English
Arabic
Amharic
Armenian
Bengali
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian
Filipino
French
German
Greek
Gujarati
Haitian Creole
Hawaiian
Hebrew
Hindi
Hmong
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Korean
Lao
Marathi
Nepali
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Russian
Samoan
Slovak
Somali
Spanish
Swahili
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Ukrainian
Urdu
Vietnamese
Among Us is an online multiplayer strategy game, which was inspired by the popular party game Mafia. Among Us is free to play on iOS and Android devices, and it can also be purchased on a PC or Nintendo Switch. The free mobile version does include ads. This is a murder mystery game that can be played with 4-15 people at a time. Players are assigned roles as either good guys (crewmates) or bad guys called imposters. The crewmates fulfill basic ship upkeep tasks while the imposters try to sabotage the ship and kill the crew. When a body is found and reported, players assemble in an emergency meeting to discuss who the imposter is and vote to kick them off the ship into outer space. The crew wins if they identify the imposter. The imposter wins if they are able to avoid detection through the end of the game.
Risks
Mild violence with the different ways an imposter can murder a crewmate.
- Some blood is shown, but it’s not graphic.
- Kill methods can be potentially frightening for younger players.
Chat capability to use during emergency meetings can potentially lead children to inappropriate conversations with complete strangers.
- Users chat through the game when a team meeting is taking place.
- In-game chat is unmoderated, potentially exposing children to adult, racist, or even sexist language.
- Lacks in-game parental control tools making it more difficult to monitor chats in the game.
- Children may use outside apps like Discord (a voice chat platform) to communicate during play.
Recommendations
Among Us can be a fun social deduction game for kids, but parents may have a problem with the mild violence associated with the game. Parent can educate themselves and become more familiar with the game by watching or even co-playing with their child. Another suggestion to help children be more safe is to help them set up playing locally on the same Wi-Fi network. If that is not an option, another way for parents to manage and monitor the game is to help create private games that require a code to play. That way, a child can give a code to friends they know in real life and they can all play together in a private game. Playing online with strangers can expose children to profanity and harassment. We encourage parents to have ongoing, open conversations with their children about online safety. This establishes a trust between parents and children, which can encourage youth to talk with their parent if they hear or see anything inappropriate.
Want To Learn More?
For more information about this game, check out Common Sense Media’s review to read what kids and parents say about the game. In addition to the sources listed below, FamiSafe also has a helpful parent review of Among Us, including 4 Tips to Make it Safer to Play.
Sources
https://www.bark.us/blog/among-us/
https://www.bluestacks.com/blog/game-guides/among-us/how-to-play-amongus-on-mac-pc-en.html
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/among-us
https://protectyoungeyes.com/apps/among-us-app-review-parental-controls/