Party word game
Codenames
One-word clues, 25 secret agents, and one assassin to avoid
Clues and guessingWord gamesTeam games
- 2–8best with 6-8
- 15 minper game
- About 3 minto set up
- 14+years
- Easy
- Somereading
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The game in a nutshell
Codenames is a team word game for 4 to 8 people: one player on each side gives one-word clues, and their teammates try to pick their own words from a grid of 25 without touching the assassin. It suits family get-togethers, college friends and office groups who are comfortable with English words. A round takes about 15 minutes, so it is easy to play several in one evening.
Is Codenames right for you?
Great if
- Big groups at festival card nights or family get-togethers that can split into two teams
- People who enjoy wordplay more than dice or luck
- Short rounds of about 15 minutes, so the group can keep playing 'just one more'
- Mixed groups of teens and adults
Skip it if
- Several people at your table aren't comfortable reading English words
- You usually play as just two (Codenames: Duet is built for that)
- Your group has young children: the original edition sold in India says 14+
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
Spiel des Jahres
Germany’s Game of the Year: the jury’s top family-game honour.
Meet the jury’s choice ↗More recognition 2
Origins Award, Game of the Year (USA), 2015 (Winner)
Independent Toy Awards (UK), board games category, for the 2025 edition, 2025 (Gold Medal)
How Codenames plays
Split into two teams, red and blue, and each team picks a spymaster. Lay out 25 word cards in a 5×5 grid. The two spymasters sit on the same side and share a secret key card. It shows which words belong to the red team, which to the blue team, which are harmless bystanders, and which single word is the assassin.
- Time to teach: about 5 minutes.
- Reading and language: All 400 codenames are English words, and the whole game is about word meanings, so everyone at the table needs to be comfortable with English vocabulary. The rules allow a foreign word as a clue only if your group would use it in an English sentence.
CODENAMES: Official How to Play Video [ENGLISH] · Czech Games Edition · Official
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
Your turn, step by step
- 1Clue
Your team's spymaster says one word and one number, like 'tree: 2', to point at that many of your team's words in the grid.
- 2Guess
Teammates talk it over and touch one word at a time, and the spymaster covers it with the matching card. A right guess lets you go again, up to one more than the number.
- 3Stop
Touch a bystander or the other team's word and your turn ends. Touch the assassin and your team loses on the spot.
- 4Win
The first team to have all of its words covered wins, even if the other team uncovered the last one by mistake.
The full explanation: how a game of Codenames goes
On your team's turn, your spymaster says exactly one word and one number, for example 'Fruit, 3', to point at three of your team's words on the table. Your teammates talk it over and touch cards one at a time. Each right guess lets you continue, up to one more than the number given.
Touch a bystander and your turn ends. Touch the other team's word and you have helped them. Touch the assassin and your team loses on the spot. That one card is why spymasters think hard before giving a clue that seems obvious.
The team that goes first has 9 words to find and the other team has 8. The first team to uncover all of its words wins. Then you swap spymasters and lay out a fresh grid. There are 200 double-sided cards, so the words rarely repeat.
A clue word has to be about meaning, not spelling or position on the table. The rulebook allows a foreign word only if your group would use it in an English sentence, so words like 'chai' may be fine at many Indian tables. Agree on this before you start.
What's in the box
- 200Word cards
double-sided, 400 codenames in all - 40Key cards
secret maps of which words belong to which team - 16Agent cards
8 red and 8 blue - 1Double agent card
red on one side, blue on the other; goes to the team that starts - 7Innocent bystander cards
- 1Assassin card
- 1Card stand
holds the key card between the two spymasters - 1Sand timer
- 1Rulebook
Box: 0.56 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
This list is for the original English edition (CGE00031), the one sold in India. It comes from CGE's July 2015 rulebook (8 red and 8 blue agents, 1 double agent, 7 bystanders, 1 assassin, the stand and the sand timer) and the CGE00031 contents lists in an Indian listing and the Get Smart catalogue. The 2025 refreshed edition (CGE00125), not yet seen in India, uses tiles instead of agent cards. Its card stand is made of RE-Wood, and it has no sand timer: CGE points players to its free phone companion for timers.
Where to buy
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.
Czech Games Edition doesn't list an Indian or Hindi edition, so the genuine copies sold here are imported CGE boxes. Some Indian listings show a box labelled 'The India Edition'; it carries the CGE logo and the standard CGE barcode, so treat it as the same game. Our Amazon.in link goes to the imported original CGE edition (CGE00031).
How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.
- Look for the Czech Games Edition (CGE) logo and designer Vlaada Chvátil's name on the box. Be wary of any listing that doesn't name the publisher, or that sells it as 'Code Names' under an unrelated brand.
- Be wary of a set that costs a fraction of the usual price: some Indian sites list a much cheaper 'Codenames' set without mentioning CGE.
- Count the contents of the original edition: 200 word cards (400 codenames), 40 key cards, 16 agent cards in two colours, 1 double agent, 7 innocent bystanders, 1 assassin, a card stand and a sand timer.
- UK reporting on unofficial copies mentions a differently coloured timer, flimsier card holders and misspelt words, so check the word cards for typos.
- The original English edition's barcode is 8594156310318; Indian listings show the same number.
We link to one Amazon.in listing that we've checked against the maker's own information. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
What reviewers and players say
Reviewers agree Codenames is one of the easiest party games to love. The rules take minutes, a round takes about 15, and a clue that links three words gets the whole table cheering. It won Germany's Spiel des Jahres in 2016, and the jury noted that one game usually turns into several. The main catch is the spymaster's job: finding a good clue takes time, and the others can sit through long silences, especially when only four people play. Everything rests on English words, so it shines when the whole group is comfortable with English vocabulary.
What people love
- The rules take a few minutes and set-up is quick, so 'one more round' is easy
- Finding one clue that links three or four of your words feels brilliant, and the wrong guesses are often funny
- It works for big, mixed groups, including families and people who don't usually play board games
- 200 double-sided cards give 400 words, so the grid is different almost every time
Common complaints
- The spymaster's job is hard work: the first clue can take a couple of minutes while everyone else waits
- With only four players, half the table is waiting on each turn, so it is better with six or more
- The clue rules (what counts as one word, compound words, sound-alikes) need explaining, and groups sometimes argue about them
Based on 7 reviews and discussions
- Review Review: Codenames (Quinns, August 2015) · Shut Up & Sit Down
- Review Codenames review - the name's code, James code (Timothy Linward, December 2022) · Wargamer
- Review Codenames (2015) (Michael Heron, December 2016) · Meeple Like Us
- Players How to play Codenames online over video chat (Yogesh Tolani, March 2020) · ReRoll forum (Bengaluru board game community)
- Players India's Budget Tabletop Games Gifting Guide 2022 (Karthik Balakrishnan, December 2022) · ReRoll forum
- Award Codenames: jury statement, Spiel des Jahres 2016 · Spiel des Jahres
- Reference Codenames (board game) · Wikipedia
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
More like Codenames
Our picks if Codenames isn't quite right
| Feature |
Codenames |
Dixit |
Guess in 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Players | 2–8 | 3–8 | 2–6 |
| Best with | 6-8 | 5-6 | 4-6, in two teams |
| Play time | 15 min | 30 min | 20 min |
| Age | 14+ | 8+ | 6+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Import | Import | Yes |
| Why look at it | This page | Another clue-giving game, but with dreamlike pictures in place of words, which works better at tables that mix languages | A quick question-and-answer guessing game from Indian company Skillmatics that suits younger players |
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Dixit
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Better with just two players
Wavelength
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Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): Codenames: Duet – The same publisher's cooperative version for two players, also sold in India.
Questions people ask about Codenames
Is Codenames available in India?
Yes. The original Czech Games Edition is sold in India as an imported box; there is no separate Indian or Hindi edition. Our Buy on Amazon.in button goes to the original CGE edition (CGE00031); make sure the brand is Czech Games Edition.
Can 2 or 3 people play Codenames?
The rulebook has a cooperative variant for 2 or 3 players. One person is the spymaster, and a pretend opponent covers one of its own words each turn. It works, but the game is at its best with four or more. If you mostly play as two, Codenames: Duet was designed for exactly that.
Can we play Codenames in Hindi?
The cards are English words, and no Hindi edition of the main game came up in research for this page. The rules allow a foreign word as a clue only if your group would use it in an English sentence, so agree before you start which Hindi or Hinglish words are fair.
Is Codenames suitable for children?
The original edition sold in India says 14+, and the refreshed 2025 edition says 10+. Younger children who read English well can join a team with adults, but the spymaster role needs a wide vocabulary. Codenames: Pictures uses images instead of words and is easier for children.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Vlaada Chvátil
- Publisher
- Czech Games Edition (CGE)
- First published
- 2015
- Players
- 2–8
- Language
- Needs English – All 400 codenames are English words, and the whole game is about word meanings, so everyone at the table needs to be comfortable with English vocabulary. The rules allow a foreign word as a clue only if your group would use it in an English sentence.
- Box size and weight
- 0.56 kg
- Awards
- Spiel des Jahres (Germany's Game of the Year), 2016 (Winner); Origins Award, Game of the Year (USA), 2015 (Winner); Independent Toy Awards (UK), board games category, for the 2025 edition, 2025 (Gold Medal)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Codenames (board game) – Wikipedia
- Codenames – Czech Games Edition (publisher page, 2025 edition)
- Codenames rulebook, original English edition (PDF mirror)
- Codenames CGE00031 contents and box details – Get Smart catalogue
- Codenames (First Edition) – Board Game Bliss (box specs)
- Codenames (2025) – Coqui Hobby Distribution
- This Czech game has outsold Kingdom Come, and turns 10 with a new edition – Expats.cz
- Codenames – Board Games India
- Codenames – Bored Game Company
- Czech Games Edition Codenames Board Game – Toycra
- The counterfeit board games crisis – Tabletop Gaming