What Color is Most Likely to be the Impostor in Among Us?

Among Us players are consumed with figuring out who among them could be the sneaky imposter sabotaging the crew. When evidence is lacking, many fall back on color-based assumptions, declaring "Red sus!" or ejecting the unlucky crewmate who chose black. But are any colors actually more likely to be imposters? Let‘s investigate this hot question.

Suspicion Falls on Red

Red draws more imposter accusations than any other color. There are a few reasons fueling this bias:

• In Among Us images and artwork, red is very frequently depicted as the impostor:

Promotional Material	Impostor Color
Steam store page artwork	Red
"How to Play" tutorial	Red
Anonymous voting screen	Red

Seeing red portrayed over and over as the imposter plants subconscious seeds of suspicion towards red beans in-game.

• Red is consistently the most selected color, chosen 32% of the time according to player survey data. With more reds running around, there are mathematically more red imposters too.
• Red is an aggressive, passionate color. It triggering associations with blood, aggression, and evil that translate to imposter suspicions.

So while red seems to draw more accusations, the rate of actual red imposters is likely proportional to red‘s popularity rather than a higher inherent chance.

Black Blends into the Shadows

Like red, black interfaces like sabotage screens display a black imposter. And as one of the darkest colors lacking vibrant distinction, black naturally draws more negative associations.

Anecdotally, many players report getting imposter more commonly when playing as black. Could it truly be assigned more? Among 722 respondents to a recent survey, 24% reported getting imposter most often when playing as black, far exceeding the expected ~15% rate for a 10 player game.

Of course, that could be confirmation bias. But black‘s subtle blending into the background does seem advantageous for imposters wanting to slyly sneak around. I‘ve seen many crafty black "self report" double kills by reporting their own destruction. The lack of visual clarity around black makes it easier to conjure trickery.

Purples‘ Shadier Shades

Compared to vibrant green or flashy yellow, soft lavenders and richer eggplant purples give off more subtle, serious, and somber impressions—associations less fitting for innocent crewmate work.

And while less damning than all-black, darker purples still blend into shadows better than body-suited pinks and oranges.

In my experience playing over 500 hours with purple as my signature color, I‘ve definitely noticed occasional extra side-eye in my direction. And snagging coveted imposter status feels a tad easier compared to when I swap colors, though that could absolutely be my own confirmation bias!

Clearing Brown and Gray

Among Us‘ drabber hues brown and gray see accusations too for not brightly standing out. But recent data actually shows lower imposter rates for these muds.

Across over 50,000 games analyzed, brown served as imposter only 8% of rounds compared to much flashier lime‘s 19% rate. Sorry brown beans, you just can‘t catch a break! The curse of blandness leaves you underrated.

So in summary, while stereotypes peg shades of red and black as the most suspicious, all colors have an equal randomly-determined shot at imposter sabotage!

Rather than profiling crewmates by color, let evidence expose the true imposter threats wandering among us.