Most of you have probably seen the popular online social deduction game, Among Us, zoom up the gaming charts in the past year. I have had many people come to me asking me if there are any board games like Among Us or if there is actually an Among Us board game. Well, this genre of social deduction has been in the board gaming world for years, and there are so many board games like Among Us that fit this category perfectly. If you rather get your gaming fix from a physical board game rather than on a computer or phone screen, then I have created a list of the best social deduction games like among us just for you!
There is currently not an among us board game on the market. However, there are many board games within the social deduction category that can be considered board games like among us. Although there is not a board game with the popular among us theme like the video game, there are similar board games that will give you the same type of gameplay you may be looking for in an among us board game.
First things first, let’s make sure we are on the same page about social deduction games. Among Us is a perfect example of a social deduction game that requires players to uncover each other’s hidden role or team allegiance depending on their actions throughout the game.
The premise of the game takes place on a spaceship in outer space where players are either a crewmate or an imposter. Crewmates are the “good guys” and they must work to complete tasks around the ship in order to keep everything functioning, while imposters (the “bad guys”) try to sabotage and kill the crewmates one at a time without getting caught.
Players can voice their suspicions of other players and then crewmates must try to work together to eliminate the imposters before the imposters eliminate them first. If the crewmates can successfully complete all their tasks or eject all of the imposters off the ship, then they win. If the imposters kill off all of the crewmates before they are able to complete their tasks, then the imposters win!
“There’s an imposter Among Us”
Social deduction games rely heavily on seeing who you can trust and voicing your suspicions to other players. If you are on the “good” side, then you must work with others you trust to seek out the imposter before it’s too late. If you are on the “bad” side, then you must lie and manipulate so other non-suspicious players instill trust in you, letting you carry out your malicious duties.
Since this is becoming such a popular genre of gaming both in the video game and board game world, I decided to list out some of my favorite social deduction board games.
Board Games Like Among Us
If you are looking for a social deduction game that has a similar theme to Among Us, then here are a few that you may like! You will see that these games have a similar “space” theme where players must complete tasks while other players are working to sabotage them.
See our picks on the best board games like Among Us below!
1. The Menace Among Us
In the board game The Menace Among Us, you are stranded on a damaged ship in space with other players and crewmates that you must count on to survive. Sounds like it’s a nice coop experience does it? Well, it’s not. Noone can be trusted in this futuristic social deduction game similar to Among Us.
Players take on the role of one of many different crew members that must work together to prepare the broken ship. However, there is one, or more, menace among the crew. The crew must work fast to discover and eliminate this menace before they kill the whole crew!
This is a great space-themed traitor game that should be in your collection if you are looking for a social deduction board game like among us. It has a very similar theme to Among Us and can create that same chaos and mistrust that we love from social deduction board games.
Get Your Copy of The Menace Among Us >>
2. Battlestar Galactica
The board game Battlestar Galactica challenges players of the human race to survive without knowing which of their opponents are actually not human.
It is a game of mistrust and intrigue, putting players into roles of different abilities and weaknesses. How can the human race survive when you don’t know who is actually human?
Well, you must use your detective skills and trust your instincts when trying to expose the traitor if you want any hope of survival. Just like the imposter in Among Us, one or more players in every game secretly side with the Cylons and work to take down Galactica.
Get Your Copy of Battlestar Galactica Today >>
3. Dark Moon
In the board game Dark Moon, players work in a mining facility where they will need to maintain the facility by fixing stuff that breaks. However, there is a dangerous bacteria going around that infects one or more of the crewmates. These infected mates must keep their secret as long as possible, and work against the crewmates that are trying to keep the mining facility in tip top shape.
If you are not infected, then your job is to keep the station fully operational and try to rat out other players that you think are acting suspicious and may be infected. This is achieved through verbal discussion through different rounds. Don’t be afraid to voice your suspicions, or else the infected may just take over the whole game.
This is a great social game where table talk is greatly encouraged. I wouldn’t be surprised if your game ended in screaming and shock, but hey, that’s what makes social deduction games so fun!
Get Your Copy of Dark Moon Today >>
4. Nemesis
The board game Nemesis takes place on a big ship consisting of many rooms and corridors. It is a semi-cooperative Sci-Fi horror game where you and your other crew members must desperately fight to survive and also fulfill tasks around the ship.
Nemesis is made for 1-5 players and was fully funded on kickstarter! It is a highly related and beloved game throughout the board game community. Your job is to control one of the crew members on the ship with a unique set of skills, personal deck of cards, and individual starting equipment.
You must collaborate with your other crew members in order to survive, as each member has a unique set of skills that complement each other. If you work together in an efficient manner, then your chances of survival will be greater.
So, what’s the catch? Well, you can’t trust everyone! There are intruders among the ship that may react to the noise you make and also evolve as time goes by. The longer the game takes, the stronger they become.
Can you eliminate all of the intruders on the ship before they eliminate you?
Get Your Copy of Nemesis Today >>
5. The Resistance
In the board game The Resistance, you are part of a rebellious group that has been suppressed by a tyrannical government. You must work to take back your freedom by completing different missions.
However, this won’t be an easy task. Spies have infiltrated the Resistance and are working to sabotage each mission. Noone can be trusted! You must work to figure out who you can trust in the Resistance and which members are actually spies, working to sabotage the missions.
The Resistance is a great social deduction and bluffing party game. You are either on the good side (The Resistance), or on the bad side (the Imperial Spies). Which side will you be on?
The game consists of players secretly voting whether a mission will succeed or fail. Spies must work together to sabotage the missions and The Resistance members need to figure out who can and cannot be trusted.
Get Your Copy of The Resistance Today >>
Other Social Deduction Board Games Like Among Us
These games are very similar to Among Us, but do not have that “outerspace” theme. They are still great social deduction board games and will make for fun and exciting gameplay during your game night!
Here are other social deduction board games similar to Among Us.
6. Secret Hitler
Secret Hitler is a great social deduction party game that requires players to take on three roles, all with different game play styles.
If you are a liberal, then you are trying to find out who the fascists are. If you are a fascist, then you are conspiring with your fellow fascists, pretending to fit in with the liberals. The liberals must look at other player’s actions, probabilities, and hearsay to try to decide whether they are lying or not.
One person will even be Hitler, which will be required to lie and try to work with the fascists, as they will not know who anyone is.
When everyone starts accusing each other out loud, this game makes for a lot of fun, no matter which role you get! Secret Hitler is a great social deduction party game.
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7. The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31
The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 is a social deduction game for 4-8 players where most players play a human working to clear all three sectors of the outpost and then escape on a helicopter.
Other players are working to destroy the outpost before it is cleared or stow away the helicopter. All of the roles are kept hidden until the end of the game.
This hidden traitor game is a great social deduction game whether you are playing as a human or trying to sabotage the humans. If you are one of the non-humans, then you must work to convince players that you are just like them and throw suspicion elsewhere.
Get Your Copy of The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 Today >>
8. Shadows Over Camelot
In Shadows Over Camelot, loyal knights must unite to save Camelot while a traitor secretly plots their doom. It is a deduction-based board game for 3-7 players.
Each player represents a Knight of the round table and they must work together to overcome a series of quests. They will either complete quests and add white swords to the Round Table, or fail quests and add black swords around Camelot. The Knights are trying to build a majority of white swords on the Table before Camelot falls due to the amount of black swords.
Be careful as one of the knights may be a traitor, pretending to be a loyal member of the party, but secretly hindering his fellow knights in subtle ways and sabotaging the quests.
Get Your Copy of Shadows Over Camelot Today >>
9. Dead of Winter
The zombie apocalypse is here and you are stuck in a small town in the Dead of Winter. In this social deduction board game, you take on the role of a survivor in a makeshift colony as zombies roam the earth.
The game consists of players deciding on a scenario, which will be the main objective that the survivors need to complete in order to win. In any game session, there may be a hidden Betrayer card and there may be a betrayer in your midst. This card is not always in every game, so you may just be paranoid the whole game.
Players can build alliances, make and break promises, or vote to exile another player. Be careful, you may just be stabbed in the back by someone you thought was on your side.
Get Your Copy of Dead of Winter Today >>
10. Who Goes There?
In the game Who Goes There, the main goal is to survive 3 days and escape on a helicopter that is on it’s way to rescue you. You must work together with other players in order to reach a score that will allow everyone to actually escape and with the game.
However, there are infected players that also want to hop on that helicopter ride. Chaos ensues when the infected work to make it harder for the uninfected players to reach their goals and raise their end game score. You must work to figure out who is on your side and decide who to let on the helicopter.
Beware, one wrong decision can be the difference between victory or defeat. If you enjoy social deduction games, hidden traitor games, or find enjoyment in betraying others, then you should definitely play the board game Who Goes There?
Get Your Copy of Who Goes There? Today >>
11. Ultimate Werewolf
Ultimate Werewolf is a social deduction game at it’s best. Don’t get eaten, while catching the wolves. There are two teams: the Villagers and the Werewolves. Players must interact with each other, not knowing the roles that each player has been dealt.
The Villagers do not know who the Werewolves are, and the Werewolves must work to remain undiscovered while they slowly eliminate the Villagers one at a time.
I especially like this social deduction board game because there is a moderator who runs the game and isn’t on any specific team. The moderator reads out prompts and makes sure everyone is performing their specific actions at the right time.
The game takes place over a series of days and nights. When it is daytime, the players are allowed to discuss amongst themselves who they think the Werewolves are, and vote out a player. At night, the Werewolves choose a player to kill, or eliminate. Villagers have different actions they can perform during the night that can help lead them in the right direction of finding out who the Werewolves are.
Werewolves must try to fit in as Villagers during the day and eliminate any suspicions of them during the daytime. The game is over when either all of the villagers or all the Werewolves are eliminated.
Get Your Copy of Ultimate Werewolf Today >>
12. Mafia
If you are looking for a fun and energetic game for a large group of people, then this is the perfect social deduction game for just that. We have had so much fun playing numerous rounds of this game that results in a lot of playful arguments and people talking over each other.
In the game Mafia, there are two sides: the villagers and the Mafia. Everyone has a secret role and the villagers must work together to identify the mafia and execute them! The Mafia must lie and pretend that they are part of the villager group so they do not get executed.
You can either play this game by creating roles yourself by looking up a guide online, or purchase the actual Mafia game that will help guide you.
One person will be the chosen moderator and will have to keep track of what happens during the day and night. Everyone chooses a card (role) at the beginning of the game and keeps their role to themselves. They must not tell anyone their role.
These roles can be a doctor, civilian, mayor, mafia, or more. Each role has a specific duty that they can perform during the night in order to narrow down who they think the mafia players are. After each night, the players have the decision to reveal what they found out during the night and discuss with other players so that they can help each other narrow down who the mafia players are and ultimately execute them.
If the villagers can successfully execute all mafia players, they win! If the mafia players execute all the villagers by lying and outplaying the villagers, then they win!
This game can get pretty complicated with multiple roles, so we recommend picking up a copy of the mafia card set to help guide you through the game.
The Best Social Deduction Board Games Like Among Us
Social deduction board games are so much fun and add a great cooperative aspect to board games, while also adding chaos and agony (in a good way).
Trust no one when you play a social deduction board game as not everyone is who they seem to be. We hope you found some valuable insight on some of the best social deduction board games that are similar to Among Us.
Now that you have a few of the best social deduction games under your belt, it’s time to plan a game night with friends! We know Among Us is played over the web and times are tough, so make sure you know how to host a virtual game night on zoom with friends!
If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave us a comment below!
