5
She's not sure of the third
river
word. She picks
NUT. This has nothing to do with
river
. She is
guessing a word from the previous clue.
NUT is a red word. The operative has made
3 correct guesses for the clue
river: 3
. She is
allowed one final guess. She can try to find the
third
river
word, or she can try to find the other
tree
word. Or she can stop at three and let Blue
Team have a turn.
You are allowed only one extra guess. In the
example above, the red operative would be
allowed 4 guesses because her spymaster said
the number
3
. When the field operatives say
they are done guessing (or when they guess
wrong) it is the other team's turn.
GAME FLOW
Spymasters take turns giving clues. After
a spymaster gives a clue, his or her team starts
guessing. Their turn ends when they guess
wrong, when they decide to stop, or when they
have made the maximum number of guesses
for that clue. Then it is the other team's turn.
ENDING THE GAME
The game ends when one team has all their
words covered. That team wins.
It is possible to win on the other team's turn if
they guess your last word.
The game can end early if a field operative
makes contact with the assassin. That
operative's team loses.
Setup for the Next Game
Do other people want a chance to be
spymasters? Setup for the second game
is easy. Remove the cards covering the
codenames and put them back in their stacks.
Now just flip over the 25 codenames, and
you're ready to go!
The spymaster is expected to keep a straight
face. Do not reach for any card while your
teammates are considering the words. When
a teammate touches a word, consult the key
card and cover the word with the card of
the corresponding color. When a teammate
chooses a word of the correct color, you
should act as though it was exactly the word
you meant, even if it wasn't.
If you are a field operative, you should focus
on the table when you are making your
guesses. Do not make eye contact with the
spymaster while you are guessing. This will
help you avoid nonverbal cues.
When your information is strictly limited to
what can be conveyed with one word and one
number, you are playing in the spirit of the game.
If a spymaster gives an invalid clue, the
team's turn ends immediately. As an additional
penalty, the other team's spymaster may cover
one of his or her words with an agent card
before giving the next clue.
But if no one notices that a clue is invalid, it
counts as valid.
Sorry. We almost forgot. You see, we don't
use the sand timer very often.
If a player is thinking too long, any player can
flip the sand timer and ask the slow player to
make a decision before time runs out.
If you are having trouble, you can even use
the sand timer on yourself. If you can't find
a good clue before time runs out, just give
a clue for your hardest word and keep thinking
while the other team plays.
If you prefer to play with strict time
limits, you can download our timer app at
codenamesgame.com.
KEEPING A STRAIGHT FACE
PENALTY FOR INVALID CLUES
WHAT'S THE TIMER FOR?