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Questions tagged [codenames]

A game for 4+ players with code name cards in a 5x5 grid on the table.

A game for 4+ players with code name cards in a 5x5 grid on the table, played by 2 teams. Each team has a spymaster.

Words on the cards can represent red agents, blue agents, an assassin or bystanders. The spymasters give hints consisting of a single word and a number, helping their team identify the cards on the table.

First team to identify all their own cards wins, unless a team identifies the assassin. Whichever team (accidentally) identifies the assassin has lost.

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Providing the spymaster with cues for clues in Codenames

Toward the end of a game of Codenames, a team might find itself with two agents left to find and five cards still uncovered — say, APPLE, BASS, CAR, DARKNESS, and ELEPHANT. (The numbers are by way of example. My question is about the general case…
msh210
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Is using a distinct pitch or tone in your voice for your hint legal in Codenames? I.e., "colddd" to link "blanket" and "Arctic"

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…
CreativiTimothy
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Is saying "dot com" a valid clue for Codenames?

The clue giver is saying it is one word because it's ".com". We can't find anything online to settle the argument.
heather fedorick
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Are contractions like "I'm" legal according to the rules of Codenames?

There are some words on the board, "fine", "good", and "lost". I'd like to use "I'm 3" to hit those words as spymaster. Would that be against the rules? This is the closest rule I could find in the official rules for the standard edition of…
CreativiTimothy
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Can you use the row the card is in as a clue?

If you are the spymaster, can you use the row as a clue? For example, can I say "Top 3" for the field operator to guess the top row?
user32837
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Are the two words "synonym 2"/"similar 2" and "opposites 2"/"antonyms 2" valid clues in Codenames? E.g. "opposites 2" for "quiet" and "shout"

Earlier, I've asked a question about whether poetry elements/sound devices like alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhyme (Is it legal to use poetry elements/sound devices as hints like "alliteration 3", "assonance 3", and "rhyme 3" in…
CreativiTimothy
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Are numbers greater than 20 legal hints in Codenames? I.e., "911, 3" for "plane", "event", and "skyscraper"

From what I could find in the rules, Letters and numbers are valid clues, as long as they refer to meanings. You can use X: 1 as a clue for RAY. You can use eight: 3 as a clue for BALL, FIGURE, and OCTOPUS However, they didn't give any example of…
CreativiTimothy
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If you have two words left to link as spymaster, but they are extremely related to an opponent's word, what should you do?

In about 10% or more of my games, I find myself in a tricky dilemma, where it seems almost impossible to link two words without hitting an opponent's card or a black card. I don't know if using a two hint clue or a one hint clue would be wiser…
CreativiTimothy
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Can you tell spymaster you know the word they gave a clue for?

In a game of Codenames, Team 1 field operative guesses a wrong choice for a word. During or before their next turn they say, "oh, I know which one you meant for last code". Would that be against the rules?
Alex R
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Are possessive apostrophes legal in Codenames? For example, "women's 3" for "health"

So I want to say something like "women's 3" to indicate "health" which is a card on the board. If I did just "women 3", it's not as likely that my guesser would guess health. You often hear "women's health" or "men's health" magazines or websites,…
CreativiTimothy
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Is it legal to use poetry elements/sound devices as hints like "alliteration 3", "assonance 3", and "rhyme 3" in Codenames?

Poetry elements/sound devices include alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhyme. An example of a clue would be "assonance 3" for "code", "control", and "candy". I checked the rules, and I'm unsure. This is the most relevant rule: Your clue…
CreativiTimothy
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Is Codenames meant to played in American English, British English, Australian English, or any of them?

I'm playing Codenames online in an iOS app called Codewords, but I do not know the demographics of the game in general. When someone gave me the clue "rob", I picked "nick" because in informal British, nick means "steal" or "prisoner", and it was…
CreativiTimothy
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of going first

Going first, you have 9 cards to take out, and going second you have 8 cards to take out. Here are some of my ideas: Going first better: If the average turn of the setter/guessers is 2 cards except one of the turns (probably the first turn where…
CreativiTimothy
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Just a letter in codenames allowed?

Before you get angry with the question, I know that the the rules say "You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or its position on the table". I was just curious on a move I made if it was illegal. There were only 4 words that…
user37416
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