Game page
Codenames
The safest board game gift there is, and the one this site recommends more often than any other. Here is what it actually is and who should not be given it.
By Scooter M. · Published · Last updated
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Games we claim to have play-tested: 0. Every gift guide in this category implies a shelf of played games behind it. We do not have one, and we would rather say so. What we do instead is on this page: the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band for every pick, cited to the publisher; a live price rather than a remembered one; and a plain answer on who should skip each game.
The short answer
Codenames is a word game for two teams. Czech Games Edition states 4-8+ players, ages 10+, 15 minutes. One person on each team can see which words on the grid belong to their side and gives a single-word clue pointing their teammates at several of them at once. It is the most reliably played gift on this site.
What it actually is
Twenty-five word cards are laid in a five-by-five grid. Two players - one per team - hold a key showing which words belong to which side. On your turn you say one word and one number: the word is a clue, the number is how many of your words it points at. Your team guesses. Get it wrong and you may hand a word to the other side, or hit the assassin and lose immediately.
That is the whole game. There is no board to set up, no pieces to distribute, and nothing to read during play.
How long does it take?
Czech Games Edition states 15 minutes. In practice a group plays it two or three times in a sitting, because a single round is short and the losing team always wants another go. Teaching it takes under a minute, which is the shortest explanation of anything we cover apart from Happy Salmon.
What age is it for?
Czech Games Edition states 10+. Younger children often play happily on a team with an adult, since guessing is the majority of the experience and requires no reading beyond the word cards themselves. That team structure is why Codenames appears on our Thanksgiving page despite an age floor of 10.
Who it is for
Groups of four or more who want to talk to each other. It is at its best at six - two teams of three - and it works at ten or twelve because extra people simply join a team rather than needing a seat. If you know nothing at all about a recipient except that they see other people, this is the answer.
Who should skip it
Two or three people. The publisher’s floor is four and it genuinely needs teams - a household of two should buy Codenames: Duet or a game designed for two instead. Also skip it for anybody who dislikes word games, or who is playing in a second language, where the clue-giving becomes much harder than it looks.
Appears in
- The best board games for non-gamers - our top pick
- The best board games for game night - best opener
- The best board games for 6 players - best overall at six
- The best board games for an office party - best team game
- The best board games under $30 - best gift at any price
What we would buy for this
Chosen from the same registry as our roundups, on the publisher's own figures and a live price.
Codenames
Czech Games Edition · The gift you give when you know almost nothing about the person
The single safest board game gift there is. Two teams, a grid of words, and one person giving one-word clues. It explains in about a minute, it works at four people or ten, and nobody has to read a rulebook to enjoy it.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A word game. The room splits into two teams; one person on each team can see which words belong to their side and gives a single-word clue to point their teammates at them.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 4-8+ | Czech Games Edition, published game page |
| Age | 10+ | Czech Games Edition, published game page |
| Length | 15 min | Czech Games Edition, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Teaches faster than almost anything else on this site - the core rule is one sentence
- Scales past its printed maximum, because extra people simply join a team
- Everyone talks, including the people who are losing
What is not
- The two clue-givers do most of the thinking; quiet guessers can drift
- Wants an even-ish split into two teams, so it is awkward at exactly three
- Word games do not suit everybody, and you cannot always tell in advance
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group of two or three - it wants teams. Skip it for someone who dislikes word games, or who is playing in a second language.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.8
- Works for non-gamers9.7
- Group size range9.4
- Repeat plays9.2
- Feels like a gift8.8
Gift fit 9.6 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
How these were picked
We have not played these games and we do not pretend to have. What we did was read each publisher’s own page, take their stated player count, playing time and age band, check that every pick genuinely fits the constraint in this page’s title, confirm it is still being sold, and pull a live price rather than a remembered one. Every figure here names the publisher it came from, so you can check it yourself in about a minute.
How we pick sets out the full method, including what would change a ranking.
Questions people ask
+−How many players do you need for Codenames?
Czech Games Edition states 4-8+ players. Four is the minimum because the game is played in two teams, and the plus sign means extra people beyond eight can simply join a team rather than needing their own place.
+−How long does Codenames take to play?
Czech Games Edition states 15 minutes. Explaining it takes under a minute, and most groups play two or three rounds in a sitting.
+−What age is Codenames for?
Czech Games Edition states 10+. Younger children often play on a team with an adult, since guessing is most of the game and the clue-giving is the part that needs a wider vocabulary.
+−Can two people play Codenames?
Not the standard game - the publisher’s floor is four, because it is played in teams. Codenames: Duet is the separate two-player cooperative edition, stated at 2+ players and 15 minutes.