If you like Codenames, you'll like Duet. I also love that both people are the Spymaster. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a2b169b9a14412b4713d6b47b211a82b" );document.getElementById("ec588ce925").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); I understand that my comment, name & email will be stored as data by TabletopBellhop.com. In my experience one word clues are a sure fire way to lose unless the other team really messes up. The players on each side of the table will take turns giving clues to try and get the other side of the table to guess the correct cards. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; We are also members of the eBay Partner Network. Most of the clues were just one word with the teams easily guessing the answers. amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links"; It's obviously a similar mechanic, but the co-op and round limit are just what it needed, in my opinion. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives.. Twenty-five Codename cards, each bearing a word, are laid out in a 5×5 rectangular grid, in random order. A key card gives you 9 words to give clues for and 3 words your partner must avoid. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. If you are not at least somewhat aggressive you have no chance of guessing all of the agents in time. Some clues are invalid because they violate the spirit of the game. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. When a player is guessing, the other side of the key card is what matters. Your clue must be about the meaning of the words. Each knows 9 secret agents that the other must contact. Basically I see the mission map as a challenge mode for the game. our Codenames Duet Unboxing video on Youtube, Gorus Maximus – A Gory Gladiatorial Trick Taking Card Game For Up To 8 Players – Review, Review of the Eminent Domain Exotica Expansion, Adding asteroid mining and aliens to the popular deck-builder, A Round Table on my game table – A look back at Shadows Over Camelot. I feel like if you enjoy the gameplay of the original this is almost a guaranteed hit for you. When you have a lot of clues you can take your time, giving out small one or two word clues, and still manage to win, but when you are limited to less than the usual clues you have no choice but to shoot for the moon with big four word and larger clues in order to win. Twilight Struggle Board Game Review, Rules & Instructions, Rivals for Catan Card Game Review, Rules & Instructions. As I recently reviewed the original Codenames I don’t think it really pays to rehash what I talked about in that review. Firm rules. If you want an easier game you can also use the two blue background bystander tokens. My only complaint is with the design of the word cards, which is consistent with the other Codenames games. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-8 Players MATERIALS: 8 Blue and 8 red agent cards, one double agent card that is blue and red, 1 assassin card that is black, 7 civilian cards that are white, double-sided codename cards and key cards. Come discuss games like Codenames, Arkham Horror, Terra Mystica, and all your other favorite games! We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 1 agent for each player is an assassin for the other player. Robinson Crusoe: Adventures of the Cursed Island ». If you can give clues that won’t lead to a player guessing an assassin, ending your turn early or picking a bystander doesn’t really an adverse impact unless you are using the mission map. It doesn’t really change the actual gameplay but it gives the players some interesting challenges. I’ve got to say excellently. In Codenames Duet you can make as many guesses as you want as long as you avoid bystanders and the assassin. Somehow it really ups the tension, probably because of the limited amount of clues you can give, and the fact that you share an assassin, but don't know which one. Or three or four. There is also no need to fight over who is the spymaster as all of the players get to be the spymaster in Codenames Duet. For the most part Codenames Duet shares the same main mechanics as the original game. Playing with someone you have known for a long time is going to open up a lot more clue options based on shared experiences and inside jokes. Handmade & Unique, Tabletop Gaming at Etsy, 200+ Free Digital / Print+Play Board Games. What I do like about the new word cards is that they can be combined with any other set of Codenames word cards without having any repetition. When the player decides to stop making guesses; they take one of the bystander tokens, flip it to the timer side and place it in front of themselves. The only somewhat unique components in Codenames Duet is the mission map sheets and the agent/bystander cards. This was a pleasant surprise. What’s important to note here is that just because a card is showing as something for your team it doesn’t mean that it is the same thing for the other team. Of the three assassins on each side of the card one corresponds to an assassin, bystander and agent. I am not in love with Codenames, and I like Codenames Pictures even less. Basically my recommendation for Codenames Duet comes down to how much you like Codenames. I just so happened to randomly guess the right card in my first sudden death and it was exciting. This new destination will add additional constraints to the game, limiting the number of time tokens you get or making it so that you can only hit a limited number of bystanders before losing the game. Once a team has completed a standard game they can cross Prague off the map. For example, there will be agents that work for both teams, there will be one assassin that is actually an agent for the other team and there will be multiple agents for your team that are bystanders for the other team. Join our community! Usually you are best off guessing until you have found all of the words that correspond to the clues that you have been given. Our mission is to produce engaging articles like reviews, tips and tricks, game rules, strategies, etc. To turn a timer side token into a bystander token the player will have to use two timer tokens. If an incorrect clue is guessed that team’s turn ends. Near the end of each game, the team that was behind would finally try out a two word clue in hopes of catching up. Easy to teach and learn, it’s ideal for parties and is highly addictive! Not quite as good as the original Codenames. This means that players will occasionally have to make some guesses. While it did take us a few plays to fully grok some of the intricacies, like figuring out that one black assassin on your side of the key card will always be a green mark on your partner’s side, we were enjoying the game from our very first play. Using this information and similar clues throughout the game your team will try to interpret the spymaster’s clue and guess each code word. Your email address will not be published. When coming up with a clue the player should try to avoid clues that would lead the other player to guess one of the bystanders or assassins. Your email address will not be published. Players are allowed to spell out the word that they want to use for their clue. It was at our 2018 Gaming in the New Year party that Codenames finally clicked for me. The #1 reddit source for news, information, and discussion about modern board games and board game culture. Basically sudden death has the players randomly trying to guess the final agents that they are missing. I would say the Codenames gameplay works just as well in a cooperative game as it does for the competitive game. Definitely better than the original because of less downtime! Makes the game really enjoyable for two players. One of these packs contained a hundred double-sided key cards. If the chosen card relates to one of the assassins, the assassin card is placed on the word card. The key card is placed into the stand so one player sees each side of the card. Glad it's not just me that thinks this! After successfully completing a game using only nine time tokens, players take a map sheet from the pad, check off the Prague spot on the map and choose a new destination to head to based on the travel lines on the map. It’s amazing. The 9 timer/bystander tokens are placed next to the agent cards with the bystander side face up. Your partner also gives you clues for the words you need to … At this point, I have to strongly recommend Codenames Duet. In Codenames Duet each team is trying to get the other team to guess a number of words based on one-word clues. Each player has five agents that correspond to bystanders on the other side, three agents are the same, and one agent corresponds to an assassin on the other side. If you are a fan of the original Codenames you need this in your collection, both as a game that stands on its own and as a source of four hundred new words for Codenames. For example, Berlin shows 11-2. So you can use these to narrow down and puzzle out some of the answers. My wife and I just played last night, we love it. No clue can use any form or part of a word currently visible on the table. Overall I would go so far as to say that I enjoy Codenames Duet even more than Codenames. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I personally don’t understand why they didn’t make both halves of the cards look the same. Each team knows which agents the other team can contact safely and where three assassins can be found. A huge step over the other Codenames games. TYPE OF GAME: Verbal cooperative party game AUDIENCE: For adults and children 14+ Once again you get a bunch of word and key cards. Duet is fantastic. When the original Codenames came out it became very popular at local gaming events and a weekend didn’t go by that didn’t have a large table of multiple people playing the game. As you complete games in mission mode, you will mark off on the map, whether you succeed or not, and then move on to another city and a different set of constraints. The mission map adds some interesting challenges to the game. I give clues to the other player for my card, they give me clues for their card. This is why I would say that Codenames Duet is more difficult than the original game. Two thumbs up from us :), I've posted this before but I only own duet and not the original but use the codenames app to effectively have two games in one! Played it at a con recently. The way I play it, set up like a normal game, but each player gets a code card of the same colour border (so the 7 vs 6 rule applies). The goal of this cooperative game is for the teams to contact fifteen agents while avoiding a band of enemy assassins. The game deserves all of its acclaim as it is a fantastic party game that shows one truly unique mechanic can make a game great. While I really like Codenames Duet, I don’t think it is quite as good as the original Codenames. These were so well cut they were falling off of the sprues as I picked them up. Requiring only two players means that it should hit the table more often than the original.