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To link "blanket" and "Arctic", "cold" could be a clue because the Arctic has subzero temperatures and a blanket is something you put on if you are cold at night. Saying "cold" with an extension of the sound in your tone like "colddd" could help your guesser hit "blanket" better because it gives the clue that cold can be an expression of someone who is cold.

Other examples include sounding out "ding" to "dingggg" if you want to hit "dent" but also "bell" and "phone" better since it might suggest to look for clues that sound like ding.

CreativiTimothy
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    Only some of the consonants in the english language have pronounciations that can be extended, and 'D' & 'G' are not amongst them :) I don't know what you intended by "colddd" and "dingggg" but I'm reasonably confident that what you've written isn't it. – Brondahl Jun 30 '20 at 14:04
  • (For reference, I believe only these consonants can reasonably be extended: 'f', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'r', 's', 'v', 'w', 'y', 'z') – Brondahl Jun 30 '20 at 14:07
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    @Brondahl I think it's clear the OP means cold-d-d-d (stuttering to repeat the final sound) and ding-g-g-g, aka dinginginging (simulating the resonance/echo of a bell). Or similar, anyway. Codenames's clues being spoken, not written, means the actual translation of these to written form shouldn't be the focus, though. – L. Scott Johnson Jun 30 '20 at 14:38
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    @Brondahl In IPA, "dingggg" would be /dɪŋː/, as there isn't actually a /g/ in "ding". I think that "colddd" refers to intensifying the aspiration on /dʰ/. In any case, it's about non-standard emphasis rather than the particular way that emphasis plays out. – Spitemaster Jun 30 '20 at 14:38
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    I don't really see that this adds anything to the clue, to be honest. I wouldn't be any more or less likely to guess blanket with either pronunciation. – Kevin Jun 30 '20 at 16:46

4 Answers4

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I gave a similar answer to a different question here But this is a different question with almost the same answer.

The rules here say

DON'T BE TOO STRICT

So if the word is a legal clue then there is nothing in the rule to say you can't use a certain voice. I guess the balance is you couldn't use Western Film accent to say "Paris" to give a clue for "Cowboy" and "France".

Also its worth looking at the rules for Homonyms which say (emphasis mine).

Some people prefer to allow a more liberal use of homonyms. You can allow knight to be a clue for night-related things if that makes the game more fun for you.

You can apply that rule to making sounds with you clues. Would saying "colddd" make the make more fun for your group? If so then yes it would be fine.

In general if you're not sure if a clue is legal ask your self, Do the rules specially say you're not allowed to do it? If the answer is no, and your group are having fun then the clue is almost certainly fine.

StartPlayer
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  • I guess the one thing to watch for is that if you're designing a whole language which you convey via vocal ticks, then rather like blinking at your partner in Bridge, you're no longer playing the game you're supposed to be playing. – Steve Jessop Jul 02 '20 at 05:21
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It looks like this could reasonably be considered to violate either the rule that the word must be in English ("colddd" is not in any dictionary of the English language) or the rule that your clue must be "only one word" without any additional hints.

That is: it's not "only one English word without any additional hints". With the extra information you're attempting to convey in the manner you say the word, you're either turning it into the non-English word "colddd", or you're adding additional hints to the word "cold".

As some of the comments note, though, you're not really getting any extra benefit from trying to add the hint in this case, so you should probably just stick to "cold, 2" in the first place (it still means "cold"), but that's just kicking the can down the road.

If the way you say a word matters, then that probably constitutes an "additional hint".

Consider a different example: clueing the two words "opera" and "monkey" by singing "gorilla" in opera form like "Figaro". One word, sure, but with additional hints added in the way you pronounce it.

But, as always, it's up to your group how much you want to hew to the rules, as per the "golden rule" of Codenames:

If the opposing spymaster allows it, the clue is valid. If you aren't sure, ask your opponent.

L. Scott Johnson
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    Obviously "colddd" with three "d" would not be used anywhere during the game. OP put it this way in the question to indicate regular world "cold" (single "d") pronounced with specific tone. Therefore, the fact that "colddd" is not in any dictionary of the English language, is completely irrelevant, since this would only apply to in-game situations, not to OP posting a question on a web site. – Andrew Savinykh Jul 01 '20 at 02:30
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    "Obviously" yes, as I said. either "colddd" or extra hint(s) are being imparted to the word (i.e., it being pronounced in a certain way). And additional hints are restricted by the rules. So either the clue is not an English word ("colddd") or it is a word ("cold") plus additional hints. – L. Scott Johnson Jul 01 '20 at 11:52
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My interpretation of the (default) rules on homonyms is that the way you pronounce the word may be variously "colored", while staying within limits of at least occasional pronunciation of the word in the given language, and if you are requested to spell the word as per the rules on homonyms, you should spell it "c-o-l-d". If you have to repeat the clue upon request, you should be trying to produce the same sound every time, as if it was the only way you can pronounce that word.

Dictionaries cover even standard pronunciations, not just the standard written forms of words, but dictionaries can hardly be taken as exhaustive. It's better to consult with the opposing spymaster beforehand.

Jirka Hanika
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  • I don't know if I would go that far as it would cause troubles for people who do have issues with pronouncing certain words or stuttering problems – Joe W Jul 01 '20 at 15:22
  • @JoeW - If a person normally or at least occasionally pronounces a word a certain way, then that's by definition a legal way for them to pronounce the same word while playing Codenames. When I'm refering to a possible request to repeat the clue, that is, I'm afraid, quite inevitable to endure when a few players didn't hear or didn't recognize the word. I'm advising to choose a spelling and a pronunciation and just stick to both. – Jirka Hanika Jul 01 '20 at 20:25
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Codenames is not a hard game to break. All the clue giver needs to do is not have a full control of their facial expressions, and things are spoiled. Just reaching for a red or blue card too early can break things.

Even if players don't have facial expressions there are other ways to pass information completely legally that is not in the spirit of the game. Let's say you have your team read out loud all the words, and give your clue when they say your word. Legal, but I would not keep playing with that group.

Sp now we come to your question. This is just another way to leak information aside from the very analytical Codenames rule set. I would say don't do it. The spirit of the game is very explicit. You state one word, and it is a specific word. In fact the game tells you to spell the word if the specific word is not clear. It also tells you not to use words for anything but their meaning in relation to other words. Don't give card locations, or something about the spelling of the word. I am pretty sure the designer did not want you to use noises or intonations either.

The way I read the rules when you guess a word, you should be able to explain why that word, not the noise, not other hints, lead you to pick it. If you can't you are not following the spirit of the game.

Andrey
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    "When the spymaster gives a clue, his or her field operatives try to figure out what it means. They can debate it amongst themselves, but the spymaster must keep a straight face. The operatives indicate their official guess when one of them touches one of the codenames on the table." According to the official rules the spymaster can't use facial expressions and gives the clue before the operatives debate anything so what you are suggesting is against the rules as written. – Joe W Jul 01 '20 at 17:27
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    @JoeW Yeah, but that 's not a rule that's possible to enforce, if someone wants to break it – Andrey Jul 01 '20 at 18:20
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    It isn't that hard to enforce and it is a rule so breaking that rule is breaking the rules and not just violating the spirit of the game. They included it for a reason and also included rules about not reacting when players say the names of cards or reach out to them. No matter how you look at it what you suggested is breaking the rules. – Joe W Jul 01 '20 at 19:01
  • @JoeW I don't understand what rule you're referring to. The spymaster is of course not allowed to speak, except for giving their clue. But the operatives are allowed to speak. What rule do you propose to "enforce"? – Stef Mar 16 '22 at 17:28
  • @Stef That the players should not be watching the spymaster to see how they react to what they are saying. That the discussions shouldn't really involve the spymaster at all and they should just answer if the word they point to is valid or not. There are plenty of ways to break the spirit of the game by how the spymaster acts and they should just be giving clues and checking the responses. – Joe W Mar 16 '22 at 18:06
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    I have been in a game where the opposing team made up their own clues, and what cards they go with, until they had a good "hit" and then the spymaster gave that clue to the team. I just don't play with those people anymore – Andrey Mar 16 '22 at 21:48
  • "That the discussions shouldn't really involve the spymaster at all and they should just answer if the word they point to is valid or not. " So the players should just propose words without discussing them, and say "yes" or "no" until they can agree on a word? That seems really less fun that the games of Codenames I've been playing. We discuss a lot. That's what makes the game fun and interesting. We explain what we think the clue might mean, whether we think that's a reasonable explanation, etc. We talk we talk we talk. We certainly don't just "answer if the word is valid or not". – Stef Mar 17 '22 at 15:19
  • @JoeW Furthermore we often discuss future moves. For instance we're hesitating between two words. So we say something like "let's try word A first. If it's not it we'll try word B next turn". That's not intended for the Spymaster, that's intended for the operatives. But of course the Spymaster will hear it - and they would be a fool not to take it into account when they choose their next clue. For instance, they could give us a clue to some other words, and let us hit word B. Or they could give us a clue about the words we're hesitating between, so we'd change our mind and decide not to hit B. – Stef Mar 17 '22 at 15:22
  • @JoeW There's no good way to prevent that. You can't reasonably ask the Spymaster to put their hands over their ears to prevent them from overhearing the operatives' discussion. You can't ask the Spymaster to leave the room while the operatives are discussing. You can't ask the Spymaster to pretend they didn't hear the discussion and "choose a clue as if you hadn't heard us". How would the Spymaster even know what clue they would have chosen if the circumstances had been different? That doesn't make a lot of sense. – Stef Mar 17 '22 at 15:24
  • @Stef While I disagree, I have played this game many times and we never had a problem with any of those issues. For starters we don't discuss situations about which words we will try on future turns because we know it will influence the spymaster and in general we don't take actions that will work to influence the spymaster. There is no need to ask the spymaster to do anything if you are not taking actions that will influence what they might do next by telegraphing your actions. When my group plays we keep it at discussing the clue and how we think it relates to the words left on the table. – Joe W Mar 17 '22 at 15:29
  • @Stef If I was to make an honest judgment on what you have been saying it appears you are looking for ways to bend the rules so that the spymaster has an easier time giving clues to the rest of their team. All of that can be prevented by the team not taking actions to telegraph what they may or may not do on future turns. – Joe W Mar 17 '22 at 15:30
  • @JoeW Are you saying that if your team has one last word to guess in relation with the clue given, but you are hesitant between two words, you will not discuss it?? That sounds unrealistic of me. We're not trying to bend any rules, just trying to enjoy the game. Discussion between team members appears to be the heart of the game. I've played with many distinct groups of people and never met someone who wanted to forbid these kinds of discussions. – Stef Mar 17 '22 at 16:27
  • @Stef We will discuss what we are going to chose based on the clue given but we will not discuss what we might do next turn or on any future turn. All our discussions are about what we think the current clue means. We don't allow discussions about trying a word on a future turn as we don't feel that is in the spirit of the rules. – Joe W Mar 17 '22 at 16:31
  • @JoeW: If you say "The clue could refer to word A or word B, let's hit word A" and it turns out that word A was neutral, do you then pretend that the Spymaster has no idea you might try word B in the future? – Stef Mar 17 '22 at 16:34
  • You are definably allowed to say things like "we know the other word for cow, so give us a new clue, and add one" There is also nothing against "we have 2 words left. We will say words until we say word 1, at that moment give us the clue for word 2" but that's not a good time – Andrey Mar 17 '22 at 17:17
  • @Stef I think you are overthinking this and the spirit of the game is to try to avoid the players instructing the spymaster on what clues should be given. – Joe W Mar 17 '22 at 17:24
  • I would disagree that saying things "we know the other word for cow, so give us a new clue, and add one" is in the spirit of the rules and should be avoided at all costs. – Joe W Mar 17 '22 at 17:25
  • @JoeW I think you are overthinking this and I never suggested the players should instruct the Spymaster; however, I also think discussion between the operatives should be encouraged, as it's what makes the game fun. For this reason I disagree with your "avoid at all costs", if "all costs" translates to "the operatives are not allowed to talk". – Stef Mar 18 '22 at 09:03
  • @Stef It sure sounded like you where suggesting giving the spymaster instructions by hinting at what you would pick on the next turn if the guess on this turn was wrong. I have never said that discussions shouldn't happen but they should be careful about talking about future plans and other topics that would guide the spymaster as what they should be saying. When my group tried things like that at the start we found it quickly ruined the game. – Joe W Mar 18 '22 at 12:28
  • @JoeW I don't really have "a group", we tend to play codenames with lots of different people; however we've never found this to ruin the game. In theory I would agree that the spymaster shouldn't be hearing the operatives' discussions if we really wanted to play a very-serious-high-stakes-codenames-tournament; however in practice we found that it doesn't matter, and any rule about restricting discussions would do more harm than good. – Stef Mar 18 '22 at 13:36
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    @Stef I think you need to remember two things. First the game rules suggest that you play the way that is fun for your group. If that is the way your group wants to play because it is more enjoyable go for it. Second is that my reading of the rules is from how it worked out with my group and how various things impacted our enjoyment of the game. In the end the rules are very clear about playing in a way that is fun for you but the spirt of the rules from my reading is to limit the information that the spymaster receives from the team. – Joe W Mar 18 '22 at 13:43