The Chameleon

^{review by Alapai}

The Chameleon is a party game for 3-8 people made by Big Potato Games. In it, you are trying to figure out which person in the group is the Chameleon, an impostor trying to blend in with the group.

To start a round, you take a topic card that has a grid of categories and put it in the center where everyone can see it. Everybody then gets dealt a code card from the same color of cards (green or blue). All of the code cards have the same table on them that has grid coordinates for every possible roll of the two dice in the game, a d6 and d8, except that one of the code cards instead just says “You are the Chameleon.” The dice are then rolled and everybody knows what category is the chosen one from the topic except for the Chameleon. Players then go around the table saying one word that lets the other players know that they know the category and therefore aren’t the Chameleon. Once everyone has said a word, you discuss and try and determine who you think the Chameleon is. Once the group has had enough time, you count down and then each person points to who they think the Chameleon is. If the person most pointed to is not the Chameleon, the Chameleon wins! If the Chameleon is most pointed to, they can still win by pointing out the specific category from the topic. Otherwise, the group wins!

The Chameleon incorporates one of my favorite aspects of party games, where you have to balance specificity and vagueness. If you are not the Chameleon and too specific in your hint, then the Chameleon might be able to figure out the category. If you are too vague in your hint, then everybody might think you’re the Chameleon. A good hint walks the line between specific and vague.

Another thing I like about the game is that it’s quick. It’s a game you can easily play before everybody else arrives to your game night or in between rounds. It works best with people you know as you can use inside knowledge to help out your hints, but can still work well with strangers by just using common knowledge.

For my copy, I wanted it to travel better and the box is far larger than necessary. The topic cards are just a little larger than I wanted them to be, as they are slightly too large to fit in a Gamegenic Double Deck Holder with the inserts removed, but even with sleeves (as I can’t have my own games not be sleeved), it was able to fit in a Game Shell 250+ box. I got some less common sleeves for my topic cards (Sleeve Kings XXL), but the code cards are the only ones you shuffle regularly and those just fit into standard Tarot-sized sleeves.

If you’re looking for a bluffing-style party game, The Chameleon is a fun, quick game that is easy to just pick up and play!

The Chameleon is available now from our webstore.