Mimic strategy guide: how to win as crew, Mimic and ghost

Mimic is won with information. The crew wins by keeping track of who was where and reading the station's tools, while the Mimic wins by controlling what the crew gets to see. This guide covers how to play the crew, how to play the Mimic (disguise, ducts, sabotage timing and alibis), and how to stay useful as a ghost. Every tip is built on how the game actually works.

If you are new, read how to play Mimic and the tasks and map guide first.

How do you play the crew well?

Use the station's tools

• Watch the task bar. It counts crew tasks only, and a Mimic can't do real ones. If you watch someone finish a task and the bar doesn't move, ask why. A long task only counts when its second step is done, so check whether it was the first step.
• Read the admin map. The table in Control counts people in each room and counts bodies too. A count that doesn't match what you saw is worth bringing up.
• Sit on the cameras. The four hall feeds have no fog, so they see more than you do. The red light on the console tells everyone you are watching, which can keep a Mimic away from the halls.
• Remember who came out of where. Vents leave a puff of smoke. If you see a puff, note the room. Each vent only links to two others.

Spot the disguise

A Mimic in disguise looks exactly like another player, name and all. Colors are unique in a room, so two of the same player on screen at once means one of them is a copy. If a player swears they were somewhere else when 'they' were seen near a body, the disguise may be the reason.

• A disguise lasts 15 seconds by default and has a cooldown after it, so a Mimic can't wear one all the time.
• The disguise also fools the cameras. A face on a feed is not proof.
• When you are silenced, the screen shows who did it. If that was a disguise, you see the copied look. Ghosts can tell other ghosts, but not the living.

Handle sabotage

• Lights out shrinks crew vision to a few tiles, but not the Mimic's. Head for Generator together rather than alone.
• Comms jammed hides your task list, the cameras and the admin map. Someone needs to clear it in Comms before the crew can work properly again.
• A meltdown needs two players on the two keys in Transmitter within 45 seconds. Call out who is going. If nobody gets there, the Mimic wins.
• Locked doors last 10 seconds. If you get shut in with someone, stay close to the door and watch them.

Run good meetings

• Say where you were and what you saw, with the room names. Short and specific beats long and vague.
• Ask the player who called the meeting what they found first. The meeting card shows who called it.
• Skip when you have nothing. A tie or a winning skip ejects nobody, and a wrong ejection brings the Mimic closer to matching the crew in numbers.
• Watch the count. The Mimic wins the moment the Mimics match the crew. Late in the game a wrong vote can end it.

How do you play the Mimic well?

You win when the Mimics match the crew in numbers, or when a meltdown runs out. Your first silence and your first sabotage open 10 seconds after the role reveal, and your silence cooldown starts over after every meeting.

Build an alibi

• Walk your fake task list. It names real rooms and real tasks, so you have something true-sounding to say in a meeting.
• Stand at stations like the crew does. Nobody else can see what is on your screen.
• Be seen. Walk past the cameras and through busy rooms between silences, so you are on the record somewhere harmless.
• Don't claim a task that would move the bar while someone is watching. The bar won't move for you.

Use disguise well

• Disguise as a player who is far away, then silence someone. If anyone sees it, they see the wrong player.
• Your victim's screen shows the look you were wearing. They can only tell other ghosts.
• Don't disguise as someone standing right next to you. Two of the same player in one room gives you away.
• Drop the disguise early with X once the job is done, and the cooldown starts sooner.

Use the ducts

• Duct out of a room right after a silence. Nobody sees you in a duct, on the floor, on the cameras or on the admin map.
• Know the networks. West is Archive, Generator and Storage. East is Lounge, Comms and Transmitter. South is Control, the Server Room and Security.
• Check before you climb out. The puff of smoke is visible to anyone who can see the vent.

Time your sabotage

• Kill the lights, then hunt. The crew sees a few tiles while you keep your full vision. Generator is where they will head.
• Jam comms before you strike near a camera hall, or when someone might be on the admin map.
• Start a meltdown to split the crew. Everyone has to run to Transmitter, and the bell can't be rung while it runs. A body report still ends it, so the crew's only out is finding a body.
• Lock the doors of a room with one crew member and yourself inside, or lock the room where a body is so nobody walks in for 10 seconds.
• The lights, the jam and the meltdown share one 30-second cooldown, and only one runs at a time. Door locks have their own 30-second cooldown for each room.

Play the meeting

• Report your own body sometimes. Whoever calls the meeting is marked on the card, and it can look like a crew move.
• Vote with the room when it is going your way. A pile-on on a crew member is your best outcome.
• With a partner, don't defend each other too hard. You can see each other's red name tags. The crew can't, but they can see who keeps backing whom.

What should you do as a ghost?

• Crew ghosts: finish your tasks. They still count toward the task bar, and a full bar wins the game for the crew. You move faster and walk through walls, so you can do them quickly.
• Talk to the other ghosts. Ghost chat is only seen by ghosts, so share who silenced you and plan which tasks to finish.
• Mimic ghosts: keep sabotaging. A Mimic who is voted out can still kill the lights, jam comms, start a meltdown and lock doors to help a partner still on the station.
• Ghosts can't report bodies, ring the bell, fix sabotage, use the cameras or vote.

Frequently asked questions