Codenames

Setup: at least four players form two teams, each with one spymaster and the remaining operatives. Randomly arrange twenty-five words in a five-by-five grid. Only spymasters see the key, whose edge marks the starting team. That team has nine agents, the other eight; seven bystanders and one assassin fill the rest.

Teams alternate clues: the spymaster gives one word about the intended words’ meanings and one number stating how many it connects. No extra explanations, expressions, voice cues or gestures are permitted. Operatives discuss and confirm guesses by touching cards one at a time.

Reveal every guess according to the actual key. A friendly agent permits another guess; a bystander ends the turn, and an opposing agent ends it while helping the opponents. The assassin loses immediately. A friendly word found accidentally still counts as correct.

Ordinary guesses: make at least one guess, then stop or continue after each correct one, up to the clue number plus one. A guess may address an earlier clue, even as the first guess, but does not grant a new clue.

Valid clues concern meaning rather than letters, spelling, card position, melodies or accents. Letters and numbers can themselves be meaningful clues. Do not use a form of an uncovered word or part of its compound; covering that word removes the restriction.

Language and agreements: the English examples depend on English meanings. Traditional soundalikes require a meaning connection; the app’s unrestricted soundalikes are not automatic tabletop rules. Agree on abbreviations, multiword names/titles and similar flexibility; spymasters can privately settle doubts. Spell a clue when asked.

Expert clues: zero warns against words related to the clue; unlimited replaces the number. Both remove the ordinary plus-one ceiling while correct friendly guesses continue. At least one guess remains required, and wrong identities still end the turn or lose the game.

Invalid clues normally end the team’s turn without guesses, and the opposing spymaster may cover a friendly word before giving the next clue. They may allow a harmless disputed clue instead; a clue not noticed as invalid until later counts as valid without rewinding play.

Victory and neutrality: finding all a team’s agents wins immediately, even if the opponents reveal its last one. Spymasters cannot remind operatives about missed earlier words, react to discussion or reach for tiles before a card is touched. Operatives must not seek extra information from their reactions.