Become the Ultimate Spymaster With ‘Codenames’
Get the secret code form your spymaster and start guessing the correct Codenames. But watch out for the innocent bystanders and assassin!
Codenames is so synonymous with party games and game nights in general, that I assumed it was a whole lot older than it actually is. But this 2015 board game designed by Vlaad Chvatil is fast to set up, fast to learn, only runs fifteen to thirty minutes, and works for a crowd. Making it one of the best, and as a result one of the most popular party games on the market.
Codenames
When you’re working with party and group games, simplicity and pace are key. And Codenames has both of those. It’s a game of playing spy where two teams compete to guess their team’s codenames while trying to avoid the competition’s. Okay, maybe it’s not reconnaissance spy work or anything, but the concept is fun and pretty exciting once you get into it.
Since the game’s introduction in 2015, it’s seem a lot of positive feedback. It’s been praised as a fantastic family friendly game, endlessly repayable and highly entertaining. It’s been published in 38 languages, and won multiple awards. The 2015 Origins Award for Best Family Game, Fan Favorite Family Game, and Game of the Year. 2016’s Spiel Des Jahres (German Game of the Year), and 2017’s Golden Geek Award: Best Two-Player Game for Codenames Duet.
How to Play Codenames
Four or more players are needed to play Codenames and they split between a red and blue team with one player on each team designated as 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 while avoiding 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. If the assassin is never accidently revealed, the name ends when all of one team’s agents are found and that team wins.
Variations
After the success and popularity of Codenames, a number of official variations were published.
Codenames: Deep Undercover contains 200 new word cards with adult content, sexual references, and spicy double entendres. It received a parental advisory label.
Codenames: Pictures uses images cards instead of words and uses a 5×4 grid instead of 5×5.
Codenames: Disney Family Edition uses the same rules but has Disney and Pixar characters instead of random words. It also uses a smaller card grid at 4×4.
Codenames: Marvel Edition is the same as the Disney Edition but with Marvel characters.
Codenames: Duet is a cooperative two-player version of the game. The objective is to reveal all fifteen agents within a set number of turns without contacting too many bystanders or the assassin.
Codenames: Harry Potter uses the same cooperative rules as Codenames: Duet. Only now with a goal of finding all of the Order of the Phoenix members while avoiding the Ministry of Magic and Death Eaters.
Codenames: XXL is the same basic game, but it uses a larger format and double-sided cards.
Codenames: The Simpsons Family Edition is by and large the same as the Disney and Marvel editions. The main difference is that it uses characters from The Simpsons.
Codenames: Blizzard Edition never made it to retail and was only ever available as gifts to Blizzard Employees. It’s the same as many of the other Codenames editions, but it uses characters from various Blizzard video games.
Codenames Gadget is the mobile video game version of the game, the mobile app randomly generates layouts of agents. There is also a web browser based version of Codenames Duet as well as a paid mobile version of Codenames for Android and iOS.
What Age Group is Codenames For?
The publisher lists the game as ages 14+. Besides Codenames: Deep Undercover, there’s nothing especially salacious or inappropriate about the game, so a younger kid could likely play as long as they understand the game concept and rules.
Can Two People Play?
Most version of Codenames require at least four players. But Codenames: Duet is made specifically for two players. Additionally, the regular games do have variations for fewer, but the standard editions are really made for so few players.
Why is Codenames So Popular?
Codenames is a fun game that has a tendency to get very competitive and is open to having teams much larger than some other party style board games. It’s also easy to learn, fast to play, and requires very little set-up time. It’s one of those times where keeping it simple is best.
Happy spying!
