🎭 IMPOSTER - Party Game

A real-time multiplayer web-based party game where players try to identify who the imposter is!

Features

✨ Smooth Gameplay

• Real-time synchronization between all players
• Beautiful, modern UI with animations
• Dynamic sound effects using Web Audio API
• Responsive design for all devices

🎮 Game Mechanics

• 30 word categories with 50 words each
• Customizable number of players (2-8)
• Configurable game rounds
• 3-turn gameplay per round
• Voting system to identify the imposter
• Dynamic scoring and leaderboard

🎨 Customization

• Select specific categories or play with all
• Adjust number of rounds
• Choose player count
• Rotating starting player each round

Requirements

• PHP 7.0+
• Modern web browser with JavaScript enabled
• Local server (Apache, Nginx, or PHP built-in server)

Installation

1. Clone the repository or download the files
2. Place the project folder in your web server's root directory
3. No database setup needed - uses JSON file storage

Running the Game

Using PHP Built-in Server

cd /path/to/imposter
php -S localhost:8000

Then open your browser to http://localhost:8000

Using Apache

1. Place the folder in htdocs (XAMPP/WAMP) or document root (Apache)
2. Access via http://localhost/imposter

Using Nginx

Configure as needed and access the application

How to Play

Creating a Game

1. Click "Create Game" on the menu
2. Enter your name
3. Choose number of rounds (1-10)
4. Select number of players (2-8)
5. Choose categories (or select "All Categories")
6. Click "Create" to generate a game code

Joining a Game

1. Click "Join Game" on the menu
2. Enter the 5-character game code
3. Enter your name
4. Click "Join"

Game Flow

1. Lobby Phase: Wait for initiator to start the game
2. Word Assignment: All players see the secret word, imposter only sees the category
3. Rounds: 3 turns per round where players say related words
4. Voting: All players vote on who they think is the imposter
5. Results: See who was the imposter, scoring, and leaderboard

Scoring

• Catch the Imposter: +10 points for everyone except imposter
• Imposter Escapes: +20 points for imposter
• New Round: Starting player rotates

Game Structure

imposter/
├── index.html                 # Main HTML file
├── api/
│   ├── GameManager.php        # Core game logic
│   ├── create_game.php        # Create game endpoint
│   ├── join_game.php          # Join game endpoint
│   ├── get_game_state.php     # Sync game state
│   ├── start_game.php         # Start game endpoint
│   ├── submit_word.php        # Submit word endpoint
│   ├── submit_vote.php        # Submit vote endpoint
│   └── start_round.php        # Start next round endpoint
├── assets/
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── style.css          # Main stylesheet
│   └── js/
│       ├── audio.js           # Dynamic sound effects
│       └── app.js             # Game application logic
├── data/
│   ├── words.js               # 30 categories × 50 words
│   └── games.json             # Game state storage
└── README.md                  # This file

Categories Included

• Animals
• Food
• Sports
• Movies
• Countries
• Music
• Technology
• Weather
• Body Parts
• Colors
• Professions
• Vehicles
• Clothes
• Furniture
• Emotions
• Geography
• Fantasy
• Nature
• Heroes
• History
• Science
• Literature
• Games
• Universe
• Holidays
• Cooking
• Drinks
• ... and more!

Sound Effects

The game includes dynamic sound effects for:

• Click: Button interactions
• Join: Player joins game
• Reveal: Word reveal
• Vote: Voting
• Caught: Imposter caught
• Notification: Game events

Technical Details

Real-time Synchronization

• Clients poll the server every 500ms for game state updates
• All players see updates simultaneously
• No WebSocket required - works with simple HTTP polling

Sound Generation

• Uses Web Audio API for dynamic sound synthesis
• No audio files needed - all sounds generated in real-time
• Works in all modern browsers

Game State Management

• JSON-based storage in data/games.json
• Auto-cleanup of old games
• Support for multiple concurrent games

Browser Support

• Chrome 90+
• Firefox 88+
• Safari 14+
• Edge 90+
• Opera 76+

Troubleshooting

Game code not generating

• Check PHP file permissions on the /data directory
• Ensure /data/ directory exists and is writable

Sounds not playing

• Ensure browser allows audio playback
• Check browser's audio permissions
• Try in incognito/private mode

Polling not working

• Check browser console for CORS issues
• Verify PHP headers are set correctly
• Ensure server supports JSON responses

Future Enhancements

• WebSocket support for faster synchronization
• User accounts and persistent statistics
• Custom word lists
• Difficulty levels
• Spectator mode
• Mobile app version

License

This game is free to use and modify for personal or educational purposes.

Support

For issues or suggestions, please check the game code or modify as needed.

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Enjoy the game! May the best imposter win! 🎭