How to play Codenames

Learn the rules to the board game Codenames quickly and concisely - This visually rich video has no distractions, just the rules.

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RULES: https://gamerules.com/rules/codenames/
The object of the game is to be the first team to find all your agents. Setup. Split into two teams of 2 or more players each. Shuffle 25 code name cards and lay them out on the table in a 5-by-5 grid. Each team picks one player to be their spymaster. The two spymasters sit next to each other while their teammates sit across the table. The spymasters draw one key card randomly and slide it into the stand between them, any side can be up. Only the spymasters are allowed to see it. Give each spymaster a set of colored agent tiles.

The key card corresponds to the grid of codename cards on the table, indicating which words correspond to which team. Blue words are for the blue team and red are for the red team. Pale squares are neutral and the black square indicates the word that if picked your team loses the game immediately.

The four lights on the edge of the key card indicate which team starts. The starting team has 9 words to guess and the other has 8. Give the starting team the double-sided color agent tile. The starting spymaster gives a one word clue followed by a number and their teammates guess, then the other spy master takes a turn. Play continues to alternate until there is a winner.

To give a clue you may only say one word followed by 1 number. The word is a clue to words on the board, and the number is referring to how many words on the board that clue applies to. For example: “tree: 2”. The spymaster may not say the word on any card face up on the table or say any other words to give any sort of clue. After a clue is given, the spymaster must keep a straight face and sealed lips as his teammates try to figure out words to guess.

Teammates indicate their official guess when they touch one of the cards on the table. At such a point, their spymaster covers up the card by the corresponding colored tile. If the tile is that teams color, then the teammates can guess again. If the tile is the opponent’s or the neutral color, then their turn ends immediately. If the tile is black, then that team loses the game.

Teammates must always make at least one guess. If they guess correctly, they may guess again if they like so long as the total number of guesses does not exceed the number, plus 1, that their spymaster said in his clue. So if the spymaster said “Tree: 2”, the most guesses his teammates would have is 3.

If a spymaster gives an invalid clue that teams turn ends immediately. Additionally, the other team places one of their colored tiles on any one of their words.

Your clue must be about the meaning of the words. You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or its position on the table. Gland is not a valid clue for ENGLAND. You can't tie BUG, BED, and BOW together with a clue like b: 3 nor with a clue like three: 3. However … Letters and numbers are valid clues, as long as they refer to meanings.
You can use X: 1 as a clue for RAY. You can use eight: 3 as a clue for BALL, FIGURE, and OCTOPUS. The number you say after your clue can't be used as a clue. Citrus: 8 is not a valid clue for LEMON and OCTOPUS.

You must play in English. A foreign word is allowed only if the players in your group would use it in an English sentence. For example, you can't use Apfel as a clue for APPLE and BERLIN, but you can use strudel.

You can't say any form of a visible word on the table. Until BREAK is covered up by a card, you can't say break, broken, breakage, or breakdown. You can't say part of a compound word on the table. Until HORSESHOE is covered up, you can't say horse, shoe, unhorsed, or snowshoe.

Same-sounding words with different meanings and different spellings are considered different words. So you can't give knight-related clues for NIGHT. Words that are spelled the same are considered the same even though they might have different pronunciations and meanings. For example, actors take a bow and the bow is part of a ship, so you could use bow as a clue for THEATER and SHIP. You could also use it as a clue for archery-related things, even though that bow is pronounced differently.

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