CODENAMES

The Ultimate Word Association Game

For 4+ players (2 teams) • 15-30 minutes

How It Works

Red Team

1 Spymaster + Field Operatives working together to find all red words

Blue Team

1 Spymaster + Field Operatives working together to find all blue words

1

The Board

25 word cards are laid out in a 5×5 grid. Some belong to Red team, some to Blue team, some are neutral, and one is the deadly Assassin!

2

Spymasters Give Clues

Spymasters can see which words belong to their team. They give ONE-WORD clues + a NUMBER (e.g., "Animal 3" for 3 animal-related words).

3

Operatives Guess

Field operatives discuss and guess which words relate to the clue. They can guess up to NUMBER + 1 times per turn.

4

Reveal & Continue

When a word is guessed, it's revealed. Correct = continue guessing. Wrong = turn ends. Neutral = turn ends. Assassin = INSTANT LOSS!

Win Condition

First team to find all their words wins! But hit the Assassin and you lose immediately.

Card Types

Red Words

9 or 8 words

Blue Words

9 or 8 words

Neutral

7 words

Assassin

Instant Loss!

Quick Tips

  • Spymasters: Give creative clues that connect multiple words!
  • Operatives: Discuss openly - teamwork is key!
  • Clues must be one word and cannot be any word on the board
  • You can pass if you're unsure - it's safer than guessing wrong
  • Starting team has 9 words, other team has 8