LogFAQs > #963187374

52. Chameleon

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/227072/chameleon

Category: Player vs team
Key mechanics: Hidden roles, clue-giving, word game
Rules complexity (0 to 7): 1
Game length: <10 minutes
First played: 2021
Experience: 3 plays over 1 session with 4-5 players

In Chameleon, each player knows a word on a grid, linked by topic... except for the secret, titular chameleon player. Each player then gives one word. After that, the non-chameleons collectively have one guess to figure out who the chameleon is, while the chameleon tries to blend in and figure out what the word is.

What a wild game. Chameleon feels like distillation of the early game Spyfall, which worked almost exactly the same way. Bringing the game down to a single round of saying a word is brilliant, and the categories are better varied than single locations. Thinking up the perfect word to clue in everyone without making it obvious what the word is, or to be just vague enough where you're covering the right word but without having to know it, requires a ton of creativity and trying to play your audience correctly.

That said, it's not super-strategic - as in all social deduction games, a perfect clue in your eyes can be blown up by the table, while by pure luck, the table could just out you as the villain - correctly or incorrectly. If you go first as the chameleon, you're probably dead. You just are. Luck plays a massive role in it. And it can feel punishing and stressful. And all that is fine! For a microgame, I thought it was a fun novelty and I'd definitely play it again if people are into it.