Codenames (board game)
 Codenames at the end of play. The game has ended because the assassin (the black card on the left edge) has been found. | |
| Designer(s) | Vlaada Chvátil |
|---|---|
| Players | Recommended for at least 4 |
| Setup time | 1-5 minutes |
| Playing time | 15-30 minutes |
| Random chance | None |
| Skill(s) required | Language skills, concept identifying |
Codenames is a 2015 board game designed by Vlaada Chvátil. The game is for two teams of at least two players each.
Rules
Codenames has an espionage setting, where players try to identify their own secret agents based on their codenames.
Players split into two teams, red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster, the others are field operatives.
Codenames is a game of guessing words. 25 cards, each bearing a word, are laid out on a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A number of these words represent red agents, a number represent blue agents, one is a deadly assassin and the others are innocent bystanders.
The teams' spymasters are given a randomly dealt map of the board, marking the agents and the assassin. Only the spymasters know the location of these.
The spymasters give hints about their agents' identity by giving verbal hints about the words on the respective cards. Each hint may only consist of one single word. This word can be chosen freely, as long as it is not directly any of the words on the cards. The spymaster must give a hint that is related to as many words on his/her own agents' cards as possible, but not to any others.
The field operatives then make guesses about which cards bear words related to the hint and point them out. The team scores points for each of their own agents identified correctly, but have to end their turn if they identify an enemy agent, an innocent bystander, or the assassin. If the assassin is identified, the game ends immediately, with the team who identified him losing.
The game ends when one team has identified all of their own agents (winning the game), or when one team has identified the assassin (losing the game).