Looking for a specific The Chameleon rule? | Set Up | Playing the Game | Catching the Chameleon | Winning the Game | Variant Rules | FAQ | Components |
Objective
The objective of the game is to catch the Chameleon player without revealing the secret word or escape suspicion depending on your role.
Set Up
- Find the blue Chameleon card as well as a number of blue Code Cards that match the number of players minus one. For example if there are five players you will need the blue Chameleon card and four blue Code Cards.
- Shuffle all of the cards and deal one face down to each player.
- Each player should look at their card, but don’t let the other players see it. One of the players has the Chameleon card. That player becomes the Chameleon for the round.
How to Play The Chameleon
To begin each round the dealer turns over a Topic Card so everyone can see it. They will then roll the yellow and blue dice. All of the players will use the numbers rolled on the two dice to reference their card. On their card the two numbers should reference a code.
That code references one of the spaces on the Topic Card. The word in the spot matching the code is the Secret Word for the round. All of the players besides the Chameleon should be able to see what the Secret Word is. None of the players should say what the Secret Word is or say anything that could lead the Chameleon to figuring out what it is. To keep their identity secret, the Chameleon player should pretend to figure out the Secret Word.
After everyone knows what the Secret Word is, everyone should take some time to think up a word related to the Secret Word. You want to come up with something related to the word, but not so obvious. You don’t want the clue to be too obvious or the Chameleon can figure out the Secret Word. If the word is not particularly relevant though, the other players may think you don’t know what the Secret Word is and they might try to vote you out. The Chameleon player should also think of a word that they are going to say.
Once everyone is ready the dealer says the word they came up with. The player to their left/clockwise then says their word. Players shouldn’t hesitate when saying their word. If another player says the word you came up with, you can also say it, but the other players may be suspicious.
Catching the Chameleon
After everyone has said their word, the players can start debating who they think is the Chameleon. Players can defend themselves and/or try to raise suspicion of other players. The Chameleon player wants to try and keep their identity hidden during this debate.
Once everyone is done debating, the players will vote for who they think is the Chameleon. At the same time all of the players will point at the player that they suspect.
Whichever player receives the most votes, is voted out. If there is a tie, the dealer chooses which of the tied players is voted out. They will reveal their card to the rest of the players. If it is a Code Card, the players voted the wrong player out and the Chameleon player wins the round.
Should the players vote out the Chameleon player, they still have one chance to save themselves. They have one guess to try and pick out the Secret Word from the Topic Card. If the player guesses the correct word, they still win the round even though the players caught them. Should they guess any word other than the Secret Word, all of the other players win the round.
If you want to play another round, the Chameleon from the previous round becomes the dealer for the next round. For this next round you will use the other color cards. For the second round you will use the green cards. The third round uses the blue cards and so on. The next round is played in the same way as the first round.
Winning The Chameleon
You can play the game in two different ways.
First you can play where each round is considered its own game. If the Chameleon escapes or guesses the Secret Word, they win the game. Otherwise all of the other players win the game.
Otherwise you can keep score. Scoring depends on whether the Chameleon was caught and if they guess the Secret Word.
- If they escape without being voted out, they score two points. The rest of the players score zero points.
- Should the Chameleon be caught but they guess the Secret Word, they score one point. The rest of the players score zero points.
- If the Chameleon is caught or they don’t guess the Secret Word, they score zero points. The rest of the players score two points.
The first player to score five points wins the game.
Variant Rules
Custom Topic Card
The game includes a large blank dry erase Topic Card. The players could choose to use this card and write down their own topics.
Three Players
If there are only three players, the Chameleon player is at a disadvantage. Therefore they should get to take two guesses at the Secret Word. If either are correct, they win the round.
Seven or Eight Players
In seven and eight player games, the Chameleon has an advantage. Therefore once everyone has said their word, the dealer turns over the Topic Card so the Chameleon can’t look at it to try and figure out the Secret Word.
The Chameleon FAQ
If you have any questions about how to play the game, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.
Components
- 8 Blue Code and Chameleon Cards
- 8 Green Code and Chameleon Cards
- 40 Topic Cards
- Six Sided Die
- 8 Sided Die
- Marker
- Custom Topic Card
- Sticker (not used in gameplay)
- Instructions
Year: 2017 | Publisher: Big Potato Games | Designer: Rikki Tahta | Artist: Ben Drummond, Luis Francisco, Zoe Lee, Rikki Tahta
Genres: Bluffing, Deduction, Party, Word
Ages: 14+ | Number of Players: 3-8 | Length of Game: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light-Moderate | Luck: Moderate
For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.