Is Codenames good for kids? Age and difficulty

Two teams race to find their secret agents among 25 word cards. One spymaster per team gives a one-word clue and a number, and teammates guess. Pick the assassin word and you lose at once, so you need good word links.

What age is Codenames for?

Box says 10+

We suggest 9+ with an adult helping, 10+ on their own.

All 25 cards are words, so everyone must read and think of word links, and the spymaster also has to follow the rules on valid clues. A child who reads well can guess as an operative at 9 with an adult nearby, while giving clues is harder, so 10 is when they can play on their own.

Hard to learn
4 to 8 players
15 minutes
About 5 minutes to set up (our estimate)
Played in teams

No direct conflict between players. Content: Spy theme. One hidden assassin card ends the game for the team that picks it, but there is nothing violent shown beyond that. The words are on the cards and the rulebook does not list them, so check the words for your family.

Rated from the rulebook, checked 2026-10-09

How we rate games

Rules as of the Czech Games Edition English rulebook.

Also good for 9 and 10 year olds.

How do you set up Codenames?

Checked against the Codenames English rulebook from Czech Games Edition (copyright 2015 to 2025). Page numbers are the PDF pages of the English rulebook. It has no printed numbers, and page 1 is the cover, so the rules start on page 2.

Players

Split into 2 teams, red and blue, of roughly the same size. Each team needs at least two players (page 2).
Each team picks 1 spymaster. Everyone else is an operative. The red and blue spymasters sit on the same side of the table, opposite their own operatives (page 2).
Mix the word cards, pick 25 at random and lay them out in a 5 by 5 grid (page 2).
The spymasters pick a key card at random and slide it into the stand between them. Either side can face up. Only spymasters may see it (pages 2 and 3).
Put the 8 red tiles in front of the red spymaster and the 8 blue tiles in front of the blue spymaster. Put the 7 bystander tiles and the assassin tile in between (page 2).
The four triangles on the edge of the key card show which team starts. That team has one more word to guess, so give it the double agent tile and flip it to that team's color (page 2).

Codenames in five steps

This is a walkthrough of one turn for the red team, not a game, so nothing is dealt or shuffled. Scroll down and tap things to try them. The board follows along. The 25 words, the key card layout and the example clues here are our own made-up set. The real cards and key cards are different. The rules are the real Codenames rules. Page numbers are the PDF pages of the English rulebook. It has no printed numbers, and page 1 is the cover, so the rules run from page 2 to page 8.

Step 1 of 5: Set the table and meet the key

1

Set the table and meet the key

Players split into 2 teams of roughly the same size, at least two on each team. Each team picks 1 spymaster and the rest are operatives (page 2). Mix the word cards, pick 25 at random and lay them out in a 5 by 5 grid (page 2). The spymasters pick a key card at random and slide it into the stand between them. Only spymasters see the key (pages 2 and 3).

The tiles are 8 red, 8 blue, 7 bystanders and 1 assassin. The four triangles on the key's edge show which team starts, and that team takes the double agent tile, so the starting team has 9 words and the other team has 8 (page 2). On our table, red starts and you are on the red team. Switch seats, then tap a word in the spymaster view.

The 25 words and this key card layout are our own made-up set. The real word cards and key cards are different, and the rulebook doesn't list the real words.

The rulebook never says the key shows 9, 8, 7 and 1 words. It says the key shows the secret identities of the 25 words (page 3). The tiles in the box add up to the same 25, so we read the key that way. Which square is which is our own layout.

2

Give a clue

You are the red spymaster, so you can see the key. Look for a clue for 1 or more of your team's words. More is better (page 4). Your clue must be 1 word and 1 number. The word relates to the words you want to point at, and the number says how many words it relates to (page 4). Tap a clue to try it.

The helper checks three simple rules: one word, a number of 1 or more, and no form of a word on the table. Whether a clue is really about the words is for the table to decide (page 6).

The rulebook says that if you aren't sure a clue is valid, you ask the opposing spymaster quietly, and if they allow it, it is valid (page 6). So a real table can allow some clues we refuse here. Our answers are the strict reading.

What a clue relates to is the spymaster's call. That farm: 4 points at Cow, Pig, Hen and Barn is our own example. The rulebook's expert clues, zero and unlimited, are on page 7 and we don't use them.

If a spymaster gives an invalid clue by accident, their turn ends with no guesses, and the other spymaster may cover one of their own words (page 7, the Expert Rules page). The rulebook doesn't say whether this is only for expert play, so we show it as a note and do not play it out.

3

Guess a word

Now you are a red operative, so the key is hidden. The spymaster said farm: 4 (our example clue). The operatives take a moment to discuss it, and a lone operative may think out loud. Then one operative must guess by touching a word. The spymaster covers it with a tile in the color shown on the key (page 4). Tap any word.

Each tap here is judged on its own, so a new tap moves the tile to the new word. In a real game a right guess stays covered.

Spymasters keep a straight face and don't reach for a tile until a word is touched. Operatives don't look for the spymaster's reaction (page 8).

4

Stop, or use the plus one

You are still a red operative. This clue is new and on its own: farm: 2 (our example). If your turn doesn't end with a wrong guess, you can end it yourself, but you must make at least 1 guess (page 5). The plus one rule lets you guess one more card than the number, to catch a word you missed from an earlier clue. You don't need it on your first turn (page 5). A wrong guess always ends your turn, and then it is the other team's turn (page 5). Set how many right guesses you have made, then tap Stop here or Guess again.

Operatives can also guess words from an earlier clue, even with their first guess of the turn (page 8).

5

How a game ends

Late in a game, red has 1 word left to find (Rain) and blue has 1 word left (Fish). It is red's turn to guess. The first team with no words left to guess wins, and a team also wins if the other team guesses the assassin (page 5). Tap a guess to see what happens.

At the end of a real game, flip the 25 cards over and you are set up to play again (page 8).

House rule With younger kids, let a grown-up be the spymaster for a team of kids, so the kids only have to guess. The rulebook has no beginner variant.

That is a whole turn pair. Setup, teaching tips, a refresher and a pocket card are below.

How do you teach Codenames to kids?

The box says 10 and up. We suggest 9 and up with an adult helping, and 10 and up on their own. Every card is a word, so players need to read. The rulebook does not list the words, so look through the word cards before you play with younger kids.

Say this

We are two teams of spies. One person on each team, the spymaster, knows which words on the table are theirs. The rest of us have to find them.
On your turn, the spymaster gives one clue: one word and one number. The number says how many words the clue connects.
The team talks it over, then touches a word. The spymaster covers it with the color from the key card.
If it is your color, you can guess again. If it is a bystander, or the other team's word, your turn is over.
There is one assassin word. If your team touches it, you lose right away.
You can stop guessing whenever you like, but you must guess at least once. The first team to find all its words wins.

The rulebook says the group can agree to allow some clues that the traditional rules do not (page 6), so those are official variants. It has no rules for 2 or 3 players and no beginner variant, so the rest below are house rules.

First-game simplifications

Official variant Agree to allow soundalike clues, common abbreviations, and all names and titles as clues. One-word names are always allowed. The rulebook says your group can agree to play this way (page 6).
House rule Let a grown-up be the spymaster for a team of kids, so the kids only have to guess. The other spymaster can be another grown-up or an older kid.
House rule Before the first game, take out any word cards your kids will not know, and lay out 25 from the rest.

Watch-outs for kids ages 9 to 10

A clue is exactly one word and one number. It has to be about what the words mean, not about their letters or where they sit on the table (pages 4 and 6).
You can not say a word that is visible on the table, or any part of a compound word that is on the table (page 6).
A bystander ends your turn. The other team's word ends your turn and helps them. The assassin ends the whole game with a loss (page 5).
You must make at least one guess, and you may stop any time after that (page 5).
You can guess one more card than the number in the clue. Use it for a word you missed from an earlier clue (page 5).
Spymasters keep a straight face and give no hints, and operatives do not watch the spymaster for reactions (page 8).

Back for another game?

Setup: 25 random words in a 5 by 5 grid, a key card in the stand between the spymasters. 8 red and 8 blue tiles, 7 bystanders and the assassin. The starting team takes the double agent tile and has 9 words (page 2).
Spymaster: give one clue, one word and one number. The number says how many words it connects (page 4).
Operatives: discuss, then touch one word. The spymaster covers it with the matching color from the key (page 4).
Right color: guess again. Bystander or the other team's word: your turn ends. Assassin: you lose at once (pages 4 and 5).
You can stop any time after at least one guess. The plus one rule lets you guess one more card than the number (page 5).
Invalid clues: no letters or positions, no form of a word on the table, no part of a table compound word, no melodies or accents, English only (page 6).
Winning: your team wins when it has no words left to guess, even if the other team guesses your last word. You also win if the other team guesses the assassin (page 5).

Every turn, five things

The rulebook gives the turn in order (pages 4 and 5).

Give one clueThe spymaster says 1 word and 1 number.
GuessThe operatives discuss, then touch a word. The spymaster covers it with the color from the key.
Keep going on your colorA word in your own color means you may guess again.
Stop or use plus oneStop after at least 1 guess, or guess one more card than the number.
Other team's turnA wrong guess, or stopping, hands over the turn.

Your pocket card

For the table. The front is your turn, the back is how it ends.

Codenames, the short version

Find all your words

Spymaster: one word and one number.
Operatives: touch a word. Your color means guess again.
Wrong guess: bystander or the other team's word ends your turn.
Assassin: your team loses at once.

Guess at least once. You may guess one more than the number.

How you win

Find all your words	your team wins
Other team finds your last word	you win
Other team touches the assassin	you win

The grid

Words	25
Starting team	9
Other team	8
Bystanders	7
Assassin	1