Codenames

To set up Codenames, shuffle the 200 double-sided codename cards and randomly choose 25 to place in a 5x5 grid on the table. The remaining cards are returned to the box. Players divide into two teams, Red and Blue. One member from each team will be the Spymaster, sitting side-by-side on one side of the table. Their teammates will sit across from them. Shuffle the key cards into a face-down pile, and the Spymasters draw one, placing it into the stand in any random orientation, ensuring their teammates cannot see it. The key card is a 5x5 grid that reveals the identities of the codenamed agents on the table: blue squares for blue agents, red squares for red agents, pale squares for innocent bystanders, and a single black square for the assassin. The color of the lights around the key indicates which team goes first. The first team will have 9 agents, and the other team will have 8. Place the corresponding agent tiles, bystander tiles, and the assassin tile in stacks nearby.

The objective of Codenames is for your team to be the first to identify all of your agents hidden among the 25 codenames on the table. Spymasters give one-word clues that relate to multiple codenames, and their teammates must correctly guess which codenames belong to their team's agents while avoiding the opponent's agents, innocent bystanders, and especially the assassin.

The first team starts the game. On a team's turn, their Spymaster looks at the key card to identify their agents on the grid. They then think of a single word that relates to the meaning of some of their agents and announces this clue along with a number. The number represents how many of their agent names on the grid they believe relate to the clue. Teammates then discuss and touch the cards they wish to guess. If they pick a card belonging to their team, the Spymaster covers it with an agent card of their color, and the team can guess again. If they pick an opponent's agent, the Spymaster covers it with the opponent's agent tile, and the turn immediately ends. If they pick an innocent bystander, the Spymaster covers it with a bystander tile, and the turn also immediately ends. If a team member touches the space where the assassin is located, the word is covered by the assassin card, the game immediately ends, and that team loses.

The game is a race to identify all of your team's agents first. The first team to successfully cover all of their agent words with their colored agent tiles wins the game. This can happen even if the losing team accidentally picks the winning team's last word.

The game ends in one of two ways: either one team successfully identifies all of their agents, in which case they win, or a team accidentally picks the assassin, causing that team to lose and the opposing team to automatically win. Teams can also choose to stop guessing at any time during their turn, even if they are allowed to guess further, to avoid making a mistake.