Party word game
Codenames
One-word clues, 25 secret agents, and one assassin to avoid
- Players
- 2–8
- Best with
- 6-8
- Play time
- 15 min
- Age
- 14+
- Rules
- Easy
- Language
- Needs English
Codenames is a team word game for 4 to 8 people: one player on each side gives one-word clues, and their teammates try to pick their own words from a grid of 25 without touching the assassin. It suits family get-togethers, college friends and office groups who are comfortable with English words. A round takes about 15 minutes, so it is easy to play several in one evening.
Is Codenames right for your table?
A good pick for
- Big groups at festival card nights or family get-togethers that can split into two teams
- People who enjoy wordplay more than dice or luck
- Short rounds of about 15 minutes, so the group can keep playing 'just one more'
- Mixed groups of teens and adults
Skip it if
- Several people at your table aren't comfortable reading English words
- You usually play as just two (Codenames: Duet is built for that)
- Your group has young children: the original edition sold in India says 14+
How Codenames plays
Split into two teams, red and blue, and each team picks a spymaster. Lay out 25 word cards in a 5×5 grid. The two spymasters sit on the same side and share a secret key card. It shows which words belong to the red team, which to the blue team, which are harmless bystanders, and which single word is the assassin.
On your team's turn, your spymaster says exactly one word and one number, for example 'Fruit, 3', to point at three of your team's words on the table. Your teammates talk it over and touch cards one at a time. Each right guess lets you continue, up to one more than the number given.
Touch a bystander and your turn ends. Touch the other team's word and you have helped them. Touch the assassin and your team loses on the spot. That one card is why spymasters think hard before giving a clue that seems obvious.
The team that goes first has 9 words to find and the other team has 8. The first team to uncover all of its words wins. Then you swap spymasters and lay out a fresh grid. There are 200 double-sided cards, so the words rarely repeat.
A clue word has to be about meaning, not spelling or position on the table. The rulebook allows a foreign word only if your group would use it in an English sentence, so words like 'chai' may be fine at many Indian tables. Agree on this before you start.
Takes about 5 minutes to teach. All 400 codenames are English words, and the whole game is about word meanings, so everyone at the table needs to be comfortable with English vocabulary. The rules allow a foreign word as a clue only if your group would use it in an English sentence.
Buying Codenames in India
There is no Indian-printed or Hindi edition of Codenames, so every genuine copy is the imported CGE edition. That is why specialist stores price it at roughly ₹1,900–2,600. Several Indian stores had it in stock on 4 October 2026, so you can usually get it with domestic delivery instead of waiting on an international order.
Indian stores mainly sell the original Czech Games Edition (item CGE00031). Its box says 2–8 players, age 14+ and 15 minutes. In 2025, for the game's 10th anniversary, CGE released a refreshed edition (item CGE00125) with a revised word list, new art, a new box insert and a simpler rulebook. That box lists 4–8+ players and age 10+. The 2025 edition did not show up at the Indian stores checked for this page. Indian stores also list spin-offs such as Codenames: Pictures, Duet, XXL, Deep Undercover, Marvel and Disney Family Edition.
How to make sure you get a genuine copy
Clone risk: High- Look for the Czech Games Edition (CGE) logo and designer Vlaada Chvátil's name on the box. Be wary of any listing that doesn't name the publisher, or that sells it as 'Code Names' under an unrelated brand.
- Check the price. Genuine copies cost ₹1,899–2,600 at Indian stores on 4 October 2026, while some Indian sites list a 'Codenames' set for ₹499–549 without mentioning CGE.
- Count the contents of the original edition: 200 word cards (400 codenames), 40 key cards, 16 agent cards in two colours, 1 double agent, 7 innocent bystanders, 1 assassin, a card stand and a sand timer.
- UK reporting on counterfeit copies mentions a differently coloured timer, flimsier card holders and misspelt words, so check the word cards for typos.
- The original English edition's barcode is 8594156310318, the same number Toycra and FunCorp list for their stock.
Codenames is mostly cards, which makes it cheap to copy. Indian websites list 'Codenames' sets that don't name CGE at around a quarter of the genuine price. To avoid them, buy from a specialist board game store, or on Amazon.in check that the brand is Czech Games Edition and that you recognise the seller.
If Codenames isn't quite right
Dixit
Another clue-giving game, but with dreamlike pictures in place of words, which works better at tables that mix languages
Guess in 10
A quick question-and-answer guessing game from Indian company Skillmatics that suits younger players
Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): Codenames: Duet – The same publisher's cooperative version for two players, sold at Indian stores.
Questions people ask about Codenames
Is Codenames available in India?
Yes. Indian board game stores such as Board Games India, Boardway and Bored Game Company sell the original Czech Games Edition, and it is also listed on Amazon.in. On 4 October 2026, genuine copies cost about ₹1,900 to ₹2,600.
Can 2 or 3 people play Codenames?
The rulebook has a cooperative variant for 2 or 3 players. One person is the spymaster, and a pretend opponent covers one of its own words each turn. It works, but the game is at its best with four or more. If you mostly play as two, Codenames: Duet was designed for exactly that.
Can we play Codenames in Hindi?
The cards are English words, and no Hindi edition of the main game came up in research for this page. The rules allow a foreign word as a clue only if your group would use it in an English sentence, so agree before you start which Hindi or Hinglish words are fair.
Is Codenames suitable for children?
The original edition sold in India says 14+, and the refreshed 2025 edition says 10+. Younger children who read English well can join a team with adults, but the spymaster role needs a wide vocabulary. Codenames: Pictures uses images instead of words and is easier for children.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the publisher, Indian distributors and the store listings below. Prices were checked on 4 October 2026.
- Codenames (board game) – Wikipedia
- Codenames – Czech Games Edition (publisher page, 2025 edition)
- Codenames rulebook, original English edition (PDF mirror)
- Codenames CGE00031 contents and box details – Get Smart catalogue
- Codenames (First Edition) – Board Game Bliss (box specs)
- Codenames (2025) – Coqui Hobby Distribution
- This Czech game has outsold Kingdom Come, and turns 10 with a new edition – Expats.cz
- Codenames – Board Games India
- Codenames – Bored Game Company
- Czech Games Edition Codenames Board Game – Toycra
- The counterfeit board games crisis – Tabletop Gaming
- Codenames Board Game listing at ₹549 (no publisher named) – Bear Hugs
- Codenames Board Game listing at ₹499 (no publisher named) – Niyo Toys
- Czech Games Edition Codenames Board Game Rs. 569 – Amazon (expired deal, April 2023) – IndiaFreeStuff
Prototype notes for review (won't appear on the live site)
- Amazon match: exact link, high confidence. Listing title seen: "Buy Czech Games Edition Codenames Board Game for Adult (CGE00031) Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in".
- How it was found: WebSearch query 'Codenames board game Czech Games Edition amazon.in' returned https://www.amazon.in/Czech-Games-Codenames-Word-Game/dp/B014Q1XX9S. The same result came up for 'site:amazon.in Codenames board game', and the same ASIN is CGE's Codenames listing on amazon.com. The item code CGE00031 in the title matches the code Board Games India and Toycra use for genuine stock. A second Amazon.in result, https://www.amazon.in/Czech-Games-00031CGE-Codenames/dp/B0776KK8PN ('Buy Codenames Online at Low Prices in India'), also looks like CGE Codenames but was not used.
- Seller and current price on Amazon.in listing B014Q1XX9S. Amazon pages were not opened, per policy.
- Which of the two Amazon.in ASINs (B014Q1XX9S or B0776KK8PN) is the main, active listing.
- FunCorp calls its listing 'Codenames: The India Edition', but its barcode (8594156310318) is the standard international CGE edition. No separate Indian edition was found.
- Board Games India lists some Codenames spin-offs (Pictures, Marvel, Deep Undercover) under the brand 'Yes Papa Games'. Whether Yes Papa Games officially distributes CGE products in India was not confirmed.
- Bored Game Company and Boardway don't give an item code. Their listed specs (2–8 players; Boardway also says 14+) match the original edition, not the 2025 one.
- Bear Hugs (₹549) and Niyo Toys (₹499) list 'Codenames' without naming Czech Games Edition. Whether they are unlicensed copies was not confirmed.
- IndiaFreeStuff logged an expired April 2023 Amazon.in deal at ₹569 for this listing (price history ₹399–595), far below specialist-store prices. Whether those offers came from genuine sellers is unknown.
- Play time: the box says 15 minutes, while Wikipedia gives 15–30.