Blending in With 'The Chameleon'

Party games are in right now. Some people love them, some people not so much. Still, with the right crowd and the right mindset, party games can be a ton of fun! Some of the biggest ones that have garnered a lot of attention in the last couple of years are Codenames and Spyfall. This review isn't on those games, so in a quick summary, Codenames focuses on teams of players who are trying to pinpoint specific cards based on one word clues. Identifying those cards correctly puts that team closer to winning the game. In Spyfall, one person plays a spy who has to figure out a secret, shared location that everyone else is at through a cyclical question and answer system where one player asks a simple question to another of their choice. No one knows anything about anyone else and everyone is basically trying to figure out who is on their side and who is the spy while the spy narrows down the location. I own both of these games, and in their own way, they are both fun, but there's another game that I think does both of these ideas even better and that is Big Potato Game's The Chameleon.

Perhaps it's a very chameleon thing that this game has the familiarity of the other two. It seems to take on the traits of both of these games and combine them together to make something that plays better, works better, and might just be better. We'll talk about that. In The Chameleon, there are 40 different game cards that contain an overall category and 16 potential words that correlate with that category. The words are included in a 4 by 4 grid with the columns labeled A through D and the rows numbered 1 through 4. Aside from these cards, there are 8 "Blue" cards and 8 "Green" cards giving two optional formats through which to play the game, just in case anyone in your gaming group has a photogenic memory. One of these 8 cards says, "You Are the Chameleon" while the other 7 share coordinates that are determined by the roll of a D6 and a D8 die included with the game.

To start the game, you set aside a number of the blue or green cards based on the number of players participating. One of those cards must be the titular Chameleon card. You then shuffle those around and pass them out to all of the players. Everyone looks at their cards in secret. A single category card is then chosen and the D6 and D8 die are rolled. Everyone's secret card aside from the one designating who The Chameleon is will show them what their shared secret word is from that category. Everyone then takes a turn saying one word that hints at what their secret word is. Since all players except The Chameleon share the same secret word, everyone will have to determine who is on their team and who is The Chameleon based on the clues given. The Chameleon will not know what that word is and will have to deduce it based on other player's clues and give a clue of their own that may work. Once everyone has went once, there will then be a moment for people to question each other's clues and try to carefully explain themselves without giving away what they are. After that moment is over, everyone takes a vote. The majority vote decides who the group thinks The Chameleon is, if they are wrong, The Chameleon wins. If they are right, The Chameleon gets to take 1 guess at the word before losing. If they get it right, they still win, but if they guess incorrectly, they're caught and the group wins. The Chameleon becomes the next dealer, deals the cards out, and picks the category and gameplay continues until you basically want to call it quits.

There are some optional rules included in the game. If you want to play for points and keep score, there is a rubric for how many points certain things are worth with the first player scoring 5 points being declared the winner. There is also an optional rule for the lower end gameplay of 3 players and the higher end 7 or 8 player version. All of these are nice inclusions, but my absolute favorite thing that publisher included as an optional thing is a large Custom Topic Card and a dry erase marker so you can make your own categories and associated words. Having your game group play a round or two with a category based on everyone's favorites from your board game collection is a must.

(These options are only meant for humor and not at all meant to be a model of how you should utilize the custom topic card)

So, overall, how does The Chameleon stack up to Codenames and Spyfall? With regards to replayability and having each time be a mostly unique playthrough, I'd rank Codenames first with The Chameleon being the runner up. Spyfall simply will run into repetition much quicker than the other two. In terms of simplicity, I believe The Chameleon takes the lead spot as you are still giving out one word clues, but everyone simply says one clue until it gets back to the start player and everyone then takes a vote. Spyfall would technically be the least simple (although it is still very simple) because you have to formulate questions that you can ask each other, and rounds last much longer. The Chameleon also takes the lead in speed of gameplay because it doesn't take much to get through a round. In terms of setup, Spyfall takes the lead with minimal table space required, and The Chameleon falls slightly behind. Both of these games can easily be played around a dinner table (with dinner on it) without much fuss at all (which I love). Codenames unfortunately cannot be played in that kind of setting very easily. Fun is kind of hard to judge between each game and therefore, we'll leave that one up to you. It really comes up to your flavor and the makeup of your gaming group. If you have small kids playing, they might understand and be able to play Spyfall somewhat easier. Some of The Chameleon's categories can be more obscure, and you may easily get a word that you're not familiar with the context (which honestly makes it more entertaining for everyone to try to figure out who The Chameleon is). "I thought John was the Chameleon, but Jessica... your answer made no sense at all... so I'm leaning more towards you now. Explain yourself."

Overall, we here at WYLD Gaming think The Chameleon was a quick, easy, fun filler/party game and enjoyed it thoroughly. It gets Two Hooves Up and easily takes a spot in the MANE COLLECTION should you be looking for a light party styled game to bring to the table. If you're a fan of either of the other games we have mentioned, this one will blend in quite well with your gaming group and might just rend the others obsolete.