Chameleon Board game Review

In this party boardgame, you must use your general trivia knowledge to either hide in plain site as the chameleon or root out the colour changing lizard by cleverly choosing words in a funny battle of wits between the whole table and the singular phony hiding in your midst.

In each round of chameleon everyone is dealt a card which tells you either that you are the chameleon or the secret phrase for that round. Then everyone says a word describing the phrase (so if the phrase was buffalo you might say hairy) with the chameleon trying to pretend they know what is going on. After that has happened, everyone votes on who they think didn’t know the phrase and was therefore the chameleon, with the camouflaged lizard winning if the blame is pinned on someone else.  However, even if the chameleon is caught, they can still win by guessing
what the secret phrase was, using the what everyone else said as clues. This means you must choose words that are specific enough to show you aren’t the chameleon but vague enough to stop the chameleon from using it to figure out the phrase.

First off, this game is extremely fun. The feeling you get when you manage to think of a great word to describe the phrase is phenomenal, and it gets even better if someone else understands what you meant. Add to that the chaotic fun that you get after the round has ended as the chameleon celebrates slipping through everyone else’s fingers or as you laugh at your friend who thought the best word to describe cake is ‘camel’.

A point of note is that the Chameleon is a British game, so the references on some of the topic cards (which are used to determine the secret phrase) may be lost on people from other countries. However, because there are so many topic cards, you can just flick through them until you find one to your liking, making this problem easily avoidable.

Is Chameleon a good family game?

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t suggest this game to a family with young children, as a big part of the fun derived from this game is coming up with creative and clever word choices to subtly hint at the secret phrase, which is actually quite tricky. If full grown adults struggle at this part of the game, then younger children will find this nearly impossible, especially when there are pop culture references involved.

Is Chameleon a good party game then?

This question however, is a resounding yes. The quick nature of each round lets players drop in and out quickly without much disruption as people go of to get drinks or want to join in. Also, its fairly simple rules make it quick to teach, so you can get into the fun straight away. The raucous fun of the conversations after the round ends fits in perfectly with the party setting as well.

Overall, while the Chameleon boardgame may not be great for families, it is definitely worth picking up if you are in need of a game to play during your next social gathering for a great time.