Codenames Online, reviewed

Our take

Codenames is a game about one word doing a lot of work. Twenty-five words sit on a grid. Each team's spymaster can see which belong to their team and gives a clue such as 'Ocean, three'; the team then guesses words that might fit. Guess a word of the other team and they gain; guess the assassin and you lose at once.

The online version from the publisher, Czech Games Edition, keeps the table game intact. You enter a nickname, pick settings, and share the room's address. There is no voice built in, so you play while talking on whatever call you already use, which keeps it feeling like an evening with friends rather than with strangers.

It shines with four to eight people who know each other a little. A game takes ten to fifteen minutes, so 'best of three' is a natural evening.

A first sitting

Agree on the call you will use, let the most talkative person be the first spymaster, and keep clues to one word and a number.

Where to stop

Agree on best of three before you start. The end of a game is a clean stop for everyone at once.