The Chameleon game, with no cards.
The Chameleon is the version of the imposter game where everyone can see the sixteen possible words and only the chameleon does not know which one was picked. Side Eye has a setting that plays exactly that, on one phone passed round or on everyone’s phone online, with the app in place of the dice. Free, no account.
How The Chameleon plays
A topic card goes in the middle with sixteen words on it, say sixteen animals. Everyone gets a code card except one player, who gets the chameleon card. The dealer rolls two dice; the numbers point to a square on the code cards, and that square names one of the sixteen words. The chameleon has no code card, so they see the grid and not the word. Going round from the dealer, each player says one word connected to the secret word. Then the table debates and votes. If the chameleon is caught, they get one guess at the word from the sixteen; right, and they win anyway. If an innocent player is caught, the chameleon wins.
Side Eye’s word grid mode
In the settings, set Imposter sees to Word grid. Every card then shows sixteen words from the pack. The civilians’ cards also show which one is the word; the imposter’s card does not. One word each round the table, a vote, and a caught imposter picks their guess from the sixteen. The app draws the sixteen fresh each round, picks the clue order, keeps the imposter from going first, counts the vote and keeps score.
Where they differ
| The Chameleon | Side Eye in word grid mode | |
|---|---|---|
| The sixteen | A printed topic card, the same grid every time that topic comes up. | Sixteen words drawn from the pack each round, so the grid changes. |
| Picking the word | Two dice and a code card. | The app, in private, on each card. |
| Who goes first | The dealer, then clockwise. | A random order each round, with the imposter rarely first. |
| The vote | Point on the count of three; the dealer breaks ties. | Point on three or a secret ballot; a tie gets one re-vote, then nobody is out. |
| Scoring | Two points each for catching the chameleon, two for a chameleon who gets away, one for a caught chameleon who guesses right. | Three for an imposter who survives, two for a caught one who guesses right, one for each correct vote. |
| Other modes | Grid only. | The grid, the category only, or nothing at all. |
Tips for grid rounds
- Civilians: your clue has to fit the word and at least two others on the grid. “Stripes” for Zebra is handing it over when Tiger is on the card too.
- Imposter: cross words off as the clues land, and say something that fits whatever is left. Nobody expects you to be clever on the first clue.
- Second pass: clues get sharper because everyone is tired of the imposter surviving. That is when the grid earns its keep.
- Caught? Guess from the grid, not from thin air. Two points back is worth the think.
Try it now
The generator deals a grid round in your browser with no app: pick a pack, set the imposter to see the grid, and pass the phone. For rounds, scores and the vote, the app, free. To play apart, start a room.
Questions
Is Side Eye the same as The Chameleon?
The word grid mode plays the same bluff: sixteen words in view, one is secret, the odd one out does not know which. The cards, dice and scoring are The Chameleon’s own; Side Eye does those jobs its own way and has two other modes besides.
Can I play The Chameleon with more than eight people?
In Side Eye, up to twenty, with two imposters from eleven players.
Does the grid make it easier for the imposter?
Yes, that is the point. With the category only, a sharp table catches the imposter most rounds. With the grid, a careful imposter gets away with it often enough to keep everyone honest.
Spyfall, The Chameleon, Undercover, Insider and Werewolf are other people’s games, named here to describe how they play. Side Eye is made by Empyreal and is not connected to any of them.
