Codenames
About the Game
Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates only see codenames. Give one-word clues to help your team identify your agents while avoiding the assassin.
Reviews
Codenames
Codenames never fails to get my group laughing and shouting in equal measure. It’s one of those rare party games that clicked with both my casual friends and my hardcore gamer buddies. Explaining the rules takes all of one minute, and then we’re off trying to come up with the perfect one-word clues. As the spymaster, I’ve had moments of brilliance giving a clue that ties three words together – and also moments of facepalming when my team hilariously interprets it wrong. Those unpredictable word associations keep each round fresh and memorable. We usually bring Codenames out when we have a larger group, because that’s where it shines. It really needs at least four players (two per team) to work, and if one team has an extra person or someone who's much better at wordplay, the balance can feel off. Occasionally, you hit a combination of words that just doesn’t inspire good clues or leads to awkward hints, but that’s a minor gripe. The replay value is sky-high given the huge mix of words. I used an AI helper to aggregate and summarize other players’ experiences for this review. For me, Codenames is a solid 9 out of 10. — This review was generated with AI based on published information and community impressions.
✓ Pros
- • Super simple rules and quick rounds
- • Clever and creative word association gameplay
- • Excellent with big groups and team play
✗ Cons
- • Requires at least four players to play
- • Uneven team sizes or skill levels can hurt the experience
- • Some word sets can be tricky or awkward
