I really love Codenames and Duet is a nice implementation of it for two. But it is a bit annoying when you have to whisper clues back and forth. Playing this version of Codenames with four or more players helps with downtime as more minds work on coming up with clues. Duets add to the flexibility of the entire series. Or play a mixed Pictures and words game with Duet rules. In fact you can even mix all the cards from Duet with those from the base game. You can use with Codenames Pictures with Duet. Especially if you are consistently playing with the same person. This variant is a nice way to switch up the game. Making mistakes beyond the allowed number uses two tokens for a turn. Each mission requires you to finish with a set number of timer tokens but only allows a certain number of mistakes. There is a Mission Map that offers a variant way to play the game too. Need the game to be easier then add a couple tokens. If you want to make it harder you can use less of them. I like that the timer tokens let you adjust difficulty of the game. The rules are easy to read, follow and teach. The components for this game are nice and exactly what you’d expect.
It gives you a very similar experience to the original but for a smaller group.
The box says two to four players but Duet works well with two to six players. A Quick Review of Codenames Duet:Ĭodenames Duet takes an excellent party game and makes it a fun cooperative game. If you use them all you can get one turn to guess (possibly wildly) but if you hit a bystander or assassin, you lose. There are timer tokens that are taken at the end of each turn. This is a cooperative game, but you must beat the game in nine rounds. So between the two (or four) of you, you need to find fifteen total agents. Three of your agents overlap with the other player’s agents. If the other player or team guesses a card that is an assassin on the key card you are looking at, you lose.īoth sides of the key card have nine green spots to represent your agents. But you only need to worry about the side you see. Only one of the assassins lines up on both sides of the card. First the key cards are double-sided and they have three assassins. There are some changes in this version though.
#Codenames duet rules series#
If you are unfamiliar with how the series plays you can read my review and overview here. This version allows you to play with fewer people or smaller teams.Ĭodenames Duet follows many of the same rules as regular Codenames. Codenames Duet changes up the play of the popular party game.