Codenames Duo

CodeNames Duo rules (2 players Codenames)

CodeNames Duo is a spin-off of the popular CodeNames game and is played in pairs. Cooperate and find all the mystery words to win. Learn all the peculiarities and rules of this game so that you can better enjoy a great moment of fun.

 

Material

Below you will find all the elements that you can find in a box of the CodeNames Duo game:
-A pack of beige word cards to put on the table (both sides)
-15 green tiles to confirm the correct answers
-11 time tokens (one green side for and one grey side to keep track of the tokens)
-A pack of key cards (the key cards are double-sided) to have the words to be discovered.
-a base to place the key card
-a black tile for the assassin

Setup

  • Place 25 beige word guessing cards on the table in a 5 by 5 grid
  • The two players will have to face each other
  • Put a key card on the base and in front of both players, so that each cannot see the other’s side
  • Put the pack of green tiles, the 9 small green tiles and the assassin card next to both players
    Choose the player to start the game

: The 9 small tiles
: The key card on the base
: The green tiles
: The assassin tile card

Goal of the game

The goal of CodeNames Duo is to play cooperatively to guess 15 words from the 25 words on the table. Each player makes his teammate discover a part of the words before the end of the rounds and without the latter giving a black card which would be eliminatory!

The key card

The key card is a double-sided card that will be placed in front of both players, so that one cannot see the other’s side. On the key card, you will see green boxes, beige boxes and three black boxes.
The green boxes: These squares are the words for the other player to guess against the 25 5-by-5 grid cards on the table. Of all the green boxes (whether on one side or the other), both players will have three green boxes in common to guess (i.e., three words in common).
The beige boxes: These boxes are the words not to be guessed (making the turn stop).
The black boxes: These boxes are the words not to be found. If a player chooses a word among these black boxes, the game stops immediately and the game is over. Both players will also have a common black box to avoid.

How the game works

  • The player who starts the game will have to give a word which will act as a clue and a number which will constitute the number of word to find compared to this last one (clue)
  • The player on the other side of the table must then find the number of words that match the clue from the 25 words on the table.

Example: The player announces: “animals 2”. The player in front of him will then have to find 2 words that match the clue “animals” among the 25 words on the table.
If the player in front of him/her has found the first word, he/she will have to put a green tile on top of it (word) which will be the correct answer.

In this picture, you can see that the player has successfully guessed 3 words and therefore, he has put on these 3 green tiles as the correct answer.
If the player guesses wrong on the first word or the second word, he will have to put a small tile on it. The player must place the side of the tile with a picture on it and the arrow on the tile (picture) must face the player who made the mistake.

If the player has succeeded in finding the two words, then he will have to put a green tile on each of them and can continue to guess another word from the previous clues if he wants. In case he fails, he will have to put on the third word a small tile on the drawing side (or black which is the same as losing the game) and will have to pass the turn to the next player.
Note:
♦ A player may or may not choose to find all the words that the other player is trying to make him guess. They can also choose to find only one word and pass.
♦ When a player successfully finds a word and decides to stop there, even if the other player has designated two, he or she must take a small tile from the green side (cold case) and place it next to him or her.
♦ Each time a player manages to find one or more correct words and decides to end his turn, he must always take a small tile from the green side.

In this picture, you can see that the player has taken a small tile from the green side because he has successfully guessed a word and is passing his turn to the next player.

  • When a player has successfully guessed a word or words using the other player’s clue and word numbers, he or she can pass their turn or find another word.
  • The next player will have to choose a clue word and a number that will designate the number of words to guess.
  • The game continues in this way and in turn until both players have managed to find all the words.

Be careful! Do not forget to avoid the black boxes. If a player chooses a word from the assassin’s black box, the game ends and both players will lose the game. The players will have to put the black tile on the assassin’s word and the game ends immediately

NB:
In a game of CodeNames Duo, both players will have to find 15 words in total. However, they will only have 9 rounds at their disposal because there are only 9 small tiles.
When all the tiles have been used (either for an incorrect word or a completed turn), the normal game ends.
When the normal game ends and both players have not yet managed to find all 15 words, they will have to start the “sudden death” game.

The Sudden Death Game

The sudden death game is a way for both players to find all 15 words, even if there are no small tiles left. They take turns guessing a word that must be correct.

Rules of CodeNames Duo rules