Aim of the game

The players need to try to discover which player the Chameleon is without giving away the secret word. If you are the Chameleon then your goal is to blend in with the other players, avoid giving yourself away and work out the secret word.

Getting started

Host a new game, gather three or more players on your video/audio chat platform of choice, and share your autogenerated game link with them. Once everybody has joined, the host will be able to hit the Start Game button to begin the first round.

Playing a round

Once the round starts the Chameleon will be randomly assigned, there is one Chameleon per round and only the Chameleon knows who they are, remember it's the Chameleon's job to blend in as a normal player, it's the other players' job to find the Chameleon.

If you are the Chameleon this round you will see a green banner saying "You are the Chameleon!"

The topic for the round and sixteen words related to that topic will be displayed on screen, the secret word will then be revealed to everybody except the Chameleon.

Meanwhile, the Chameleon has to pretend to play along. Since they don't know which card is the secret word, it’s impossible for them to work out what the secret word is… yet.

In the example above the secret word is Anchor. Each player (including the Chameleon) takes it in turns to say one word related to Anchor. Take a few moments to think of your word. When ready, each player says their word without hesitation or interruption, in the turn order as shown below the cards (turn order will change each round).

If another player says the word you were going to say, don't worry, you can repeat it. Choose wisely! If your word is too obvious, the Chameleon might catch on and figure out the secret word. If it's too cryptic, people might start to think that you're the Chameleon!

Here's an example of how it might play out. Remember, the secret word is Anchor.

Unmasking the Chameleon

Once everyone has said their word, begin debating the Chameleon's identity. discuss your reasoning and pick holes in each other's arguments. Once you've decided who you think the Chameleon is, click on their name and click the check mark to confirm your vote.

Once everybody has voted the results will be revealed, if the vote is tied you will need to discuss and vote again, a majority must be reached!

If the group does not correctly identify the Chameleon they have escaped! If the group successfully identified the Chameleon then you've successfully cornered them... but it's not over yet, the Chameleon can still try to guess the secret word by clicking on the card they think shows the secret word, if they get it right, they escape!

Scoring

If scoring is something you're interested in here's how it works.

If the Chameleon escapes undetected: The Chameleon scores 2 points. Everyone else scores 0 points.
If the Chameleon is caught (but guesses the secret word): The Chameleon scores 1 point. Everyone else scores 0 points.
If the Chameleon is caught (and doesn’t guess the secret word): The Chameleon scores 0 points. Everyone else scores 2 points.

Start the next round

The game host can then start the next round, a new Chameleon will be randomly selected and the turn order will change.