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Box art via BoardGameGeek
Codenames
One-word clues, two teams, and a lot of yelling across the coffee table.
Designed by Vlaaada Chvátil · 2015
The best big-group game around, and the one most likely to show you how your friends' brains work.
Best for: Bigger groups and mixed crowds where not everyone knows each other
What it is
Codenames looks almost too simple on paper. Two teams, a grid of word cards, and one clue-giver per team handing out single-word hints to connect their agents while dodging the one card that loses the game on the spot. The trick is that a good clue points at two or three words at once, and the leaps people make to get there are where all the fun and all the chaos live.
The catch
A single clue like 'beach, three' can spark a four-minute argument that ends with everyone shouting and nobody actually upset. It rewards knowing how your people think more than knowing any trivia, which is exactly why it's so good with a crowd that mixes close friends and brand-new faces.
Who it's for
If your group is small, or a couple of people freeze up at being put on the spot, ease them in before handing over the clues. But pack this for any room with six or more people in it. Few little boxes give back this much.
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