2011Vlaada Chvátil
- Videos
- 130
- Creators
- 52
1 - 4 players60 - 240 minVery heavy weight

2015Vlaada Chvátil
Mainly reviews and how-to-play. Codenames is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 34 reviews, 19 how-to-play guides, 4 recorded sessions, 8 unboxings, and 20 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames - single-word labels like "disease", "Germany", and "carrot". Yes, carrot. It's a legitimate codename. Each spymaster wants their team to identify their agents first...without uncovering the assassin by mistake. In Codenames, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Lay out 25 cards, each bearing a single word. The spymasters look at a card showing the identity of each card, then take turns clueing their teammates. A clue consists of a single word and a number, with the number suggesting how many cards in play have some association to the given clue word. The teammates then identify one agent they think is on their team; if they're correct, they can keep guessing up to one more than the stated number of times; if the agent belongs to the opposing team or is an innocent bystander, the team's turn ends; and if they fingered the assassin, they lose the game. Spymasters continue giving clues until one team has identified all of their agents or the assassin has removed one team from play.
Codenames has 85 videos from 69 creators: 34 reviews, 19 how-to-play guides, 4 playthroughs, 8 unboxings and 20 other videos. They date from 2015 to August 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Codenames - How To Play" by Watch It Played, which runs 11 min. For a quicker teach, "Codenames - Official Rules Video" by Gaming Rules! runs 6 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Codenames First Impressions - with Tom Vasel" by The Dice Tower. 29 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Code Names at Runemeet" by Meeples Rule, one of 4 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Mage Knight Board Game, Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization, Star Trek: Frontiers and Galaxy Trucker (Second Edition), also by Vlaada Chvátil. It appears in convention videos from Gen Con 2015 and Spiel Essen 2015.
Análisis-Parálisis
La Mazmorra de Pacheco - Juegos de mesa y rol
8 of 69
2011Vlaada Chvátil
1 - 4 players60 - 240 minVery heavy weight
2015Vlaada Chvátil
2 - 4 players120 minVery heavy weight
2016Vlaada Chvátil, Andrew Parks
1 - 4 players60 - 240 minVery heavy weight
2021Vlaada Chvátil
2 - 4 players20 - 30 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames - single-word labels like "disease", "Germany", and "carrot". Yes, carrot. It's a legitimate codename. Each spymaster wants their team to identify their agents first...without uncovering the assassin by mistake. In Codenames, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Lay out 25 cards, each bearing a single word. The spymasters look at a card showing the identity of each card, then take turns clueing their teammates. A clue consists of a single word and a number, with the number suggesting how many cards in play have some association to the given clue word. The teammates then identify one agent they think is on their team; if they're correct, they can keep guessing up to one more than the stated number of times; if the agent belongs to the opposing team or is an innocent bystander, the team's turn ends; and if they fingered the assassin, they lose the game. Spymasters continue giving clues until one team has identified all of their agents or the assassin has removed one team from play.
Designer
Vlaada Chvátil
Artists
Vlaada Chvátil, Stéphane Gantiez, Dávid Jablonovský, Tomáš Kučerovský, Filip Murmak, František Sedláček
Publisher
Czech Games Edition (CGE)
Categories
Mechanics