Codenames: Deep Undercover

To set up Codenames: Deep Undercover, first, shuffle the word cards and deal 25 of them face-up in a 5x5 grid on the table. Next, one player from each team (Red and Blue) is designated as the Spymaster, and the remaining players are Operatives. The Spymasters sit on one side of the table, and the Operatives sit on the opposite side. The Spymasters then choose a key card and place it in the plastic stand, ensuring only they can see it. This key card reveals which words belong to each team (red or blue squares), which are neutral bystanders (tan squares), and which word is the assassin (black square). The starting team is indicated by the color of the lights on the key card's border, with that team having one more word to guess than the other team.

The objective of Codenames: Deep Undercover is for your team to be the first to correctly identify all of your team's words on the 5x5 grid. Each team's Spymaster knows which words belong to their team, and they must give one-word clues to guide their Operatives to guess those specific words, while avoiding the opponent's words, neutral bystanders, and especially the assassin.

During a turn, the Spymaster of the current team gives a one-word clue and a number. The clue must relate to one or more of their team's words on the grid, and the number indicates how many words the Spymaster believes are related to that clue. Operatives then discuss and make guesses, touching one word at a time. If they guess correctly, the Spymaster covers the word with their team's agent card, and the Operatives can continue guessing up to the number given by the Spymaster, plus one additional 'bonus' guess. If they guess a neutral bystander, it's covered with a bystander card, and their turn ends. If they guess an opponent's word, it's covered with the opponent's agent card, and their turn ends. If they guess the assassin, the game ends immediately.

Scoring in Codenames: Deep Undercover is straightforward: teams do not accumulate points in the traditional sense. Instead, the game is a race to identify all of your team's words. Each time an Operative correctly guesses one of their team's words, that word is covered with an agent card of their team's color, bringing them closer to victory. There are no penalties for guessing neutral bystanders or opponent's words beyond losing a turn and potentially aiding the opposing team. The ultimate 'score' is simply being the first to complete your objective.

The game of Codenames: Deep Undercover ends immediately under two conditions: either one team successfully identifies all of their assigned words on the grid, making them the winner, or any team (including their own) guesses the assassin word. If the assassin is revealed, the team that guessed it (or caused it to be revealed) instantly loses the game, and the opposing team wins. The game can also end if a team runs out of guesses and cannot identify all their words, in which case the other team wins if they have more words identified.