We’re Becoming The Ultimate Spymasters with ‘Codenames’
Get the secret code from your spymaster and try to guess the correct ‘Codenames’. But watch out for the innocent bystanders and assassin!
You know how you can walk into somebody’s house, see their shelves of board games, and know that these are board game people. Codenames is the opposite of that in the best way possible. Codenames is the sort of game you can, and should, break out at a party with absolutely everyone. It’s just one of those perfect party games.
| Quick Guide | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mechanics | Team-Based, Deduction, Memory | |
| Players | 2 – 8 Players, Age 10+ | |
| Playing Time | 15 Minutes | |
| Similar Games | Werewolf, Concept | |
| Publisher | Czech Games Edition |
Codenames Overview
Codenames is a game of spywork and secret identities. It sets up in minutes, is easy to teach and learn, and manages to skate the just-the-right-amount-of-competitive line. In Codenames, two teams compete to guess their team’s codenames while trying to avoid the competition’s. And yes, you probably won’t feel like James Bond while playing, but it can still get pretty exciting when you get going.
Since its introduction in 2015, Codenames has seen a lot of success. It’s been praised as family friendly, very replayable, and endlessly entertaining. So much so, that it has won multiple awards, been published in 38 languages, and has many, many expansions and variations.
And if you’re disappointed about not feeling like 007 when a game of Codenames starts, try putting on a suit and shaking up a martini. Let me know if that adds to the spy atmosphere; I’m genuinely curious.
How To Play Codenames
Four or more players are needed to play Codenames and they split between a red and blue team. One player on each team is designated the Sypmaster. The teams set up a grid of 25 randomly laid out cards in a five-by-five grid. Some cards represent red agents, others represent blue agents, one card represents an assassin, and the rest represent innocent bystanders.
The Spymaster receives a random card with colored squares representing the words on the grid and must help their operatives (teammates) guess the words representing their agents. At the same time, they must avoid the enemy agents, innocent bystanders, and the assassin.
This is done by the Spymaster giving a verbal clue that consists of a single word and a number. The word should relate to the codewords in question, while the number will represent how many codewords there are. The field operatives then must guess which words go with the given clue. Once they make their guesses, the word cards are either covered with an agent, bystander, or assassin tile.
Correct guesses allow the operatives to continue guessing, but revealing an opposing agent or bystander ends the turn. Revealing the assassin ends the game immediately with a loss for the guessing team. But if the assassin is never accidently revealed, the name ends when all of one team’s agents are found and that team wins.
Should I Buy This Game?
Honestly, yes. Codenames is such a good game to just have. The last time I played this was at a New Year’s party where I know the hosts were board game people, but many of their guests weren’t. And Codenames was a perfect bridge between all of us.
