Fib Fact Strategy: How to Win

Your fib has to look like it belongs on the board. Players do not pick the answer that sounds most likely. They pick the one that looks like a real answer to that question.

That means matching the kind of answer the question wants. If it asks for a year, write a year. If it asks for a name, write a name. If it asks for a place, write a place. A fib that is the wrong kind of answer is out before anyone thinks about it.

• Match the format. If the question asks how many, write a number. If it asks who, write a full name. Look at how the question is worded and answer in that shape.
• Be plausible, not wild. A fib that is a little surprising works best. One that is silly gets laughed at and skipped.
• Be specific. “A town in Belgium” loses to “Ghent”. A real-sounding detail makes a fib feel like a fact.
• Avoid the obvious answer. The first guess everyone thinks of is the one other players will write too, and it is often among the question’s own stored wrong answers.
• Keep it short. You have 40 characters, and a long answer stands out on the board.
• Write it the way a quiz would. Plain words, correct spelling, no jokes, no extra comments.

The first fib everyone thinks of is the one most likely to be taken. Once another player has sent it, yours is refused and you have to write another with the clock running down. Start with your second idea and you skip that.

A refusal tells you little. It means your fib is either the real answer or someone else’s fib, and the game never says which, so do not read it as a hint. Write something else and move on.

House fakes come from the question’s own wrong answers first. Those are often the first guesses a person would make. If you write one of them, the game uses a different house fake, so you lose nothing, but you also gave up the chance to write something fresh that nobody else thought of.

The best fib is one only you would write, but that still sounds like the most natural answer in the world.

Fib Fact only deals medium and hard questions, so the real answer is often the one that sounds strangest. People write fibs that feel right. The truth does not have to.

• Look for the answer that is oddly specific. A real answer can have an odd number or a strange detail that nobody would invent.
• Watch for answers that are the wrong kind. If the question asks for a year and an answer is a name, someone guessed badly.
• Spot the house fakes. They are tidy, textbook wrong answers. They are never the truth, and picking one scores nothing.
• Learn who wrote what. The reveal shows whose fib each answer was and who fell for it. After a few questions you will know each player’s style: one always writes numbers, one always picks a famous name.
• You never see your own fib, so the board you pick from is one shorter. That makes each guess a little better.

Finding the truth is worth 100. Each player who picks your fib is worth 50. Round two doubles both, and the last question triples both: 300 for the truth and 150 for each player fooled.

There is no penalty for a wrong pick, so always pick. A guess is better than nothing.

In a game of four, the last question alone can be worth 300 for the truth plus 150 for each of the other three you fool. That is more than a whole first round. A player far behind can still win on the last question, and a leader is never safe.

• Round one: try new styles of fib and learn how each player picks. The points are small.
• Round two: use what you learned. Write the kind of fib that fooled people in round one.
• Last question: the truth is worth 300. If you are leading, put most of your effort into finding it. If you are behind, you need people to fall for your fib, so write your best one.

Best liar goes to whoever fooled the most players over the whole game. It counts players fooled, not points, so a fib that fools two people in round one counts the same as one in the last round.

If you want the award, aim for many small wins: a believable fib on every question, not one big gamble.

• Writing a joke answer. It gets a laugh and no points.
• Writing the wrong kind of answer for the question.
• Writing the first guess that comes to mind, which other players and the house fakes may already have.
• Leaving the clock to run out. If you have not written a fib, nothing of yours goes on the board.
• Skipping the pick. A guess can find the truth, and no pick scores nothing.
• Picking the answer that sounds most normal. The truth is often the odd one.

A bot’s fib is one of the question’s stored fake answers, the same place house fakes come from. So bot fibs and house fakes look alike: tidy, textbook wrong answers. Learn that look and skip those answers.

Bots fall for people’s fibs twice as often as they fall for a bot’s fib or a house fake. Against bots, a good human-sounding fib is worth a lot.

An easy bot finds the truth about a quarter of the time and a hard bot a little over half. Set the bots to hard if you want a real test of your fibs.

Put the game on a TV with joinme.games/watch so the room sees the answers and the reveal together. The reveal, one answer at a time, is where the best laughs are.

With kids, use the Kids pack. It keeps its easier questions, so younger players have a fair chance at the truth.

With friends you know well, play the people. You know who loves animals, who guesses big numbers and who always picks a famous name. Write the fib they would believe.

• Match the kind of answer the question asks for.
• Plausible beats wild.
• Specific beats vague.
• Skip the obvious guess.
• The truth is often the strangest answer.
• Tidy, textbook answers are often house fakes.
• Always pick, even if you have to guess.
• Give the triple question your best fib.

How do you win at Fib Fact?

Write fibs that match the kind of answer the question wants, so they look real, and learn to spot the truth, which is often the strangest answer. The last question is worth triple, so give it your best fib.

How do you write a good fake answer?

Answer in the same shape as the real one: a number for how many, a name for who, a place for where. Make it specific and plausible, not silly, and avoid the first guess everyone thinks of.

How do you spot the real answer in a bluffing trivia game?

Look for the answer that is oddly specific or surprising. Players write fibs that feel right, but the truth does not have to. Skip answers that are the wrong kind for the question.

What happens if two players write the same fake answer in Fib Fact?

The second one is refused as already taken, and that player writes another. The same message shows for the real answer, so it does not tell you which it was.

Can you play Fib Fact against bots?

Yes. Bots write fibs and pick answers. Their fibs come from the same stored fakes as the house fakes, and they fall for a person’s fib twice as often as anyone else’s.