Fake Artist strategy: win as the fake, or catch one

The rules in a minute

• Everyone sees the same word and its category, except one player: the fake, who only sees the category.
• Players take turns adding one single line each to a shared drawing, in their own colour, twice round the room.
• Then everyone votes for who they think the fake is. A tie means the fake gets away with it.
• A fake who escapes scores 300. A fake who is caught gets one guess at the word: right, and they still score 250; wrong, and every real artist scores 150, plus 50 more for each one who voted for the fake.
• It needs at least four players, and the host picks between 2 and 6 games.

Playing as a real artist

Your line has two jobs: show the others you know the word, and give the fake as little as possible. A detail beats an outline. If the word is a giraffe, a long neck says giraffe to everyone; a single spot on it says it only to people who already know.

The first line of the game is the hardest. Draw something small and true that fits the word but also a few other things in the same category.

Watch the second round closely. Real artists build on what is there. The fake tends to copy the shape of what they have just seen, or draw something that would fit any word in the category.

Playing as the fake

You know the category and nothing else, so listen with your eyes. By the time your turn comes, the lines before yours are your best clue.

Draw with confidence. A hesitant, tiny line looks guilty. Extend something that is already there, such as a leg, a line of ground or a shadow, so your line looks like it belongs.

Being caught is not the end: you still get a guess at the word, and a right guess scores 250, nearly as much as escaping. Spend the vote studying the drawing, not defending yourself.

Voting

Chat opens for the vote, so talk it through. Ask each player what their line was meant to be: a real artist can answer at once.

Remember the tie rule. If the room splits between two suspects, the fake walks away with 300 points, so it pays to agree. Naming the fake yourself is worth 50 extra when they're caught.