So after doing a few Codename games on the forum, I decided to pick it up for Thanksgiving. It proved to be a hit. After three games, I was ready to put it up, but people kept sitting at the head of the table to be spymasters. I think we played it a total of six times before Cards Against Humanity came out (which is always the last game of the night which is why I brought this out first).
So my teenaged nephews could use some practice in creative thinking. When they were spymasters, they usually only gave clues for one word. For some it worked well, such as when one nephew said Garden: 1 for OLIVE. But he also said Movie: 1 for HOLE. In his mind, it was obvious that there was a movie named Holes, and the clue of movie should have tipped us off. Lesson learned for him. Another nephew learned that it's also important to see what the other words were. He gave us the ambitious Transportation: 3 and then realized his error as we sat there figuring out which of HORSE, VAN, SUB, PLANE, and TRAIN he meant. Two of those words, as it turned out, belonged to the other team. Fortunately we only guessed one of those. His Science: 4 was much better in that it only included one word from the other team, and we were fortunate enough to miss that; the game also teaches the value of passing until you gain more information.
So great game. I knew that already thanks to the forums, but it was just as fun having a physical copy. I see this being a fun party game, though my wife initially questioned my decision to have a game that required such deep thought. Just because I enjoy demanding board games doesn't mean the others do.
