Office and Work Words for the Imposter Game

Meetings, deadlines, coffee breaks and performance reviews: these 40 work pairs are instantly relatable for any team.

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Office & Work word pairs

Civilians get the first word. In Undercover mode the imposter gets the second word; in Classic mode the imposter only sees the hint (if hints are on).

Civilian word	Imposter word	Hint
Meeting	Presentation	In the conference room
Zoom	Microsoft Teams	Video call app
Email	Slack	Work message
Deadline	Overtime	Stressful work thing
Boss	Team Lead	Person in charge
Intern	New Hire	Newest person
HR	Payroll	Office department
Salary	Bonus	Money from work
Promotion	Raise	Good news from the boss
Resignation	Retirement	Leaving the job
Coffee Break	Lunch Break	Time away from desk
Coffee Machine	Water Cooler	Where gossip happens
Desk	Cubicle	Where you work
Laptop	Monitor	On your desk
Keyboard	Mouse	Computer accessory
Printer	Scanner	Office machine
Stapler	Paper Clip	Holds papers together
Sticky Note	Notepad	Write a reminder
Spreadsheet	Database	Rows and columns
PowerPoint	Google Slides	Presentation software
Excel	Google Sheets	Spreadsheet software
Work From Home	Hybrid	Where you work from
Open Office	Co-working Space	Shared workspace
Team Building	Office Party	Social work event
Secret Santa	Farewell Party	Office celebration
Performance Review	One-on-One	Meeting with your manager
KPI	OKR	Corporate buzzword
Brainstorm	Workshop	Ideas session
Agenda	Minutes	Meeting document
Client	Customer	Who you work for
Startup	Corporate	Type of company
LinkedIn	Indeed	Job site
Resume	Cover Letter	Job application document
Job Interview	Onboarding	Start of a job
Sick Leave	Annual Leave	Day off
Monday	Friday	Day of the work week
9 to 5	Night Shift	Working hours
Commute	Business Trip	Travel for work
Lanyard	ID Badge	Worn around the office
Burnout	Stress	Too much work

Who the office pack suits

This pack is built for team building, remote stand-ups, onboarding days and Friday socials. Every word comes from working life, so new hires and senior managers can play on equal footing. It is quick to explain, needs no props and keeps the jokes about work rather than about colleagues.

Sample rounds and clues

Zoom vs Microsoft Teams. "Video call" and "you're on mute" fit both perfectly. "Channels" leans to Teams.
Deadline vs Overtime. "Stress" and "late night" are shared. "Calendar" points to Deadline, "extra pay" to Overtime.
Monday vs Friday. A crowd favourite. "Day of the week" is safe. Watch the faces when someone says "everyone loves it".

Other relatable pairs: Email vs Slack, KPI vs OKR and Coffee Machine vs Water Cooler.

Making it easier or harder

For a quick icebreaker with new colleagues, use Classic mode. The imposter knows their role and may get a hint like "Video call app", which keeps the round short and friendly. For teams who already know each other, Undercover mode adds real suspense, since the imposter gets Presentation while everyone else describes a Meeting.

Remote and hybrid teams can play with up to 15 people in an online room, each on their own phone. You can also combine this pack with jobs or add custom words like project names and office in-jokes.

Keep each round short, and remind people that clues should be about the words, not about colleagues.

Keep exploring

Read our full guide to the imposter game for the office, including tips for running it in a meeting.

More word packs

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