Codenames Party Game Review

Steve Godfrey
Jun 23
7 min read

Codenames

WBG Score: 8

Player Count: 4-8

You’ll like this if you like: Mysterium

This is a free review copy. See our review policy here

Many things happened back in 2015. Pizza rat went viral, Zayn left One direction, selfie sticks were annoying everyone, Netflix and Chill became a term and THAT dress sparked many an annoying debate across offices and dinner tables. Luckily for us though there were actually some fun and interesting things that happened in 2015, like Hamilton not throwing away its shot and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation was released (gotta keep it spy relevant) Board gamers though had their own slew of great games released that year that will be turning 10 this year. As popular as they were though I don't think anyone was prepared for a word guessing game about spies to be the monster hit that it was, let alone being one of the bestselling modern board games of all time.

How to find your codename.

First pair off into two teams with one member of each being the spymaster who should sit next to the opposite team's spymaster. Lay out 25 cards in a 5 x 5 grid in front of them. The cards are double sided so just pick a side at random.

The spymasters will take one key card and place it in the stand facing them. They'll then take the tiles in their chosen team colour then check the coloured arrow on the key card, that team will be going first. The key cards will have a representation of the grid in front of you with each square coloured differently. Squares will either be, blue, red, beige and in one case black. The spymaster's goal is to get their team to guess the words in their colour on the grid. The first team to get all of their words wins. However if one team guesses the word on the black square (known as the assassin) they lose.

On your turn as spymaster you need to give your team a one word clue and a number. The number will be how many words your clue is associated with. So for example your word may be Olympics 3. That means that your team has to find three words in the grid that are linked to the Olympics. If they guess a word and it's their colour then they can carry on guessing. This will go on until your team has either picked all of the words you were linking (although they could accidentally pick another word in your colour which also counts), or they pick one of the beige bystanders or one of the other teams words. At which point their turn is over. If they do get all of the words and they still have words from earlier clues then they can carry on. When one of the end game conditions is met the game ends.

A legacy to protect

Having your game make it to ten years and still be in the public consciousness and still being played on a regular basis is a massive achievement. To have that and have sold 16+ million copies and to have been played by seemingly everyone is nothing short of amazing. But amazing doesn't just happen for no reason. Especially in board games. There’s obviously something that strikes a chord for people. Now, I can't tell you exactly what that is, but I’ve got some ideas.

One of the marks of a great party game is one that sparks discussion and Codenames excels in that. Every time the spymaster throws out their clue that discussion between the players happens almost instantly and that's where the game throws the reins over to them to create their own fun. The game is pretty simple, it's just a bunch of words on a table and if the game was just ‘give a clue for one word, guess that word, then the next player's take their turn’ it'd be pretty boring. But a rule as simple as ‘link multiple words with one clue’ gives players something to sink their teeth into and the game really shines. It gives people permission to let their imaginations run wild. You’ve only got to listen to the conversation between the players, the random guesses, the tangents people go on as they explain their reasoning for guesses to know just how unrestrictive this game is. Of course the brilliant thing about that type of freedom is that it won't be long before the laughs come which is what party games are all about.

There’s a lovely personal aspect to the game that comes with playing with the same group or even just one or two people you know well. Clues like my example above are great and would work for a majority of people I’d say, although it depends on what the words are. But it's those moments where you’re struggling to link something and then you realise the team you have, it may even be just one person in it, but you can give a link that only they would get and it's fantastic when they get it. It’s not only playing to your audience but it adds an extra layer of fun that you’d only get playing with friends.

All of the above only if you get this in front of the right group however, regardless of if they're old friends or people you’ve just met. If you get this in front of the wrong group or if they're not working as a team and that discussion isn't happening then it's easy for this game to fall flat and at that point it can then all feel very procedural. Luckily that can be a rarity and if that does happen then the chances are you wont put the game in front of that particular group again.

I’m the spy-master

The role of spymaster is one that can be as frustrating as it is fun. For the split second after you throw your clue out there it'll be Schrodinger's clue. It’s simultaneously the greatest work of genius since the splitting of the atom and a clue so monumentally terrible that you’ve been banned from speaking for the next week. Your friends are either going to get it immediately or spend the next 20 minutes debating the potential of two words. If the first instance happens then you’ll definitely be enabling smug mode, especially if you manage to link a decent amount of words. At which point you get to feel like an absolute genius and you should absolutely own that. But then there's the latter. It's here that you’ll learn the true meaning of ‘screaming on the inside’ as your friends bounce back and forth on various options and all you can do is try to keep your facial expressions in check as they edge dangerously close to the wrong word or worse, the assassin. This could easily sound like a negative of the game but honestly is so much fun. As you watch people spot a word that links perfectly to your clue that you didn't even see. Or when you get that one player that overthinks everything so much and spouts knowledge so obscure that you end up getting a history lesson as you play. (Yes I do play this with someone like that)

A Red Herring

There can be some downtime involved though. Being the spymaster, regardless of how good you are, you need to come up with a clue and ideally one that encompasses as many words as possible and that understandably takes time. This is even more noticeable on the first clue of the game since you’ve had no time to think of something and before you know it people are staring at you waiting for a clue and it can be pretty daunting. Even if they aren't purposefully pressuring you it's easy enough to feel like you're holding everyone up. This can be relieved a bit if people are happily chatting amongst themselves because then it just feels like part of the game. It’s when people start to reach for their phones that it may start to weigh on you. My advice is that If you're not the sort of person that works well under that sort of scrutiny then that may not be the role for you and you may be happier just sticking to guessing.

The other issue that can easily come up is the aforementioned ‘one word link.’ This is either because the words are difficult to link, or you’re feeling that pressure and just want to get something out there to give yourself more thinking time. Those moments can be a bit of a let down even though sometimes they're necessary, if you get too many of those or someone isn't trying then it's easy for the game to lose its lustre. There's also something a bit anticlimactic about using one to win the game. I get it, if you’ve only got one word left but there’s something more thrilling about having three words to guess and then counting them down for the win. Maybe that last part is just me though?

10 years, time for a new disguise.

With this anniversary comes a bit of a revamp. The cover art has changed and it's a lot more vibrant and appealing. Based on data from the Codenames app a bunch of words that had been deemed as being difficult to link have been removed and replaced with new ones. The colours on the key cards have been made more vibrant to work better in a variety of lighting conditions, particularly lower light. The artwork on the tiles has been changed with everyone now being unique rather than having the same picture. You’ve also now got pigeons as one of the bystanders... yep, pigeons. Actually there’s quite a fun explanation for that on CGE’s Making of Codenames video on YouTube and I’m not gonna lie, they're always the first bystander I put down. The plastic key card holder has been replaced with CGE’s re-wood and they've now provided us with an insert. The rulebook has been redone to give a bit more clarity and last but not least they've done away with the sand timer which, if I'm honest, I didn't really know existed having never opened the original game.

To buy or not to buy?

The one thing that hasn't changed is the game play. So the question is, if you already own codenames, do you need this new edition? No, no you don't. This is the exact same game that you know and love and none of the changes CGE have made here will change anything enough to warrant you're-buying this game. Unless of course you just like the look of this version or your copy is on its last legs from countless pays. If you've not got a copy of your own then this is definitely the version to pick up if you're interested.

Right I’m off to see I can link all the items on our Chinese food order to just one word to make ordering quicker.