Codenames Game Rules

1. Objective

The objective of each team is to be the first to reveal all of its cards:

• the red team — all red cards
• the blue team — all blue cards

You must avoid revealing the black card, as it results in an immediate loss.

2. Players

The game is played by two teams:

• the red team
• the blue team

Each team has:

• a spymaster — gives clues
• field operatives — guess the cards

3. Cards

There are four types of cards on the table:

• red cards — belong to the red team
• blue cards — belong to the blue team
• neutral cards — belong to neither team
• black card — the forbidden card

All cards are laid out face up in a rectangular grid.

The players do not know which cards belong to which type. The spymasters do know the identity of all cards.

4. Setup

1. Shuffle the cards and lay them out on the table.
2. Determine which team goes first.
3. Spymasters position themselves so they can see the card identities.
4. Players see only the words on the cards, not their types.

5. Gameplay

Teams take turns.

A team’s turn consists of two phases:

1. the spymaster gives a clue
2. the players select cards

6. The Spymaster’s Clue

On their turn, the spymaster:

1. says one word
2. says one number

The word is a semantic clue related to the team’s cards.

The number is the maximum number of cards the team may attempt to reveal using that clue.

After giving the clue, the spymaster may not add any explanations or comments.

7. Players’ Actions

After receiving the clue, the players:

1. discuss possibilities among themselves
2. choose and reveal cards one by one

Players may reveal:

• at least one card
• at most the number of cards stated by the spymaster

The team may stop early if it chooses.

8. “Plus One” Rule (Modified)

After a spymaster’s clue, a team may reveal:

• a number of cards equal to the stated number;
• and one additional card, only if the team has unrevealed cards from previous turns.

“Unrevealed cards from previous turns” are cards belonging to the team that were associated with earlier clues but were not revealed because the team ended its turn early.

If all previous clues were fully used, the team may not reveal an additional card.

The additional card is revealed at the end of the turn, at the team’s discretion.

When revealing the additional card, the normal rules apply: revealing a team card is successful; revealing a neutral card or an opponent’s card immediately ends the turn; revealing the black card immediately ends the game with a loss.

9. Result of Revealing a Card

• Your team’s card is revealed — the team may continue revealing cards.
• An opponent’s card is revealed — the turn immediately passes to the other team.
• The black card is revealed — the team loses immediately. The game ends at once.

10. Winning and Losing

A team wins if it reveals all of its cards before the opponent.

A team loses if the black card is revealed.

11. Additional Rules for Clues

The spymaster is not allowed to:

1. Use abbreviations.
2. Use translations of words.
3. Use non-semantic associations, including similar-sounding words.
4. Use cognates, parts of words, or modified forms of words that appear on the table.
5. Use gestures, facial expressions, intonation, or any non-verbal clues.
6. Give explanations, examples, or comments after the clue.

A clue must:

• consist of a single word
• be based only on meaning, not on sound or spelling