How to play Impostor with iconic video games
Published: 2026-11-05 Updated: 2026-11-05 1144 words 5 min read
The Iconic Video Games category spans four decades, from Pac-Man in 1980 to Fortnite. Almost everyone has played one of them, but very few remember the exact year or the company behind it, and that is where a non-gamer impostor can slip through. The database holds twenty real titles, from Super Mario Bros to Dark Souls.
Table of contents
- What a round of iconic video games looks like
- How the Iconic Video Games category works
- The real titles the database deals out
- Strategies for an impostor who does not play anything
- How to catch the impostor if you know the classics
- Common mistakes that ruin the round
- Recommended settings for a gaming session
- House rules for very gamer tables
- Frequently asked questions
What a round of iconic video games looks like
In each round every player is dealt a different game and writes a clue: the genre, the console, the year or a famous mechanic. The impostor gets no title and has to improvise descriptions that fit the rest.
Then the clues are read, debated and voted on. Eject the impostor and the table wins; let him survive and the round is his. With such well-known games, the decisive detail is usually the platform or the decade.
- Best with 4 to 12 players
- Rounds last 3 to 6 minutes
- Works for hardcore gamers and casual players alike
- Nothing to install, it runs in the browser
- Pairs well with the video game characters category
How the Iconic Video Games category works
The game deals titles from its database: Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Minecraft, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft and Skyrim, each with an era and a platform. Clues usually mention genre, console or a recognisable mechanic.
The impostor reads the others and hunts for a gap. Two classic failures: giving a game a console it never appeared on, or blending two franchises from the same publisher.
- Pick Iconic Video Games when you create the room
- Write a clue with a verifiable detail: genre, console or year
- Read the other clues and flag contradictions
- Ask the suspect which platform it launched on
- Vote together and the ejected player reveals their game
The real titles the database deals out
These are the games in the category. Placing the decade and the genre is enough to catch the impostor on the first pass.
The list mixes arcade, PC, consoles and mobile, so even someone who does not play every day can join in.
| Video game | Era and platform | A clue that fits | Giveaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Bros | Nintendo, 1985 | Classic platformer, 8-bit | Says it came out on PlayStation |
| The Legend of Zelda | Nintendo, 1986 | Adventure, sword and dungeons | Describes it as a shooter |
| Minecraft | PC and consoles, 2011 | Blocks, building, survival | Credits it to a console maker |
| Fortnite | Free to play, 2017 | Battle royale, building | Claims it is paid only |
| League of Legends | PC, 2009 | MOBA with global esports | Confuses it with a racing game |
| Counter-Strike | PC, tactical shooter | Started as a mod for another game | Says it is a Nintendo title |
| Call of Duty | Consoles and PC | First-person war franchise | Calls it a strategy game |
| Grand Theft Auto V | Consoles, 2012 | Open world, Los Santos | Places it in a racing series |
| Pac-Man | Arcade, 1980 | Maze, dots, four ghosts | Places it in the 1990s |
| Tetris | Puzzle, 1984 | Falling pieces, no story | Invents an online multiplayer mode |
| Halo | Xbox, 2001 | Sci-fi shooter, Master Chief | Attributed to a rival console |
| World of Warcraft | PC, 2004 | Massive online world, guilds | Described as a single-player game |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Consoles and PC, 2011 | Open world, dragons | Says it is a linear story |
| Doom | PC, 1993 | One of the first shooters | Placed in the wrong decade |
| Street Fighter | Arcade, 1991 | One-on-one fights, Ryu | Presented as a puzzle game |
Strategies for an impostor who does not play anything
You do not need to be a gamer. The impostor wins by sounding like someone who tried a game once, not by naming the right one.
- Anchor your clue to a safe trait: multiplayer, open world, arcade classic.
- Avoid exact years. Talk about the eighties, the 2000s or recent years.
- Use industry vocabulary: campaign, map, online mode, remaster.
- Never repeat a clue word for word. Rephrase it.
- If asked about the console, throw a question back: was it a home system or handheld?
- Lean on crossover titles: mentioning a shooter always sounds plausible.
How to catch the impostor if you know the classics
Gamers only have an edge if they ask instead of accusing. One narrow question forces the suspect to commit to a fact.
- Ask for the platform: Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation or PC
- Compare genres: two clues about the same genre cannot be two games
- Look for the impossible: Tetris has no story and no characters
- Watch who writes last: the impostor copies the group vocabulary
- Coordinate accusations before voting: split votes hand over the round
Common mistakes that ruin the round
- Naming the game straight away: it kills the fun and makes the next round trivial
- Voting on likability instead of evidence
- Spending half an hour arguing whether a game came out in 1996 or 1997
- Confusing this category with the video game characters one
- Going above 12 players: the chat becomes unreadable
Recommended settings for a gaming session
With a mixed table, limit clues to genre and decade. If everyone plays, requiring the platform and the year makes the round much sharper.
| Group type | Players | Best mode | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular gamers | 6 to 12 | Online multiplayer | 25 min |
| Mixed group, gamers and non-gamers | 8 to 14 | Online multiplayer | 30 min |
| House party with friends | 4 to 8 | Table mode | 15 min per round |
| Streamer community or clan | 10 to 15 | Multi-room multiplayer | 45 min |
House rules for very gamer tables
When your group recognises every title, tweak the rules:
- One decade only: all clues are limited to the eighties, nineties or 2000s
- Double round: game plus platform in the same round
- Two impostors with different fake clues
- No console names allowed: only genres and mechanics
- The ejected player becomes the impostor in the next round