Codenames is a popular word-based party game that involves strategy, teamwork, and deduction. Here’s a brief guide on its strategy, rules, and gameplay.
Strategy
- Communication: The key to winning Codenames is effective communication between the spymaster and team members.
- Association: Using associations that link multiple words can help your team guess more words in a turn.
- Avoiding Traps: Be wary of choosing words that may lead the opposing team to their clues or the assassin card.
Rules
- Teams: The game is played with two teams, each having a spymaster and field operatives.
- Setup: 25 word cards are laid out in a 5×5 grid. Spymasters receive a key card indicating which words belong to each team.
- Clues: Spymasters give one-word clues along with a number indicating how many words relate to the clue.
- Guessing: Operatives guess the words, trying to avoid neutral or opposing team words.
Gameplay
The game begins with the spymaster giving a clue, and the operatives make their guesses. The turn ends when they either guess incorrectly or choose to pass. The game continues until all words belonging to one team are guessed or the assassin card is revealed, which results in an immediate loss for the team that guessed it.