Codenames: Duet

To set up Codenames Duet, first take 25 word cards at random and lay them out in a 5x5 grid on the table. Next, take the deck of key cards, hold it upright, and slide out a random card from the middle. Place this key card in its stand so that each player sees only their own side of the key card. Each side of the key card shows 9 green words that are your team's target words, 3 black words that are assassins, and 13 innocent bystanders. Prepare the stack of green tiles for marking correct guesses, the single black tile for marking assassins, and 9 timer tokens to track turns. The two blue tokens are not used in this game and should be left in the box.

The objective of Codenames Duet is for both players to cooperatively identify all 15 green words on both sides of the key card before running out of the 9 timer tokens or accidentally guessing an assassin. Players are on the same team but sit on opposite sides of the table, each seeing a different pattern of green, black, and bystander words on their respective side of the key card. Success requires careful clue-giving and guessing to navigate the shared grid of words.

Players take turns giving clues. The clue-giver finds a one-word clue that relates to two or more of their green words and announces it along with a number (e.g., 'Cold: 2'). The guessing player then touches one word card at a time, attempting to guess the words related to the clue. If they guess a green word (from their clue-giver's side), it is covered with a green tile, and they can guess again. If they guess an innocent bystander (from their clue-giver's side), it is covered with a timer token, and their turn ends. If they guess an assassin (from their clue-giver's side), it is covered with the black tile, and the game ends immediately. The guessing player can stop guessing at any time, or after guessing one more word than the number given in the clue. If they stop voluntarily, a timer token is taken and placed face down in front of them, and their turn ends.

Codenames Duet is a cooperative game, so there is no individual scoring. The team either wins or loses together. The goal is to achieve a collective victory by successfully identifying all target words. The number of remaining timer tokens at the end of a successful game can be used to track performance for personal challenge or to compare with other teams, but it does not affect the win/loss outcome.

The game can end in three ways. You win if all 15 green words on both sides of the key card are guessed. You lose immediately if any player guesses an assassin word (from their clue-giver's side). You also lose if you run out of the 9 timer tokens before all green words are guessed. Each turn, whether a bystander is guessed or a player voluntarily ends their turn, one timer token is used up.