The Chameleon

Hide the roles and find the word

Use Big Potato's original English word-and-dice edition with blue and green card sets and a 4×4 Topic Card grid. This guide uses its optional points game for 3–8 players. Seat everyone around an indoor table where each person can read the Topic Card and privately look at their own card. Write each player's name with a starting score of zero.

Choose a first dealer. For three players take one blue Chameleon Card and two matching blue Code Cards; for any other count take one Chameleon plus one matching Code Card for every other player. Shuffle only those cards and deal one face down to each person. Keep unused cards out of the deal: exactly one player must receive the Chameleon. Everyone looks privately and keeps their role hidden.

The dealer reveals a Topic Card and rolls the yellow six-sided and blue eight-sided dice. Each Code Card holder uses the yellow result's column and the blue result's row on their Code Card to find a coordinate, then reads that cell on the Topic Card. Everyone holding a matching Code Card finds the same word. The Chameleon has no coordinate chart and must pretend to check. Do not announce or point at the target.

With exactly three players, a caught Chameleon gets two guesses instead of one. With seven or eight, the dealer turns the Topic Card face down after the last clue; leave it hidden through discussion and the Chameleon's guess. For four, five or six, it stays visible.

Think first, then say one word

Give everyone a short shared moment to choose a clue. The dealer speaks first, even when they are the Chameleon. Continue clockwise until everyone has said one word. Keep that pass moving without interruptions or explanations. Repeating a clue someone else already used is allowed.

Code Card holders want a connection that makes sense to someone who knows the answer but does not identify it too easily from the full grid. The Chameleon can study the category and other clues to choose a plausible word. Being first is harder, but an exposed Chameleon still has a final chance to guess.

Before the first deal, try this spoken example: imagine the secret word is bicycle. 'Balance' connects to it; 'Pedals' may give too much away. Explain that a broad clue is a reason to ask questions later, not automatic proof of a bluff. Use an unscored practice round if people want to try the whole sequence.

Discuss, vote and resolve the round

Make the bluff fair and the discussion useful

Before play, check that people want a game involving bluffing and public accusations. Use familiar topic words, make the card readable to every seat, and keep the discussion at a comfortable conversational volume. Debate the clue rather than treating someone's confidence, accent or hesitation as proof. Save explanations until the clue pass is complete.

A duplicate clue is legal; do not force a replacement or invent a penalty. A clue that feels too obvious or too obscure does not itself invalidate the round. The leaflet does not provide an extensive forbidden-clue list. Agree before dealing that a clue cannot be the secret answer, a coordinate or a direct spelling hint; this is a house restriction to preserve the deduction.

If an answer or secret card is accidentally exposed, this guide suggests abandoning that round with no points and making a fresh deal and dice roll. Use the same remedy if the deal has no Chameleon, more than one, mixed-color Code Cards or inconsistent decoded answers. It is a house repair, not a printed penalty. For a final-guess dispute, accept an unmistakable pronunciation of the actual entry; a merely related word is a miss. This is a house interpretation to settle arguments.

After the outcome, reveal the target and let players explain their clues. For another session, reset scores to zero. No player is eliminated between rounds.

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