Codenames

Codenames is a social, team-based party game centered on word association and deduction. Designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition (CGE), it won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award in 2016.

Two teams (Red vs. Blue) compete to identify all of their secret agents hidden within a 5×5 grid of 25 word cards.

oles: Each team has one Spymaster who knows which words belong to their team, and multiple Operatives who must guess based on clues.
The Clues: Spymasters give a one-word clue followed by a number (e.g., “Animal: 3”). The number tells teammates how many words on the board relate to that clue.
Guessing: Operatives discuss and touch a card to guess.
Correct Agent: The word is covered with their team’s color, and they can continue guessing.
Innocent Bystander: The turn ends immediately.
Opposing Agent: The other team gets a point, and the turn ends.
The Assassin: If a team touches the assassin card, they instantly lose the game.

The first team to identify all their agents wins. The starting team has nine agents to find, while the second team has eight.