Remote Team Activity Review: Codenames

In our first post of our new Remote Team Activity Reviews, we are reviewing the game Codenames! Here’s a quick summary:

Codenames is a word-guessing game that has players divide into two teams. One player from each team acts as the spymaster and provides one-word clues to get their team to figure out which word cards on the table conceal their team’s own agents. When guessing, players must avoid cards that represent the other team’s agents, bystanders, and the assassin (which causes an instant loss). Only the spymasters have access to a key card that reveals which cards correspond to which characters. The first team to locate all of their agents wins.

^{– New York Times Review}

Why it’s great for remote teams:

• There’s plenty of room for random discussions and jokes while spymasters think of clues
• There is no setup time, and explaining the game is quick for new players (if at least a few individuals have played before)
• Codenames is easy to play online, with an appealing interface
• Codenames offers a sense of team accomplishment, since teams make choices about taking risks and debate how their spymasters think
• Codenames is both a cooperative and competitive game, which is the best of both worlds for many
• Codenames can accommodate a fair number of individuals, and there’s no need for even teams
• Codenames is friendly for introverts, but is best played on teams with at least a few outgoing individuals

What to consider before playing:

• Spymasters need to do some heavy thinking. This may not be the best game for an early Monday morning coffee time session.
• The user interface is not intuitive – it’s not clear at first glance how to select a card (by clicking on it) or highlight a card for your team to review (clicking on the star icon).
• If you don’t have two individuals who are interested in being spymasters, you won’t be able to play.
• Codenames is more fun when teams already know each other, so spymasters can give targeted clues.
• The words in Codenames are usually simple, but it’s easy for spymasters to stray into unusual or obscure words as they strategize. This means that the game can be friendly for international teams if everyone sticks with common knowledge and simple clues, but it’s something you may want to keep an eye on.