

The game won't be easy no matter which side you are on.

How to Play Among Us

You can play an Among Us game either online or locally on your network. You can then create a game or join an existing one. There are four maps currently in Among Us:

The Skeld
MIRA HQ
Plus
The Airship

Each map comes with recommended settings, but the host can customize the settings to modify the game mechanics and difficulty.

Here's a quick rundown of the settings you might want to change game to game:

Impostors: This refers to the number of Impostors in play. The limit refers to the lowest number of Impostors allowed (if your lobby isn't full, the game can decide to have fewer Impostors).
Confirm Ejects: With this on, it will tell you if the person you just ejected was an Impostor or not. With it off, it won't.
Emergency Meetings: This is the number of emergency meetings a player can call from the center of the map.
Emergency Cooldown: This is the amount of time you need to wait in between emergency meetings. When playing online, having a long cooldown stops it from being abused.
Discussion Time: How long in seconds you can discuss Impostors in meetings before you vote.
Voting Time: How long in seconds you have to vote. Discussions can continue during this time.
Player Speed: How fast the players move around the ship.
Crewmate Vision: How far the crewmates can see around the map.
Impostor Vision: How far the Impostor can see around the map. Impostors typically have a larger field of view to make life for them a bit easier.
Kill Cooldown: How long the Impostor must wait in between kills. The more Impostors, the longer it should be.
Kill Distance: How close (short, normal, or long) the Impostor must perform to trigger the kill action.
Visual Tasks: A few tasks, such as scanning in the MedBay, are visible, as in other players can see you. If your crewmates see you doing a visual task, that's proof that you're not the Impostor.
Common Tasks: These are the most basic tasks in the game, shared among crewmates, and they have an average completion time
Long Tasks: These tasks are more challenging and time-consuming. They involve visiting multiple rooms to complete them.
Short Tasks: These tasks are concise and can be completed quickly in a single location.

Depending on the number of imposters and the total number of players, you can tweak the above settings to balance out the game. For instance, if the game features a single Impostor and nine crewmates, it is best to keep the kill cooldown to the minimum value, maximize Impostor Vision and kill distance and have a few emergency meetings as possible.

When there are three Impostors, their team has an advantage, so to balance things out, you can have long kill cooldowns, around 40s or more, a short kill distance, and an Impostor Vision that is only fractionally better than Crewmate Vision.

Keeping the Emergency Meetings to a minimum is recommended, especially when hosting strangers, as the button is easily abused, interrupting the game's flow.

Gameplay Basics

You will not know if you are a crewmate or Impostor until the game starts.

You can use your keyboard and mouse to control your character or just the mouse. On smartphones, you will have an analog stick on the screen.
To perform tasks, you go to the fitting room and either click the object directly or click the ‘Use' button in the bottom right corner.
If you find a dead body, you can click ‘Report' in the bottom right corner. This will call a team meeting. You do not have to report a body if you see one, though.
You can also call an emergency meeting using a button in the starting room of each map.
After discussing and raising suspicions or accusations, players vote. Players can skip votes. If most votes are “Skip” or there is a tie, no players will be ejected.
To win the game, you must complete all tasks before the Impostor kills the crew.
If you are killed as a crewmate, you can continue to complete tasks as a ghost to help your team win, but you cannot communicate with other players.

Among Us Tasks Guide

Short tasks often require only a single-stage and take very little time depending on the player's speed.

Long tasks usually have multiple stages or force the player to spend a long time performing them.

Visual tasks, when performed, show an animation visible to all players. Completing a visual task in front of a group is an easy way to confirm a Crewmate. Other players will see the task being completed, clearing the player of any suspicion of being an Imposter. Visual tasks' visual effects can be turned off in the game options by the host. Visual tasks may still be assigned to players even if visual effects are off.

Common tasks are assigned to every player in a game if one or more common tasks have been set in the game settings by the game host.

For example, if one player has Swipe Card, everybody else does. Conversely, if one Crewmate does not have Swipe Card, then no other player has the task.

Common tasks are an easy way to identify Impostors. If a Crewmate sees someone running a common task that they do not have, they can confirm that the other player is an Impostor performing sabotage. Crewmates should know the common tasks and locations before using the emergency button and wasting a meeting.

Below you will find the complete list of tasks for all four currently available maps; The Skeld, Mira HQ, POLUS, and the Airship.

The Skeld tasks List:

Admin: Swipe Card
Cafeteria: Upload Data, Empty garbage (VISUAL)
Communications: Upload data, Divert power to communications
Electrical: Upload data, Fix wiring, Calibrate distributor
Engines: Align engine output, Divert Power to Upper engine, Divert power to lower engine
MedBay: Submit Scan (VISUAL), Inspect sample
Navigation: Chart course, Upload data, Divert power to Navigation, Stabilize steering
O2: Empty chute (VISUAL), Divert power to O2, Clean O2 filter
Reactor: Start reactor, Unlock manifolds
Security: Divert Power to security
Shields: Prime Shields (VISUAL), Divert power to shields
Storage: Fuel engines
Weapons: Clear Asteroids (VISUAL), Upload data, Divert Power to Weapons

Mira HQ tasks list:

Admin: Prime Shield, Chart Course, Divert power to admin, Enter ID code
Hallway: Fix Wiring
Reactor: Start Reactor, Unlock Manifolds
Storage: Water plants
Laboratory: Divert power to Laboratory, Assemble artifact, Sort samples
Balcony: Clear Asteroids (VISUAL), Measure weather
Cafeteria: Divert power to the cafeteria, buy a beverage, empty garbage
Communications: Divert power to communications
Medbay: Submit Scan (VISUAL), Divert power to Medbay
Greenhouse: Divert power to the greenhouse, Clean 02 filter
Office: Divert power to the office, process data
Launchpad: Fuel Engines, Divert power to Launchpad, Run Diagnostic

POLUS tasks list:

Boiler Room: Open waterways, replace water jug
MedBay: Submit Scan (VISUAL), Inspect sample
Storage: Fuel engines
Weapons: Clear asteroids (VISUAL), upload data
O2: Upload data, empty garbage, monitor tree, fill canisters
Communications: Reboot wifi
Dropship: Chart course, Insert keys
Office: Swipe card, upload data, scan boarding pass
Outside: Fix Weather Nodes, Record temperature
Electrical: Upload data, fix wiring
Laboratory: Repair drill, Record temperature, align the telescope
Specimen room: Start reactor, upload data, unlock manifolds, store artifacts

Airship tasks list:

Armory: Put Away Pistols, Put Away Rifles, Divert Power
Engine Room: Fix Wiring, Fuel Engines, Polish Ruby
Meeting Room: Enter ID Code, Empty Garbage, Fix Wiring
Cargo Bay: Unlock Safe, Fuel Engines, Fix Wiring, Polish Ruby, Unlock Safe
Main Hall: Decontaminate, Develop Photos, Fix Wiring, Divert Power
Outside: Upload Data
Electrical: Calibrate Distributor, Reset Breakers
Lounge: Clean Toilet
Electrical: Divert Power
MedBay: Empty Garbage
Kitchen: Empty Garbage, Make Burger
Cockpit: Enter ID Code, Stabilize Steering
Showers: Fix Shower, Fix Wiring, Pick up Towels, Diver Power
Viewing Deck: Fix Wiring
Security: Rewind Tapes
Ventilation: Start Fans
Records: Sort Records
Gap Room: Divert Power, Upload Data

Keep in mind that the Airship is the first Among Us map without any visual tasks.

Among Us Strategies

Crewmate Tips and Tricks

Several tips, tactics, and strategies you can utilize to protect yourselves and the spaceship as crewmates. Let's see some of the best:

Organize and Move in Groups

This is arguably the most crucial tactic in Among Us. With one Imposter in the game, you would have to split into groups of 3 in something like 3-3-4 (assuming there are ten players). This way, there will always be a second crewmate around if the imposter kills someone.

With two Imposters, you will need a group, which means you can use a 5-5 formation (once again, if ten players are present).

Finally, with three imposters, you are going to need seven people in one group. At this point, it's better to consider moving the group together.

Moving in groups does not necessarily protect you; it just reduces the probability of losing the game. As an example, in a group of three, if the imposter takes one out, then it's your word against the imposter's word.

Moving towards another group is reasonable, but the imposter can do the same thing and accuse you of trying to split.

From this minimal example, you can tell that among us is a very complex social deduction game. Since communication is limited, you will have to bring out your best act, whether you are a crewmate or an Imposter.

However, splitting the players properly is fundamental in your efforts to separate the imposters from one another.

Monitor Task Completion Bars

Completing Common, Visual, or Long tasks takes some time, while Sabotaging doesn't. When you see an instant “fix,” it is, in fact, a sabotaging attempt (you will see the warning reasonably soon). The point here is to try to remain outside the field of view of other players you suspect and observe what they do without being aware that you are spying on them.

Keep Track of Common Tasks

Common tasks, as their name implies, are common between crewmates. So if you have a common task, all other players have it, so you can expect them to visit its location. On the other hand, if you don't own a task, no other crewmates do either, so if you see someone performing a task at a common task location that is not available in this game, it means they are an Imposter performing a sabotaging task.

The concept here is straightforward. Players should learn all the tasks and associate them with locations to know where others should and shouldn't be during a game.

Perform Visual Tasks Wisely

As I already explained, visual tasks have visible effects on the other players' screens, so it is recommended to perform such tasks when there is a group of players around you. This will allow the crewmates to clear you of any suspicion (if the right people see you), shortening down the list of potential imposters.

Be Smart with Emergency Meetings

This tip depends on the number of Emergency Meetings allowed in a game. Sometimes, it is worth “wasting” an emergency meeting (as they typically are used to vote out someone) to organize the team in groups and locations based on the common tasks available.

Fix Sabotage in Groups

When there is a sabotage alarm, the team should prioritize fixing, but you need to ensure that you move in groups while doing so as the Impostors will try to use sabotages to split the team, isolate crewmates and kill them.

In a game with three imposters, this is easier said than done as the Impostors might use multiple sabotage locations to misdirect crewmates or camp a single area and take out up to three players.

Dead Man Standing?

If you locate a dead body still standing, it means the kill is very fresh, so in case you encountered any bypassers going there, you should consider them primary suspects for the kill.

Keep Track of the Vents and the Locations They Connect

The vents in Among Us maps are only usable by Impostors, and they typically connect 2 or 3 rooms. In the Mira HQ map, the ducts connect all rooms. While the vents are an excellent tool for the Impostors to move fast from one location to another, you should keep track of their existence and all the areas they connect. Crewmates can tell when a vent is used, but they cannot tell who used it.

As a crewmate, your job is to keep track of the rooms containing vents and be on alert when a player enters the room and does not exit it. In some cases, it is advisable to follow people carefully when they go into these rooms as you may observe the “enter vent” animation, fully exposing an Impostor.

Also, avoid entering vent rooms alone as an Impostor may kill you and quickly move to another location (at the risk of being caught up on the act of exiting the vent), or an Impostor may suddenly appear in front of you and kill you.

Vents are a great advantage for imposters, but you can easily turn that to their detriment if they are not extremely careful with their use.

On the Mira HQ map, it is not easy to keep track of venting Impostors, but you can check the Door Log to find out who passed a door sensor and when. The Door Log keeps track of the last 20 logging events, so if you see a player passing a door at one side of the map and then another one that is not directly connected to the first one, you can expose them as an imposter.

Use the Cameras on the Skeld and POLUS

Crewmates can watch the cameras to monitor movement in other rooms on the Skeld and POLUS maps. While doing so, the imposters can see a blinking light at the camera, and this can easily turn into a game of hide and seek, in which you will try to lure out the Impostor by leaving the camera screens and then going back to catch them upon the act.

Among Us Maps

Below you will find all the currently available maps in Among Us. You must learn the maps as well as possible since awareness of your surroundings and the task locations is vital to your success in the game. There are even quizzes to test your knowledge of the maps, such as this one for the Skeld.

The Skeld Map

The Skeld, often shortened to Skeld, is the first map in Among Us set on a spaceship in outer space.

Mira HQ

MIRA HQ is the second map in Among Us, set high up in the Earth's atmosphere. The facility is owned by, and is the headquarters for the company MIRA.

POLUS

Polus, also known as the Polus Outpost or Planet Polus, is the third map in Among Us, which is set on the planet Polus as a planetary base.

The Airship

The Airship, often shortened as Airship, is the fourth map in Among Us, based on the Toppat Clan's Airship in the Henry Stickmin game Infiltrating the Airship.

How to Play Among Us on Your Smartphone

You can download Among Us the following ways:

Head to the Among Us Google Play page if you're Android, or the App Store if you're on iOS
Press ‘install' to download on Google Play, or ‘get' on the App Store

You can also download the Among Us APK and install it directly, without heading to any Android app store:

Find a reliable site to download the game APK such as APKPure.
Go to the Among Us download page on the APK site.
Download the APK.
Find the APK on your phone and tap the file to manually install Among Us.

How to Play Among Us on Your PC

You can play Among Us for free on your computer using an emulator or Itch.io. Alternatively, you can take a more official approach and download the game from Steam.

Steam: You can buy Among Us on Steam for $3.99/?3.99
Itch.io: You can head to Itch.io and pay whatever you think is fair for the game
BlueStacks: You can play Among Us for free with the BlueS t acks emulator.
Memu Play: If you have the Memu Play emulator installed, you can download and play Among Us for free.

Among Us Roadmap

Innersloth posted a roadmap for Among Us's future on June 10th, as part of the Summer Games Fest.

The next big Among Us update will be 15 player support with new colors (including Rose, Gray, Tan, and more), a slight graphics update, mobile controller support, and more. More details on this update will come out soon.

Then, in no particular order, here's what we want to work on:

A new map – Map 5!?Very secret. What's it gonna be on? Don't ask me! I'm sworn to secrecy, I'm bad at secrets, and I would like to keep my job.
Achievements.?For anyone who wants to prove they are pros at the game. AKA not me, I'm a very anxious Impostor.
Account linking between platforms.?All your save data and cosmetics, available on your platform of choice.
New roles and ways to play.?VERY SECRET. OR MAYBE I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S UP.
Hide n' Seek mode.?Come out come out wherever you areee.
Visor cosmetics.?Even more, ways to fix a ship in style! Yes, it may block your vision but at least you'll be fashionable.
Console support (Xbox and PlayStation).?I get it, you want to know when. I can't tell you. I'M SORRY. When I can I will!!
Take a nap at some point, idk, the churn of capitalism is rough.

Check the full list of Among Us updates & patch notes.