Over the past several weeks, many things have occurred in our lives. The world has faced many challenges, namely, a global pandemic. However, many people have been able to find distractions through TV shows, movies, and video games. One such video game seems to have taken up the time of many: Among Us.

Not many games have seen the popularity that Among Us has right now. It is  free to play and developed by an independent game developer known as Innersloth, who has made other well known titles such as the Henry Stickman series. The game itself has gained worldwide recognition, with hundreds of millions of downloads on mobile devices and computer engines combined in 2 months, the fastest any game has ever achieved those numbers.

The premise of the game is pretty simple: players play in one of three maps, and with a number of 6-10 crewmates. However, there are 1-3 imposters. Each round lasts five to ten minutes. The goal of the imposters is to kill every crewmate until there are the same number of crewmates as imposters. Meanwhile, the goal of the crewmates is to find out who the imposters are by catching them in the act of killing, or by deduction. The crewmates can also win by each completing short assigned tasks throughout the map. There are a few more details, but at the end of the day, only playing the game gives the full experience

Enrique Rocha, a senior at LFA, describes his experience with the game. “I started playing it because a bunch of my other friends were as well,” He said. “It’s really fun and I like to play it at lunch or during break with my friends.” 

“I’m obsessed with it,” says Isabella Malacsina, a Sophomore at LFA, who plays the game with her friends when they have time.

Grace Lombardo, a Freshman at LFA, describes her experience with the game, saying, “It gets really intense sometimes, when we know one of our friends is the imposter, and we start accusing each other.” 

David Atas, LFA’s Athletic Trainer as well as a dorm parent in the Atlas boys dorm, observed how the game has brought the dorm together through tough times. “I just got back (to Atlas) one night, and I just see a bunch of the boys just sitting together and on their phones. They were all socially distant and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some of the boys started arguing and I had to tell them to keep it down, but in the end it was all in good fun,” Atas stated.

“Yeah, things get heated when we play the game,” said Jinha Choi, a Junior and one of the boys in Atlas dorm. “After all that’s the only way we were going to win, right?” Jinha also notes that the game has brought all grades together, saying, “We would have freshmen playing with seniors, it’s doing a pretty good job of helping us get together through this whole pandemic thing.” 

Currently, the game is trending worldwide through the media as well as the  internet. It seems that this game came at the exact right time: a time where everyone is forced to stay apart. Through this game, people have found ways to get together and socialize with one another. 

“It’s great that everyone is playing this,” Isabella Malascina said. “I think it’s a good way for people to bond, even through social distancing.”