Designers: Vlaada Chvatil and Scot Eaton
Artist: Tomas Kucerovsky
Graphic Design: Frantisek Horalek and Filip Mumak
Words and Rulebook: Jason Holt
Publisher: Czech Games Edition
BGG Rating: 7.8
TL;DR
1) Gameplay that creates real tension at the table.
2) Quick setup and play allows for multiples games in one sitting.
3) Certain scenarios will inevitably leave some players is a state of analysis paralysis far longer than other, much heavier games.
4) Hundreds of cards, with the ability to combine cards from other Codename games, create thousands of combinations of games.
Agony. So often do I feel in agony by the time a game of Codenames: Duet is over that whenever it is suggested my internals whinge. That’s not to say Codenames: Duet is a bad game it just has the very real possibility to make one suffer with every playthrough. Be it the game’s mechanics, or you and your partner not syncing, or the randomness of the massive deck of cards that deal out frustratingly unrelatable keywords this game will leave you in agony before it lets you go. So why do I completely recommend Codenames: Duet and why is it my most played two-player game this year?
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| What a game of Codenames: Duet looks like setup. Those green tokens indicate the number of rounds you have to discover all fifteen operatives and is variable. |
In Codenames: Duet, two players cooperate to discover the codenames of fifteen clandestine operatives. On their turn, a player will compare a key card (a chart with a grid of twenty-five reference rectangles) to the grid of twenty-five cards, each with one word on them, that have been laid on the table. The key card informs the player which of the cards on the table are operatives, civilians, and assassins. The player’s goal is to get their partner to correctly guess which cards are operatives by giving their partner a one-word clue followed by a number, indicating how many cards that clue applies to. So, for example, the player could say, “Garden, 3”, which indicates that there are three cards with words on them that relate to the clue “Garden”. Correct guesses will see a card(s) covered by an operative card(s) while an incorrect guess will end the turn or, in the case of guessing an assassin, end the game. Players can always pass and return to the clue later. Now here is where it gets really interesting, it is not just one player giving clues to the other but players taking turns giving clues to each other. That key card I mentioned earlier is two-sided and stands vertically between you and your partner, and your partner is looking at the other side which has its own pattern of which cards are operatives, civilians, and assassins. The two grids do share some overlaps; each player will share three operatives, one assassin, seven civilians, but one operative for each player will be an assassin for their partner. Players have a variable number of rounds all fewer than the number of cards you need to guess. Guess correctly and discover all the operatives and you win, don’t and you and your spymaster partner fail.
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| So many words with so few that are easily relatable to each other. |
Codenames: Duet comes with two-hundred double-sided word cards (that’s 400 words for those who can math) that are chosen at random to create the grid of twenty-five cards used during play. With all this randomness it is highly unlikely that you will get a majority of cards that relate to each other even remotely. Here is the puzzle; which words do you try to relate to each other and which do you put off to the end when your options for pairing will be narrowed? As you play the choice space you had at the beginning of the game will start to tighten along with your nerves. Complicating the problem is you and your partner do share three operative keywords and what might have been a relatable pair of words for you may now be gone because one of those words was used by your partner leaving you with a word that may not be relatable to any other word you have. Or, this same scenario may have made it easier on you by removing a difficult word or leaving you with only one operative left and thus letting you craft a clue that is hyper-focused to just that one word. I find skipping a word and hoping that your opponent shares that word and uses it themselves a lovely, if not risky, strategy. It is risky because you cannot guarantee that your opponent shares that word and by waiting you risk a smaller word pool which to draw from yourself when trying to create clues to relate the words you have left.
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| What a game in progress looks like. |
Honestly, analysis paralysis is my only real criticism with Codenames: Duet. The game is intentionally designed to create moments of frustration and that is part of what makes this game fun. Even though my nerves act up a bit when someone suggests playing it, if we need to kill time or I don’t feel like playing anything weighty, it is almost a guarantee that I will say yes to a round or three. When you and your partner sync, when they understand exactly what you meant by “Garden 3” it is a wonderful moment, which makes those instances when you don’t even more agonizing and fun. Beyond the clue word and number you cannot talk during a game of Codenames: Duet and what this simple rule manages to create is magical. After each game, you and your partner will explode into conversation about what they really meant by their clue word or how they thought those words were even relatable or how masterful the clue they gave was. You will then flip all the word cards over to reveal new words, grab a new key card and pour over everything and agonize about your options. Codenames: Duet will never leave my game shelf and I highly recommend that you look at adding it to yours.
