Life of a Chameleon Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Turn Overview
• Moving Your Chameleon
• Moving a Snake
• Changing Color
• Lie in Wait
• Free Activities
• Moving and Placing Bugs
• Eating Bugs
• Objective Cards
  • Starting Objectives
  • Completing Objectives
• End of Turn
• Achievement Cards
  • Gather Cards
  • Hide Cards
  • Sneak Card
  • Move Bug Card
  • Extra Action Card
  • Wild Card
• End of the Game
• Scoring

Overview

Players take turns moving around the game board, eating bugs to complete objective cards for victory points. As players begin and finish objectives, they also collect achievement cards which can be used to earn more victory points. As objective cards are completed, a marker is moved along the progress track until the end of game is triggered.

Components

• Game board
• Progress track
• Black progress marker
• 20-sided die
• 4-sided die
• 6-sided color die
• 21 Colored chameleon pieces
• 6 Colored snake pieces
• 90 Colored bug cubes (6 colors x 15 each)
• 21 Color cards
• 30 Objective cards
• 29 Achievement cards
• Rule book

Object of the Game

Take turns moving your chameleon, changing colors, eating bugs, and avoiding snakes. Earn the most victory points by completing objectives and achievement cards. Unfinished objectives count against you at the end, so be judicious about which ones you choose and when you begin and complete them!

Setup

Place the game board and progress track in the center of the table where all players can reach them. Shuffle the Color cards and place the deck face down on the table. Draw three Color cards and place them face up next to the Color card deck. Shuffle the Achievement cards and place the deck face-down within reach. Shuffle the Objective cards and place the deck face down next to the game board. Draw four Objective cards and place them face-up next to the rest of the deck. Place all the 21 chameleon pieces and bug cubes on the table within reach forming the supply. Place the six snake pieces in random order on the spaces numbered 2 through 7 (one snake per space). Finally, to seed the game board, place a random colored bug cube on each of the spaces numbered 2 through 19.

Each player should draw a Color card from the face-down deck and place it face-up on the table in front of himself/herself. This determines the starting color for each player. Then, each player should find the chameleon piece that matches his/her card and place it on the center space of the game board.

Throughout the game you will be able to change your color. Having the matching card in front of you is an important part of keeping track of your chameleon and your opponents!

Each player should roll a die to determine the starting player. The highest roll goes first.

Turn Overview

Begin your turn by rolling both the 20-sided die and the 6-sided color die. Use the resulting color and number to place a bug on the game board. For instance, if you were to roll yellow and 16, you would place a yellow bug from the supply onto the space with the number 16. Later we will cover the rules for moving/placing bugs in more detail.

After placing your bug, you should perform three actions on your turn. You may choose from the following options:

• Move your chameleon
• Move a snake
• Change your chameleon's color
• Lie in wait for more bugs

You may choose any combination of three actions. You may even perform the same action two or three times. Some Achievement cards earned during the game will allow you to take additional actions on your turn. There are many other things that can be done on your turn including eating bugs, starting and completing objective cards, accomplishing Achievement cards and so on. However, none of those things count toward your three actions. Only taking three of the actions listed above make up a complete turn.

Moving Your Chameleon

As one of your actions you may move your chameleon piece to any adjacent space. If you would like to move more than one space it will require multiple actions. You may move onto the same space as any opponent. However, you may not move onto a space that is occupied by a snake unless your chameleon matches its color. Note that your chameleon may be one or two colors. If either of your chameleon's colors match the snake's color you can blend in and occupy the same space. If you move your chameleon onto a space with bugs of a different color, they become scared and scatter. Follow the rules for moving/placing bugs in the next section to move the bugs off of your space. If any bugs matching your color share the space with your chameleon, they remain on the space with you and you may eat them. Details about eating bugs will be given later.

Examples of moving a chameleon:

• The violet chameleon can move onto space 5 with the violet snake. If she does, the orange bug will be scared and must be moved to an adjacent space.
• The red/blue chameleon may move onto spaces 2 or 7. If he moves to space 7, the blue bug is not scared away (because it shares a color with the chameleon).

Moving a Snake

You may move any snake to an adjacent space. However, snakes are territorial–if you move one onto a space already occupied by a snake, you must move it again to another adjacent space. Chaining snake moves together this way only counts as one action. You may not move a snake onto an opponent's space unless the opponent's pawn contains the color of the snake. These snakes only hunt chameleons, so they do not affect bugs in any way. Bugs and snakes of any color can share the same space.

Examples of moving a snake:

• The blue/red player might choose to move the orange snake out of the way so he can get to the matching red bug. He could move the snake onto space 17 just to get it out of the way. Or he could move the snake onto space 5 and then onto 14 in one action.
• The red snake cannot be moved onto space 1, 20 because there is a chameleon there without any red on it (the violet one)!

Changing Color

In order to eat bugs of any given color your chameleon must match. You may use an action on your turn to change your chameleon's color. Choose from any of the three face-up Color cards or draw the top card from the Color deck. Place your new Color card in front of you on the table and place your previous Color card in a discard pile. If you choose the top card from the deck you are not required to change colors, but your action is still spent. If you choose a face-up Color card, do not replace it with a new one from the deck until your turn is complete. If your pawn shares a space with a snake, you may only change your chameleon's color if the new card has the snake's color on it. After changing your Color card, find the corresponding chameleon pawn and replace your previous chameleon on the game board. If the Color deck is depleted, shuffle the discard pile and reuse it.

Lie in Wait

A big part of being a chameleon is patience. When the color of bugs you need aren't available you may want to just wait for more. If you choose this action on your turn, you will pick which color of bug you'd like to wait for, then roll the 20-sided die and place that color of bug on the space with the number shown. With any luck the new bug will land near your pawn. You can repeat this process up to three times per action. That is to say, one action equals three rolls of the die. To be abundantly clear, if you choose to lie in wait for all three of the actions on your turn you could roll nine times. You may pick the same color or a different one each time you roll. As you place bugs on the board follow the standard rules for moving/placing bugs found in the next section.

While the bug supply is not likely to ever run out, it is intentionally limited. If a bug color is depleted from the supply, it is no longer available to be placed and players must finish the game without that color. In the nearly impossible event that the bug supply is completely depleted and no player has any way to finish any more objectives, the game immediately ends and players tally their scores.

Free Activities

You may eat bugs, start and complete Objective cards, and play Achievement cards at any point during your turn. None of these activities count toward your three actions. Rules for each of these are discussed next.

Moving and Placing Bugs

When you move your pawn to a new space, any bugs of a different color than your chameleon are scared away and must be moved. As part of your turn you must move each bug that doesn't share a color with the chameleons on its space to any adjacent space. If that space has a chameleon on it that also doesn't match the bug's color, the bug is scared again and must be moved to a new adjacent space and so on. Each bug can be moved to the same new space or different ones at your discretion. For example, when your blue/orange chameleon moves onto a space with two yellow bugs they both become scared and flee. You must move both of them to adjacent spaces, however, you may move each of them to a different adjacent space if you choose.

When new bugs are placed on the game board the same rules apply. If a bug is placed on a space with a chameleon that doesn't share a color, the bug is scared and must be moved. If multiple chameleons occupy a space when a bug is placed, the bug is scared if even one pawn doesn't match its color. Whenever a bug is scared and must move, it is the responsibility (and privilege) of the active player to move the bug–even if it is another player's chameleon doing the scaring!

Example of bug placement: At the beginning of either player's turn, she could roll 18 and red. Because there is a non-red chameleon on that space, the current player should scare the new red bug to an adjacent space (such as 17).

Example of scaring bugs: If the blue/red player moves onto space 2, the green and violet bugs see him and are scared away. The current player must move both the mismatched bugs to adjacent spaces. The red bug remains on the space because the chameleon blends in with its surroundings.

Eating Bugs

Whenever your chameleon shares a space with a bug of a matching color (on your turn), you may eat it. Bugs of non-matching colors should be scared and moved according to the rules previously mentioned.

To eat a bug, take the cube and either place it on an available Objective card in front of you; take a new Objective card from the pool and place the bug on that; or stash the bug on the table in front of you for later. Your chameleon can only stash up to 5 bugs for later at any given time. If you already have 5 bugs stashed you can only eat new ones by placing them directly onto Objective cards in front of you. You can make more room in your stash by placing stashed bugs onto your Objective cards (details are in the Completing Objectives section). You may also trade two bugs of the same color from your stash for one bug of any color at any time on your turn.

Objective Cards

In order to complete an Objective card, you must eat all of the bugs indicated along the bottom of the card. You must place the eaten bug cubes on the card in the order indicated from left to right or from right to left. Once you have started placing bugs on the Objective card they cannot be moved and you cannot switch the order in which you'll collect them.

Examples: In the first example (a 4-point card), the player began an Objective card by placing a blue bug on the left. The next bug she must place is a green one, then orange, then yellow. In the second example (a 3-point card), the player began an Objective card by placing a red bug on the right. The next bug he must place is a violet one, then green.

Starting Objectives

To start a new Objective card at any time during your turn, simply take one from the available pool of face-up cards and place at least one bug on it (in either the left-most or right-most position). Each time you start a new Objective card you should also draw an Achievement card to keep in your hand. It's possible to start multiple Objective cards in a single turn. Be sure to draw an Achievement card for each one. Do not replace the face-up Objective cards until the end of your turn. You may never possess an Objective card with zero bugs on it–you are only allowed to take a new Objective card if you can start it.

You may place bugs from your stash onto your Objective cards at any time during your turn. You may also eat bugs and put them straight onto an Objective card in front of you. You may even start a new Objective with a bug from your stash or as you eat a bug from the board. Plan the order you eat bugs and be opportunistic to be efficient in completing Objectives!

Completing Objectives

Objectives are completed when the last bug is placed on the required spot along the bottom of the card. When you complete an Objective you should draw another achievement card. You may complete multiple Objectives in one turn and should draw an achievement card for each one.

Whenever you complete one (or more) Objectives in a turn you must roll the 4-sided die and move the black progress marker that many spaces along the progress track. Even if you complete multiple Objectives on your turn, you should only roll the die once at the end of your turn. The game ends when the marker reaches 16 for a 2-player game or 20 for a 3 or 4-player game. At that time, the current player finishes his/her turn, then all players tally their scores.

When the 4-sided die is rolled, only one number will be right side up on all three visible sides. That's the number that should be read. (Two styles of dice are illustrated in the rulebook; in both cases, the number 3 has been rolled.)

End of Turn

If you changed your chameleon's color during your turn, be a good citizen and replenish the pool of face-up Color cards by drawing until there are three. Do the same for the four face-up Objective cards if you started any Objectives during your turn. Pass the colored die and the 20-sided die to the player on your left.

Achievement Cards

As previously mentioned, whenever you start an Objective or complete an Objective, you should draw an Achievement card. There is no limit to the number of Achievement cards you may have in your hand. The Achievement deck contains three types of cards: 1) extra goals, 2) event cards, and 3) wild cards. You may use/complete as many Achievement cards as you like during any part of your turn. They do not count as actions. Goal cards are placed in front of you as soon as they are completed and count as extra points at the end of the game. Event cards can be used to take additional actions during your turn. Wild cards can be exchanged for a bug cube of any color from the supply.

Gather Cards

Ten of the cards in the Achievement deck are Gather cards. Each one shows three bug colors that you should gather onto one space of the board in order to complete the card and earn three points. Use the technique of scaring bugs described earlier to corral bugs into a single space. You must be adjacent to the space where the three bugs are in order to complete the card. The bugs must be at rest on the space. That is to say, you cannot complete a Gather card if a bug is in the process of being scared off of the space.

To complete the Gather card, place it face-up on the table in front of you, remove the three matching bugs from the board, and return them to the supply.

Card text: "Play this card on your turn when your chameleon is adjacent to a space containing these 3 colors of bugs."

Hide Cards

There are six Hide cards: one of each color. Whenever your chameleon is sharing a space with the snake indicated on the card, you may place it in front of you and collect the two points. You can complete the Hide card even if you are sneaking.

Card text: "Reveal this card on your turn when your chameleon is sharing a space with the red predator." (example for the red card)

Sneak Card

The sneak card allows you to occupy the same space as a snake without having to match its color. Place the Sneak card in front of you as you move onto the snake's space. You remain in sneak mode until you move off of the snake's space and no longer need the sneak ability. At that time you should discard the Sneak card. Note: you may remain in sneak mode for multiple turns if you choose not to leave the snake's space. However, as soon as you no longer need the card you must discard it. The Sneak card does not allow you to occupy a space with bugs of a different color.

Move Bug Card

Reveal and discard this card at any time during your turn in order to move a bug to an adjacent space. You may move any single bug to any adjacent space. You must follow all the rules of moving/placing bugs. You may even move a bug onto a space occupied by a mismatched chameleon. If you do, the bug will be scared and you must continue to move it according to the previously described rules. Often times you will want to move an adjacent bug of your same color onto your space so you can eat it. You may also want to use this card to help complete a Gather card.

Extra Action Card

Play this card (by placing it on the discard pile) to take an additional action on your turn. For instance, you normally take three actions on a turn. If you play one Extra Action card, you may take a fourth action of your choosing.

Wild Card

A wild card may be played at any time during your turn and even during the end of game phase. Discard the wild card and take one bug cube of any color from the supply. The newly acquired bug must either be placed in your stash or directly onto an objective card per the normal bug eating rules.

End of the Game

The game ends when the progress marker reaches 16 for a 2-player game or 20 for a 3 or 4-player game. The active player finishes his/her turn before all players tally their scores.

Before scoring, all players are allowed to place any bugs in their stashes on Objective cards in order to complete as much as they can. Players may also trade two bugs of a kind for one of any color and exchange any Wild cards for bugs from the supply. In the case that the supply runs out of any color, the active player should finish exchanging bugs first, then each player in their normal turn sequence may take a turn making final exchanges of bugs. You may not start any new Objectives nor should any Achievement cards be drawn for completing Objectives during this final phase.

Scoring

To calculate your score, add all the points from all of your completed Objective cards. Subtract 2 for each incomplete Objective card in front of you. Add any points from completed Achievement cards (Gather/Hide). In the event of a tie the victory is shared.

Examples:

• The player scores 17 points for completed Objectives plus 2 points for the completed Hide card and 3 points for the Gather card for a total of 22 points.
• The player scores 14 points for completed Objectives, plus 3 points for the finished Gather card, minus 2 points for the one Objective that was not completed for a total of 15 points.