Codenames | Czech Games Edition | 2-8 Players

I'd heard on a popular board gaming web site for geeks that this was a particularly good game, ideally for larger parties but also playable for even just two players.I actually own a similar independently created card game called "Trix" which has a similar concept of linking words.The basic idea is that 25 cards are laid out (out of quite a large selection of double sided cards) each with a noun on it. A team consists of one person who is trying to convey a message/hint to their team members. They can provide a one word clue and indicate how many of the 25 cards they feel relate to that one word. Only 6 or 7 of the words actually are wanted by each team, the rest are either the opposing teams' cards or are innocent bystander cards. One word card is an assassin and loses the game instantly for any team that picks it.I won't give you the entire rules now, they are available online anyway if you want them. This game is clever in the way it takes a simple game that takes minutes to learn and is basically a form of charades with more intelligence and direction, and themes it nicely into a spy game.When I first got it, I couldn't wait to give it a go, so I immediately tried a 2 player game (not recommended particularly) and this was just OK and I could see why although it's just about playable, it's not a good idea.I then tried it as a four player game and it was already much much more enjoyable, we played it 6 times in a row (each game usually lasts about 20 minutes or so)We haven't tried it yet with more players, but it is immediately obvious why adding more players would make it very interesting and add an element of argument/discussion within teams that could be entertaining as each team member may have a different opinion of how a word relates to another (does Star relate to "Flag" more or less than it relates to "Fish" or "Night" for example)All in all, this game deserves its good reputation. It's not a sit around for hours board games with loads of complicated rules that you only understand after finishing the game. It's a quick and easy, get up and running fast and enjoyable family / party game.

This game is fantastic with a large group. I've only ever played it with a minimum of 6 people and dont think I'd play it with fewer players. As a party game though, this is great and my friends always ask me to bring it when we have group get togethers.In basic terms the game is made up of a grid of 25 words and two teams (red and blue). Each team nominates a spymaster who has to try and get their team to guess their words first. A grid card is taken at random by a spymaster and will show the spymasters which words their team needs to guess. This card also shows which team goes first. The team going first has 9 words, the team going second has 8 words to help make the game fair. Then teams take turns with the spymaster giving a one word clue trying to link as many of their words as possible. The clue is followed by the number of words the spymaster is linking it to. For example the grid might have the words England and France, if your team has these words and no other countries are on the board the clue could simply be "countries, 2". It gets more tricky when there are other similar words on the board e.g. if America is on the board but that is incorrect for your team. Play goes on until a team find all their words.Each game starts out quite relaxed but the tension builds every game when it nears its end. It really is funny to see how involved everyone gets. The beauty lies in the simplicity of the rules as even newcomers can understand the game within one round. Each round only takes 10-15 minutes and it's up to you how many rounds you play so it's really flexible in terms of time. Every time I have played, games have gone on for 2-3 hours of laughing and joking!If you need a simple party game then definitely look at codenamed. Honestly, I've never bought a game that has been enjoyed by so many people!

One of my favourite board games. Always a hit at parties and have bought on multiple occasions as present/secret Santa

When i first played it I didn't know the group of people I was playing with and this requires a set of general knowledge or to know one another. It was great as an icebreaker and definitely brought be closer to knowing my team.Since then I got the game for myself and played it with people I know and it was so much fun.The only downside I can think of that one side of the card is really hard to read (as you need to arrange it in a 5×5 matrix, one side facing one side of the people the other facing the other side of the table) and I wish they had both side written the same way: big text on white space, not the cursive brown text.

The Good:• Incredibly easy and simple to learn the basics• Quick set-up, games can be quick or long dependent on players' choice• Rewards creative thinking and broad knowledge, as-well-as simplistic face-value pairing of words• Literally almost impossible to play the same game twice; almost endless possibilities due to multiple combination conditions. For the nerds: estimated possible unique games: 3.19140000E+50. Better get a comfy chair...The Bad (these are totally subjective):• The more players the better, which makes organising a game more difficult. 6+ allows for significantly more flexibility and variety (lockdowns and Covid makes this a very current issue)• Can be heavily dependent on being aware of the interests and knowledge of your teammate(/s)• Some games can be slow/unsatisfying, with repeated 1 word rounds due to randomised 'targets' causing (subjectively) unmatchable wordsBox contents:• 200 x double-sided Codenames cards• 40 x Key cards• 8 x Red Agent cards• 8 x Blue Agent cards• 1 x Double Agent card• 1 x Assassin card• 7 x Innocent Bystander cards• 1 x ~1:30 min sand timer

Great fun for adults friends and teenage family members