A month ago, we announced Codenames is coming to Steam in the future. But if you are impatient, we have good news for you. The Steam version of Codenames will be based on our latest mobile adaptation which is already available worldwide. Are you ready to step into a new era of the Codenames experience? Read on, and you’ll find answers to your burning questions below.
Wait, what is Codenames?
It’s entirely possible you might not be familiar with the original Codenames board game. No worries! Codenames is our award-winning word association party game from designer Vlaada Chvátil. It has sold over 15 million copies and has been translated in over 45 different languages.
In Codenames, two teams (4-8 players) compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. They lay out 25 cards, each bearing a single word. Each team has a spymaster who holds the master grid key and knows the secret identity of each card. Each turn their mission is to give clues consisting of a single word and a number suggesting how many cards are associated with that word.
The rest of their team must work together to follow the clues to identify one agent they think is on their team. If they’re correct, they can keep guessing up to the stated number of times. If the agent belongs to the opposing team or is an innocent bystander, the team’s turn ends. If they uncover the assassin card, they lose the game.
Ok, cool. So what’s the digital adaptation of Codenames?
Preparing for Steam, available for iOS and Android, the digital adaptation of Codenames is a completely new standalone Codenames experience. It’s based on the same word association principles of the original, but with a lot of fresh additions. The app offers some slightly changed rulesets and features that are tailored to asynchronous gameplay, as well as other exclusive unlockable content like new game modes, unlockable avatars, trophies, word packs, and more. The game is designed to be played when you have five minutes of free time to kill, when your friends are not available, or when you want to play but are alone.
For more specifics, you can find a lot of detailed info in our announcement video below:
Isn’t there also Codenames Online? If I can play that for free, why should I pay for the other version of Codenames?
That’s a good question. Codenames Online is a free web-based platform that essentially plays the same as a regular game of Codenames — there aren’t any rule changes. It’s basically a virtual table that lets you gather online to play Codenames. No rules are enforced, and it’s up to you how you play. The main difference from the physical game is that you’re playing online with your friends, using third-party chat services like Zoom or Discord to talk things out as you play.
As we mentioned earlier, the digital version is a very different kind of Codenames experience that you can play on your own time, asynchronously, with lots of other players (and even your friends) from around the world. You can have multiple game sessions going at a time (we encourage this), since players aren’t necessarily taking their turns in real-time. There are lots of unlockable game modes and collectibles that you earn over time. If you’re looking for a way to enjoy Codenames while you’re on the go, or when you don’t have access to enough local players (or friends available to play Codenames Online), the app is a great fit.
You can learn more about the specific differences between Codenames Online, the Codenames App, and the original tabletop version in this article here on Steam.
Why is it a paid game? There are plenty of free to play games in the stores.
We wanted to find the most user-friendly model for monetizing the game. We decided to ask you for a one-time payment because we believe it’s fair. That decision allows us to give you a game without any advertisements or subscriptions. You simply pay once and unlock cool content as you go. Quite a lot of games out there are “free to play,” but they force you (sooner or later) to buy some premium currency, cool gadgets etc. This often gives a gameplay advantage to players who’ve paid. We don’t like this approach, as we don’t believe it’s fair. Nobody should receive any in-game advantage just because they paid for it.
That’s why the digital version of Codenames is a premium mobile app and it will be a premium Steam game. You only pay for it once, then you gradually unlock a ton of additional modes, skins, features, word packs, and more as you play it over time.
Is Codenames: Duet Included in the app?
No, not at the moment. But there are still plenty of different ways to play. For example, we’ve designed a new Team vs. Assassin game mode in which 2 players are playing together against the assassin who covers one random word each turn. Can you beat the assassin before they contacts all their agents?
Are there any rule differences?
Yes, there are! But don’t worry, the game will tell you about them when it’s needed. Maybe, let’s mention one interesting one. We prepared an automatic control of clues. It should work similarly to the way it works in the board game in general. But we decided to allow some clever or funny clues, even if they don’t connect words based on their meaning. For instance – a clue “rhyme 2” for cream and dream is allowed. In general, we decided to go with an approach of: if the game allows it, it’s a valid clue.
What languages can I play in?
English, Czech, and German are the languages currently available at the moment. French should be coming by Q1/2025. More languages will appear later next year, too. They will be available for free in updates. There’s no extra charge for them. And you can play in all of them. You will have separate careers and statistics in each language.
Surprisingly, we believe you’ll find there’s room for both in your collection. The digital Codenames delivers a whole new experience, designed for playing when traveling, chilling in a bed, or anywhere else when you have at least five minutes. You can play alone as well, or with up to four players with local pass and play. However, the Codenames board game is still the best option when you and a bunch of your friends want to have fun together at the table after a busy day.