A team word-association game: two teams, a board of 25 words and spymasters who see the secret key. A one-word clue — and the operatives reveal their agents. Read it and jump straight into a room.
"Codenames" is a team word-association game. On the table lies a board of 25 words, and behind each word hides an agent: some of them belong to the blue team, some to the red, the rest are neutral. Each team's task is to be the first to reveal all of its agents, guessing the right words from their spymaster's clues. But among the cards hides an assassin: revealing it means an instant loss for the whole team.
At random, 25 words are laid out in a 5×5 grid. The players split into two teams — blue and red. Each team chooses a spymaster (the host), the rest become operatives. The team that goes first gets 9 agents, the second — 8; another 7 words are neutral bystanders and 1 is the assassin. The spymasters see the secret key — who has which colour; the operatives see only the words.
Two teams — blue and red — compete in turns. Each team's spymaster sees the secret key and knows which words hide their own agents, the enemy agents, the bystanders and the assassin. The operatives do not see the key.
On their turn the spymaster gives a single association word and a number — how many cards on the board relate to that clue. For example, "light 2" means that two of the team's words relate to light. The word itself must not appear on the board.
The operatives discuss the clue and reveal cards one by one. For each clue they get the number plus one bonus guess. If they reveal their own agent they may continue; a bystander or an enemy agent ends the turn at once.
One card is the assassin. If a team reveals exactly that card, the game ends immediately: that team loses, and victory automatically goes to the opponents. That is why risky guesses should be treated with caution.
The turn passes to the opponent when the operatives reveal a wrong card, use up all their guesses or deliberately take a pass. Then the other team's spymaster gives a clue.
A team wins as soon as it reveals all of its agents — blue or red. The game ends instantly in a loss if a team reveals the assassin card: victory in that case is awarded to the opponents. Revealing a neutral bystander or an enemy agent does not lose the game, but it hands over the turn and sometimes brings the opponent closer to victory.
A good clue links several of your own words at once but does not point towards the assassin or the enemy agents.
Reveal the word you are most confident about first — that way you keep the right to continue your turn.
The bonus guess is tempting, but one extra click can reveal a bystander or an opponent's agent.
The operatives play as a team: use the chat and reason out loud before you click.
The spymaster is the team's engine: the strength of the clue decides the game more than the operatives' cleverness. A good association links two or three of your own words at once while keeping well away from the assassin and the enemy agents. The number in the clue is a promise: say "3" and you vouch for three cards.
Strong clues rest on a category, shape, function or a set phrase. "Metal 2" for "iron" and "gold" is more reliable than a narrow synonym for a single word.
Before you name a number, mentally check: does the association fit the assassin more strongly than your words? If so — change the clue, even at the cost of a smaller number.
"Fire 0" asks the team to stay away from anything fiery. "Word ∞" lifts the guess limit — useful for picking up your own agents named in earlier turns.
The clue "metal 2" links the yellow words, but "knife" is right there — check whether it pulls harder.
Operatives win not by intuition but by discipline. A clue is not only a word but also a number, and very often the order in which you reveal matters more than the association itself. Open from the most obvious to the most doubtful and always leave yourself the right to stop.
If last turn the spymaster said "3" and you revealed only two, the third word is still "hanging". A new clue may be pointing exactly at it.
The right to +1 beyond the number exists to pick up older agents. Spend it only if you are truly sure, otherwise you hand the turn to the opponent.
A long silence before the number often means the link is a stretch. That is a signal to open more carefully and not risk a doubtful word.
Open in rising order of confidence: two obvious words, then the doubtful one — and press "Pass" in time.
The basic game is two teams with a spymaster each. But "Codenames" scales flexibly: it is played by four, by a big crowd, and even without an opponent. Change the format to suit the number of players and the mood of the table.
A cooperative mode: both players take turns as spymaster, the goal is to reveal all agents in the fewest turns without hitting the assassin. Excellent association training.
So that nobody sits as spymaster too long, change the host after each game. That way everyone trains both sides — giving clues and reading them.
The spymaster names only the word, without a figure. The team itself decides how many cards to reveal. This sharply raises the risk and the thrill.
Limit the spymaster and the operatives to a minute each — the games become more dynamic, and strained links simply don't have time to be born.
Gather words on one theme (cinema, cooking, sport). Associations draw closer, the assassin becomes trickier — the level rises at once.
Most losses in "Codenames" are not bad luck but typical slips. Go through them once, and the team's results will rise noticeably.
A dangerous link: the clue "light 2" points equally at the lamp and at the assassin — that is how a game is lost in one click.