Codenames

Card Game, Deduction, Party Game

by Vlaada Chvátil

Score

7.4

Ratings

104,427

Published

2015

Players

2–8 players

BGG community rating

Ranked #161 on BoardGameGeek

Complexity

1.3

Light

Best with

players

Play time

15 min

Age

10+

Information

Players

2–8 players

Best with

6 players

Play time

15 min

Age

10+

Complexity

1.3 / 5 · Light

BGG Rank

#161

Published

2015

Designer

Vlaada Chvátil

Artists

Vlaada Chvátil, Stéphane Gantiez, Dávid Jablonovský, Tomáš Kučerovský

Publishers

Czech Games Edition (CGE), asmodee, Boardgame Space

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About

Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames — single-word labels like "disease", "Germany", and "carrot". Yes, carrot. It's a legitimate codename. Each spymaster wants their team to identify their agents first...without uncovering the assassin by mistake. In Codenames, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Lay out 25 cards, each bearing a single word. The spymasters look at a card showing the identity of each card, then take turns clueing their teammates. A clue consists of a single word and a number, with the number suggesting how many cards in play have some association to the given clue word. The teammates then identify one agent they think is on their team; if they're correct, they can keep guessing up to one more than the stated number of times; if the agent belongs to the opposing team or is an innocent bystander, the team's turn ends; and if they fingered the assassin, they lose the game. Spymasters continue giving clues until one team has identified all of their agents or the assassin has removed one team from play.

Where to buy

Buy from $5on the BGG marketplace →

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Expansions (12)