Codenames (2025 Refresh) Review
Advert: this game was gifted by CGE, this has not affected our opinion.
There seems to be an ongoing trend of refreshing the looks of older board games at the moment. Some definitely need updating and modernising. The facelift and tweaks for Great Western Trail for example, were much needed to cater for a more enlightened generation and to improve its visual appeal for box art tarts like me. Cynics might think that as most of these refreshes are being launched by publishers owned by the board game behemoth Asmodee, this is a way of rejuvenating sales of older much-loved titles. It would certainly go alongside pasting a popular IP onto existing games too. However, I couldn’t possibly comment.
Here we are though, a decade after Codenames was originally released with a 2025 refreshed version and here I am with a review of it!
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Setup
First divide into two teams: red and blue. Decide who will be the spymasters (clue-givers) as they will need to sit opposing the rest of the players. Then, layout a five by five grid of word cards. Make piles of the spymaster/agent tiles and place them within easy reach of the spymasters. Finally draw a random key card, the arrows on the border shows which team will go first they place the double agent tile on the respective agent tile stack.
That really is it. You are set up and ready to play Codenames!
Gameplay
The Spymasters need to get their teammates to correctly find their agents on the board. They do this by offering a clue in the form of a single word that can hopefully link some cards together. This word is followed by a number that suggests how many words can be linked to that word. For example “Holiday 3” could link Bikini, Beach and New York as they are items you might find on holiday or be a holiday destination.
The guesser points to a card and then using the key card the clue-giver will place the corresponding tile onto the card. This tile could be one of your agents, in which case they would point to another tile. However, if it is an opponent’s spy colour or an innocent bystander their turn is over. There is also one Assassin on the grid and if any guesser points to that they immediately lose.
If successful, the guessers can always guess one card above the number. This gives them an opportunity to guess a card from a previous round, if they see something afresh.
The clue-givers have to remain silent at all times.
Play continues until one team reveals all their agents meaning they win, or the assassin is revealed and that team lose.
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What it’s like
Codenames isn’t always easy. In fact, the clue-givers have a pretty tough job, especially at the start of the round as they have an entire array of words to absorb. While words may seemingly connect easily, they aren’t necessarily what they are trying to link, and some they may be actively trying to avoid. This initial overview takes a moment and can daunt some new players. It is also the part that makes the clue-giver role less suitable for younger players.
I know some people have felt quite intimidated by this opening gambit, the spotlight is on them and no matter how quick you are at assessing all the words, it feels like eternity as you are scrambling for clues.
Rarely are the clues perfect, because it’s even rarer for the words to link naturally. As clue-giver, you are quite often hoping the opponents take out some of their words that might link to yours or just hoping that your guessers can get on a similar wavelength to you. They often don’t!
The hardest part of being a Spymaster is not communicating. You cannot even say if someone is correct in their thinking. It may be that you were thinking of an entirely different link, and they fluked a different answer. So you all you can do is place a tile on the card according to the key card. This is a part of the game Spymasters often fall down, but probably not as often as a game ends by finding an assassin!
There is tension towards the end as teams get close to finding all their agents, and clues get even more loose with higher numbers in the hope of getting lucky!
I mostly have played this game at four players and will then alternate the codename/guessers which works really well, but I know plenty of people who like it with bigger crowds too.
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Table Presence
While Ronan Keating managed to eek out a whole song around Words, they aren’t the prettiest to look at on the table. The cards are not there to look pretty of course, but at least they have been designed a little to fit with the tenuous theme by looking like name badges.
I am pleased the words are written twice on each card so no one has to read them upside down. That’s been thought about and I appreciate it!
This refreshed edition also has unique characters for all the tiles, whereas in the older version these were all generic agents. Bystanders remain unique and it is nice to see some of these tiles’ characters remain with tweaked art as a nod to the original.
The new edition also comes with a RE-Wood card holder for the key card which is definitely an upgrade on the old plastic version. A recycled plastic insert helps store things away neatly, which is an upgrade from the previous non-existent version. The rulebook is more streamlined too for those learning the game from scratch. There is also no longer a sand timer – I rarely had to use it anyway so I’m not missing it.
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Final thoughts on Codenames
I think Codenames is a brilliant party game for those who like word games. That’s not to say it will be brilliant for everyone. I’m a fan of Codenames, but objectively I can see some of its flaws too. Some will find the spotlight being on them while they look for clues intimidating, others will find there is a little too much thinking time to keep them engaged. It is also harder for younger players who may not have the vocabulary to join in competitively.
I always enjoy my plays of Codenames. I probably enjoyed them more earlier on in my journey through modern board games, but with the right crowd I will always happily sit down and play it still today.
This refreshed version is great, it’s all a bit more modern looking, but it isn’t significantly different from the previous edition to make it worthwhile rushing out and buying it if you already have an older copy. That said, the new words are chosen from oodles of data on the digital interpretations of the game to offer a better experience for all. So if you aren’t one of the owners of the over 16 million copies sold to date, then this 2025 version is best option. There are other versions available that are worth exploring too, I was particularly surprised with how well Codenames Duet worked when I tried it.
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Key Facts
Number of players: 4 to 8+
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 14+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 10+
Playing Time: 20 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 1 minutes
Designer: Vlaada Chvátil
Publisher: Czech Games Edition (CGE)
RRP: £19.99
Summary
Codenames has continued to be published over the last decade and sold over 16 million copies worldwide for a reason. Just to be clear that reason is because it is good. This refreshed 2025 version offers some nice to haves.
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Word game
- Plays in teams
- Can accommodate many players
- Provides some memorable moments
Cons
- Some down time, particularly early on
- Hitting that Hitman
- Favours those with a better vocabulary
- Sometimes tricky to find links
Buy Codenames
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Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. However, we were kindly gifted this game by Czech Games Edition. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
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