Look-alike drawing prompts that make great impostor rounds
Every Imposketch round is built on a pair of prompts that look alike when sketched quickly: the crew gets one and the impostor gets the other. Here are pairs from the game, grouped by why they work, plus advice for making your own if you're playing with pen and paper.
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What makes a good pair
A good pair shares a silhouette but differs in one or two details that an honest player draws without thinking. Cow and dalmatian are both four legs and black spots, but one has udders and horns and the other has a collar. Pairs that are too far apart make the impostor obvious. Pairs that are too close, like two breeds of the same dog, make the crew's drawings useless as evidence.
Same shape, different object
- sun / flower
- umbrella / mushroom
- balloon / lollipop
- star / snowflake
- clock / plate
- donut / car tire
- bagel / life ring
- headphones / horseshoe
- ladder / xylophone
- lantern / birdcage
- pear / lightbulb
- cactus / cucumber
- candle / crayon
- rocket / pencil
Animals that pass for things
- whale / submarine
- penguin / bowling pin
- jellyfish / umbrella
- sheep / cloud
- snake / garden hose
- puffer fish / balloon
- hammerhead shark / hammer
- butterfly / bow tie
- lion / sun
- starfish / gingerbread man
- snail / croissant
Animals that pass for animals
- cow / dalmatian dog
- cat / owl
- raccoon / panda
- giraffe / deer
Food lookalikes
- pineapple / pinecone
- tree / broccoli
- croissant / banana
- baguette / baseball bat
- moon / cheese wheel
- hamburger / macaron
- carrot / ice cream cone
- basketball / orange
- pumpkin / tomato
- hot dog / taco
- pizza slice / cheese wedge
- cupcake / mushroom
Making your own pairs for a paper game
You can play the same idea with paper slips. Write the crew prompt on all slips but one and the look-alike on the last, fold them, and hand them out. To test a pair, sketch both in ten seconds each. If you can't tell them apart, the pair is too close. If they look nothing alike, it's too far.
- Start from a shape (circle, dome on a stalk, long tube) and list things with it.
- Prefer everyday objects everybody can picture.
- Avoid pairs that differ only by colour unless everyone has colours.
- Avoid anything that is easiest to draw by writing a word on it, like signs, flags and logos.