120 Imposter Game Words for Kids, Sorted by Age

What makes a word work for kids

A good word for children is one they have seen, touched or eaten. Concrete beats clever. "Banana" gives a six-year-old five easy clues (yellow, peel, monkey, lunchbox, smoothie). "Breakfast" gives them almost nothing, because it is a time of day rather than a thing.

The second test is variety. If every clue for a word comes out the same, the round ends after one turn. "Elephant" fails this with young players because everyone says "trunk". Swap it for "Giraffe" or "Penguin" and the clues spread out.

Last, keep the words inside one world your group shares. A class that has finished a topic on space will happily play with planets. A mixed group of cousins needs food, animals and toys.

Ages 5 to 7: words they can picture

Short words for things in a picture book. Read the word aloud to anyone still learning to read, out of earshot of the others.

Ages 8 to 10: words with more angles

This age group can handle places and jobs, which open up clues about what you do there rather than what something looks like.

Ages 11 to 13: words that make them think

Older kids get bored of easy words quickly. These still name real things, but each one sits close to a neighbour, so a vague clue could point either way.

Rule changes for younger players

The standard rules work from about eight. Below that, a few small changes keep everyone in the game.

• Turn the imposter hint on. A young imposter with a blank card often freezes. A hint gives them something to say, so the round lasts long enough to be fun.
• Use pictures for children who cannot read yet. The animal imposter game shows a photo of the animal on the crew's card, so a five-year-old can play without reading a word.
• Keep it to one imposter until the group has played a few rounds.
• Let clues be short phrases. "It lives in the sea" is fine for a six-year-old. One-word clues are a rule for older players.
• Score in points, not knockouts. Nobody sits out a round. The generator keeps a running score for you.
• Give a caught imposter one guess. If the crew catches the imposter, let them name the word anyway. Getting it right still feels like a win.

Playing in a classroom

A whole class is too big for one round. Split into groups of five or six, give each group one phone or tablet, and let every group play its own round at the same time. Five minutes covers a round with discussion and a vote.

The game doubles as vocabulary practice. Build the word list from the topic you are teaching (planets, habitats, the Romans) and the clues turn into a quick check of who understood it. For geography lessons, spin the country wheel to pick the country everyone has to describe, or play the countries imposter game, which deals the roles for you.

Older pupils can play the imposter game online on their own devices, with everyone joining one room by code. For younger classes, pass-and-play on one device is simpler: nobody needs an account, and the names the children type stay on that device.

Common questions

What age is the imposter game for?

The imposter game has no official age rating, because it is a party word game rather than a published product. Children from about eight play the standard rules comfortably. From five or six it works with picture rounds, the imposter hint switched on and an adult reading the word aloud.

Is the imposter game appropriate for kids?

Yes. The "imposter" is a player who does not know the secret word and bluffs to blend in. There is nothing violent or scary in it, and every word on this page is family friendly.

How do you play the imposter game with kids who cannot read?

Use a mode with pictures. In the animal imposter game the crew's card shows a photo of the animal. Switch the imposter hint on and an adult can read the hint to the imposter in private.

How many kids can play at once?

One phone handles 3 to 20 players. Groups of four to eight work best for children, because everyone gets a turn before attention drifts. With more than eight, split into two groups.

What are easy words for the imposter game?

The ages 5 to 7 list above: everyday animals, food and toys. For more ideas, the full imposter game word list has 240 words across 12 categories.