How to host a Mimic game night: setup, settings and tips

To host Mimic, start a room, send the invite link, get everyone into the Green Room and press Start the game once four or more players are in. The host picks the settings on the laptop and starts every game. Mimic plays best with 4 to 10 friends on a call, like Discord, next to the game.

What does the host do in Mimic?

The host is whoever started the room. The host's browser runs the rules: it deals the roles and tasks, checks every silence, report, vote and sabotage against the game, and sends everyone the result. Roles and task lists only go to their owners.

Only the host can change the settings on the laptop. Everyone else can walk over and read them.
Only the host can press Start the game, and only with four or more players in the room.
When a game ends, the host presses Back to the Green Room (or Enter) to set up the next one.
If the host leaves, another player takes over the room on the same code. A game in progress ends, because the new host has no roles to work from, and everyone goes back to the Green Room.

How do you set up the room?

Open Mimic, type your name (up to 14 characters) and press Start a room.
You land in the Green Room with a four-letter room code. Press Copy invite and paste the link in your group chat.
Friends open the link and press Join room, or type the code on the start screen and press Join.
The Green Room card shows how many are in, out of 10.

A room is full at ten. An eleventh player gets a message that the room is full.

Do you need a voice call for Mimic?

No, but it is better with one. Mimic has no voice of its own. Meetings use text chat, and the Green Room has chat too. The game itself says it is best on a call with friends, so put everyone on Discord or any other call while you play.

What do the Green Room settings do?

Walk to the laptop in the Green Room and press E. These are every setting, its default, and what it changes:

Setting	Default	Options	What it does
Mimics	1	1 to 3	How many Mimics, capped by the player count
Silence cooldown	25 seconds	10 to 60	How long a Mimic waits between silences
Silence range	Normal	Short, normal, long	How close a Mimic has to be to silence someone
Crew vision	6	3 to 10	How far the crew sees, in tiles
Mimic vision	8	4 to 12	How far the Mimic sees, in tiles
Walk speed	1	0.75 to 1.5	How fast everyone walks
Bell rings each	1	0 to 3	How many times each player can ring the bell per game
Talk time	20 seconds	0 to 60	Chat time at the start of a meeting, before voting opens
Vote time	60 seconds	15 to 120	How long the vote stays open
Reveal ejected roles	On	On, off	Whether the ejection screen says if that player was the Mimic
Anonymous votes	Off	Off, on	Hides who voted for whom when the votes are shown
Common tasks	1	0 or 1	The task everyone shares
Long tasks	1	0 to 3	Long tasks per crew member
Short tasks	3	1 to 6	Short tasks per crew member
Disguise lasts	15 seconds	5 to 30	How long a Mimic looks like someone else
Disguise cooldown	30 seconds	10 to 60	How long a Mimic waits after a disguise ends

Under the Start button, the host card shows how many Mimics the game will actually have with the players in the room right now.

How many Mimics should you have?

The Mimics setting is capped by how many players are in the room, so a big setting does nothing in a small room:

Players	Most Mimics allowed
4 to 6	1
7 to 8	2
9 to 10	3

The default is one Mimic. With seven or more players, raise it to two, or the Mimic has to silence a lot of people alone. With nine or ten, three makes for a fast, loud game. Remember the Mimics win once they match the crew in numbers, so more Mimics means shorter games.

Which settings should you change for your group?

New players: raise talk time and vote time so people have time to type. Keep the reveal on, so everyone learns from each ejection.
Experienced groups: turn off Reveal ejected roles so nobody knows for sure if they got it right, or turn on Anonymous votes to stop vote tracking.
Long games dragging? Lower the short tasks, or raise the walk speed.
Crew winning too easily? Shorten the silence cooldown, lower crew vision, or lengthen the disguise.
Mimic winning too easily? Raise the bell rings each, raise crew vision, or lengthen the silence cooldown.

How should you run the night?

Get everyone on the call and into the Green Room. While you wait, players can change their look at the mirror: 12 colors (one per player) and 12 hats.
If anyone is new, have them press Practice alone first to try the tasks, or send them how to play Mimic.
Set the Mimic count for the room size, then press Start the game.
Ask the crew not to read out what is on their screens during play. Save the talking for meetings, which is when the game wants you to talk.
After each game, press Back to the Green Room, adjust the settings if the last one felt lopsided, and go again.

What happens if someone drops or joins late?

A player who leaves mid-game is out, with no body. Their unfinished tasks come off the task bar total, so the crew is not stuck.
A player who joins mid-game watches a 'game is running' screen and plays in the next one.
A closed tab or a dead phone is dropped after about 14 seconds of silence.
The host leaving ends a game in progress, and the next host takes everyone back to the Green Room on the same code.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the host in Mimic?

Whoever started the room. If the host leaves, another player takes over on the same code, and a game in progress ends.

Can the host change the timers in Mimic?

Yes. Talk time (20 seconds by default), vote time (60 seconds), the silence cooldown (25 seconds), the disguise length and cooldown, vision, walk speed, bell uses and task counts are all on the laptop in the Green Room.

Do we need Discord to play Mimic?

No. Meetings use text chat. The game is best on a call with friends, though, and Discord works well for that.

How many players do you need for Mimic?

At least four to start a game, and up to ten in a room. Up to two Mimics at 7 or 8 players, and up to three at 9 or 10.