An imposter word game, played on your phones

In Odd One Out, every phone shows the same secret word except one, which shows a close but different word. Nobody knows who has it, not even that player. Each person says one word about theirs, out loud, then everyone votes on their phone for the odd one out, and the TV reveals both words.

Host on this screen

Opens the room set up for Odd One Out. Phones join with the code it shows.

Start Odd One Out

Join from a phone

Type the code on the big screen.

How a round goes

The big screen says who starts. Everyone looks at their own phone: one word, such as Penguin.
Going around the room, each player says one word about their secret word. Say too much and the odd one catches on; say too little and you look like the odd one.
One player had Polar bear instead. Their clues sounded almost right, so they may not even notice.
Everyone votes on their phone. The TV shows both words, who had the other one and how the room voted.

Scoring

Odd One Out: every phone shows a secret word, and one phone shows a different one, but its owner doesn't know. Going around the room, each player says one word about theirs, then everyone votes for the odd one out. Voting for them is 2 points; if they don't alone get the most votes, they get 3. A tie at the top lets the odd one get away with it.

Why phones make it work

Imposter games need each player to see something the others can't. With paper that means folded slips and a dealer who can't play. Here each phone shows only its own word, covered until its owner taps it, and the server picks the odd one at random each round, so the host plays too.

Tips

Best with 4 to 8 players. It needs at least 3 phones.
The Holidays deck has pairs like Turkey and Ham, or Hot cocoa and Eggnog, for a December game night.
Pick 5 rounds for a first game. Each round lasts up to two minutes, and ends early once everyone has voted.

Questions

Does the odd one know they're the odd one?

No. Their phone shows a word like everyone else's, so they have to work it out from the clues.

Can the host play too?

Yes. The big screen never shows who has the other word until the reveal, so the host joins from their own phone like everyone else.

Does anyone need to install anything?

No. The big screen and every phone just open roomful.hatcherylake.com in a browser.