What can you not say in codenames?

You can’t say any form of the visible word on the table and you can't say part of a compound word.

How many guesses do you get in codenames?

The team's spymaster selects the codenames for their team to uncover, gives a one-word clue and announces the number of related codenames to indicate the number of correct guesses the team can make for the turn. If the team makes a correct guess from previous clue , they are allowed 1 extra guess.

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CODENAMES RULES FAQS

What Are The Rules to CodeNames?

Setting Up Your CodeNames Game

Team and Card setup

The Key

Who Starts?

Agent Cards

Gameplay

Spymaster Gives a Clue

Guessing codenames

Rules for clues

Homonyms and Spelling

Optional Flexible Rules

Expert Rules: Clue number 0

Expert Rules: Unlimited

Penalty for invalid clues

Timer

WiNNING CODENAMES

How to Play CODENAMES QUICK STEPS

Spymaster gives a clue

Team discusses and guess codenames

GUESS AGAIN IF team’s agent is uncovered

IF guesses are wrong

Uncover an Assassin card

Winning Codenames

How to Play Codenames Rules

Check out the essential How to play Codenames Rules in simple steps

Players: 2 to 8 | Game duration from: 10 mins | Game Complexity: EASY
How to play Codenames rules in simple steps Codenames rules pdf / rulebook

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CODENAMES RULES FAQS

What can you not say in codenames?

You can’t say any form of the visible word on the table and you can’t say part of a compound word.
How many guesses do you get in codenames?

The team’s spymaster selects the codenames for their team to uncover, gives a one-word clue and announces the number of related codenames to indicate the number of correct guesses the team can make for the turn. If the team makes a correct guess from previous clue, they are allowed 1 extra guess.

What Are The Rules to CodeNames?

2 teams and each team assigns a Spymaster
There are 25 codenames (words) on the table
Each team’s Spymaster knows their team’s agents behind the codenames
Spymasters give clues to their teams to guess the codenames of their team’s agents
Teams attempt to guess the right codenames related to their team’s agents
Winning team is the team that uncovers the identities of all their agents or if the other team uncovers the assassin card

Setting Up Your CodeNames Game

Team and Card setup

Teams choose their Spymasters
Spymasters sit on same side of the table and rest of the team sit on opposite side
Choose Codenames (words) to place on table
- Randomly choose 25 codenames
- Place on table in 5 by 5 grid

The Key

Each game has one key revealing secret identities of cards on the table
Spymasters choose key card randomly and slide into stand between them.
Key corresponds to the grid
- Blue Squares: Words that Blue team must guess
- Red Squares: Words that Red team must guess
- Pale Squares: Innocent bystanders
- Black Square: Assassin that must never be contacted

Who Starts?

4 lights around the edge of the key card indicate which team starts
Starting team has 9 words to guess. Team’s spymaster gives the first clue
Other team has 8 words to guess

Agent Cards

Red Agent Cards go in front of Red Spymaster. Blue in front of Blue spymaster
Double agent belongs to whichever team that starts. Flip to team’s colour
Innocent bystanders and assassin are kept in between the 2 spymasters

Gameplay

Teams take turns to do the following:

The team’s Spymaster gives clues
Rest of the team guess the codenames to uncover

Spymaster Gives a Clue

Spymaster selects the codenames for their team to uncover
Spymaster gives a one-word clue and announces the number of related codenames
This indicates the number of correct guesses the team can make for the turn. If the team makes a correct guess form previous clue, they are allowed 1 extra guess

Guessing codenames

Teammates discuss and make a guess by touching one of the codenames
If team’s agent is uncovered, the Spymaster covers the codename with team’s agent card and they continue guessing until they uncover all codenames related to the clue
Team’s turn ends if any of the guesses are wrong
Team loses if they uncover an Assassin card.

Rules for clues

The clue must be about the meaning of the words
Letters and numbers are valid clues as long as they refer to the meaning
Must be played in English
Can’t say any form of the visible word on the table
Can’t say part of a compound word

Homonyms and Spelling

Same-sounding words with different meanings/spelling are treated as different words
- You can only use the meaning for that word for your clue
  (e.g. clue for knight cannot be used for word night)
Words spelt the same are considered the same even if they have different meanings/pronunciations
You can use the different meanings as clues for the same word

Optional Flexible Rules

Decide if you allow compound words (e.g. mother-in-law)
Allow proper names as one word (e.g. George Washington)
Allow Common Abbreviation (e.g. CIA, PhD)
Allow different meanings for Homonyms (same sounding words) e.g clues for knight for the word night
Allow a rhyming clue even if it is not related to the meaning of the word

Expert Rules: Clue number 0

Spymaster is allowed to call 0 to indicate none of the words are related to the clue
The team continues to make at least one guess
Limit of guesses no longer applies

Expert Rules: Unlimited

If you have multiple unguessed words from previous clues
Spymaster may call unlimited instead of number
Limit of guesses no longer applies

Penalty for invalid clues

Team’s turn ends immediately if Spymaster gives invalid clues
Spymaster of other team covers also one of their codenames (words) with their agent card before giving next clue
If no one notices an invalid clue, clue is considered valid guesses

Timer

Player taking too long to guess? Any player can flip the sand timer and ask the slow player to make a decision before time runs out

WiNNING CODENAMES

Game ends when one team has all their codenames/words covered with their agents.
If other team chooses your last word, your team also wins.
If other team chooses a word related to an Assassin, they lose and you win

How to Play CODENAMES QUICK STEPS

Codenames is a party word game where each team has agents related to the 25 codenames (words) on the table. Each team has a spymaster who knows the identities of agents behind each codename. Spymasters give clues to the codenames to help their team mates identify their agents.

Total Time: 15 minutes

Spymaster gives a clue

Spymaster selects the codenames for their team to uncover and gives a one-word clue and announces the number of related codenames

Team discusses and guess codenames

Teammates discuss and make a guess by touching one of the codenames

GUESS AGAIN IF team’s agent is uncovered

When team’s agent is uncovered, the Spymaster covers the codename with team’s agent card and they continue guessing until they uncover all codenames related to the clue