Playing Impostor with Silicon Valley Tech Leaders

What the Silicon Valley & U.S. Tech Leaders category is

Each round gives every player a different technology leader from the database and asks for a clue: the company they founded, the product they made famous, or the job they held. Naming the person is not allowed.

The impostor gets nobody. He must write a line that fits somebody at the table, and because several of these companies get mixed up, a generic clue about 'the search engine' or 'the cloud' can sound true for three players.

• It shows up in the selector as Silicon Valley & U.S. Tech Leaders, even in Spanish rooms
• Best with 4 to 12 players
• Rounds last 3 to 6 minutes
• Works well for office games, classrooms and friend groups
• Runs in the browser with nothing to install

How a round with tech leaders works

The strongest clue ties a person to one concrete fact: 'co-founder of Google', 'AI chips', 'rockets and electric cars'.

The impostor writes after seeing the clues already posted. The usual trap is naming the most famous company in the group and failing when somebody asks what that company actually sells.

1. Create the room and pick Silicon Valley & U.S. Tech Leaders in the selector
2. Write a clue using the company, the product or the job, never the name
3. Read the rest and note the clues that fit nobody
4. Ask the suspect what product their company launched
5. Vote together: the ejected player reveals the leader and the next round starts

The tech leaders this category deals out

These are the names included, spelled exactly as they appear in the database. The database also carries Sheryl Sandberg, Travis Kalanick, Brian Chesky, Evan Spiegel and Peter Thiel.

The classic trap is the line between founder and executive: Satya Nadella runs Microsoft but did not found it, the same way Tim Cook took over Apple years after Steve Jobs.

Strategies for an impostor who does not follow tech news

You do not need to read about technology. The impostor wins by looking like an ordinary player, not by naming the right person.

• Talk about products, not people: 'the cloud company' covers two players.
• Lean on traits that are hard to disprove: 'billionaire', 'entrepreneur', 'based in California'.
• Do not mention an app nobody else names, it singles you out.
• Give user opinions: 'I switched platforms over the price' sounds natural.
• If the table pressures you, answer with a question: 'which one are we on?' shifts attention.
• Match the length of the other clues: a two-word clue draws suspicion.

How to catch the impostor when you know these executives

Knowing the industry only helps if you use method. Ask instead of accusing.

1. Ask for the company: 'which firm did your player run?'
2. Separate founder from executive: whoever says 'founded' without knowing what is suspect
3. Cross check products: Oracle does not make cars, Tesla has no search engine
4. Watch who writes after reading everyone else's clues
5. Coordinate accusations before voting: split votes hand the round to the impostor

Frequent mistakes that ruin the round

• Naming your leader in the first clue, it kills the round and makes the next one trivial
• Confusing two similar companies and accusing without evidence
• Voting for the player who writes worst instead of the one who contradicts
• Reusing the same clue round after round
• Adding too many players: above 12 the chat becomes unreadable

Recommended settings for a technology round

Match the group size and pace to the level of the players. If nobody follows big tech news, allow clues about familiar products: the phone, the search engine, the streaming series.

House rules for groups that already know the category

Once the table knows every name, house rules keep the tension:

• Founders only: the round becomes a memory test
• No company names allowed, only product or decade
• Two impostors, each with a different fake clue
• The ejected player becomes the impostor in the next round
• One-word clues: much harder

Frequently asked questions

Game guides