Codenames - GameNight! Se4 Ep6 - How to Play and Playthrough

[@friiq0]

I personally disagree about it being against the rules to use “murder” as a clue for “death” and “row”. It may be against the official rules, but I would never use that rule in my group. I just think it’s better for the gameplay if you can connect 2 words on the board using a phrase that involves both words. If the rules go that far, they limit the lateral thinking of the game in a way that I wouldn’t like. That’s just my opinion 😀👍

[@miguelpereira702]

I had heard about the game years ago, but after watching your first go in this video, I'm now super sold on Codenames. thanks GameNight! you're the best!

[@brandonjohnson9876]

Capital would've been valid for "location" as "capital" refers to the town or place that a state or country's "capitol" is located ("capitol" refers to the building that houses the legislature).

[@bumptiousbuffoon7824]

Capital made more sense for location too. It's more specific, along with forest, than state. Sometimes you just have to be on the same wavelength for the clue to work.

[@LvlUpLucas]

At 40:05 he broke the rule that he himself stated earlier which was you can’t give any prefaces to your clues when he said “oh that’s terrible! Elephant unlimited.”

[@CharlestonAES]

Watching this in 2020 and having played a lot of online games in quarantine, I really prefer this game digitally. Having the color overlay on your screen really helps and has renewed my interest in this game.

[@fingersmaster]

A pleasure to watch you play, as always. But for this one, I wish you had invited more players. I hope you are all well!

[@rads9742]

Only Dave would take 13 minutes to explain codenames 😊

[@friiq0]

You absolutely have to think about your teammates when you play this game! I am a teacher, and I played with my high school students one time. I was trying to get them to pick “oil” and “glue”. I gave the clue “viscous, 2”. They looked at me dumbfounded not knowing what the word “viscous” meant at all. The next turn, I had to give the clue “goopy, 2” 😄

[@BenRangel]

19:40 "Death, 2" - wow, to me it could be any of these: Wake, Life, Ninja, Doctor, Pistol, heck even Ivory. "Poacher, 2" - I would've guessed Horn was an obvious one. As in a rhino horn. Yet it turned out to be Pistol. I would think "a poacher would use a rifle, not a pistol"

[@akmalfikri]

Just watched this today and I LOVE Nikki's hair!

[@Corzicant]

Wow, I thought Bottle was Rusty's word for sure. When I think brawl, I think of a barroom fight where people are smashing bottles over each others' heads. Never would have guessed Row...

[@ShuffleUpandDeal32]

Capital could be a location, like capital city, state capital, not just Capitol.

[@thethirdcrouch]

prison for row doesn't seem illegal but a clever clue

[@sweetisrobottt]

Wow I had seen this game before but didn't consider it until seeing you guys play. I'm sold!

[@3Bcrown]

another great episode everyone. my brain melts trying to give clues in this game and i feel the pressure of everyone waiting.

[@TerrickTerran]

Was trying to guess from the clues you gave. Fun even if the second game was harder due to the words being upside down.

[@thingamarob]

I've played this game a ton and find it impossible not to read the larger, upside-down print when it's oriented against me. I wish they'd print it the same size and font at each orientation.

[@CharleneVanAs]

I also tried to guess.

[@dregen77]

Totally agree!!!

[@adriang6259]

Great. I get this now. Thanks guys.

[@repthrd]

That was the longest and most comprehensive Codenames explanation ever. :) I understand why, but when we play most of that comes out organically. There was some interesting talk about why the rules exist. I guess that would be up to the group too as like in Hanabi some of those things are conventions the group kind of comes up with. Like what unlimited means to you. Definitely like this with at least 6 - as its great to talk it out with people and of course trolling the other side is great fun.

[@cthulwho8197]

Yup, soon as he said flute I picked "Wind" and "Tube" too.

[@cthulwho8197]

And I would have picked "Bottle" for Dave's clue of "Brawl" as in a bar room brawl. 😄

[@KabukiKid]

I was so sure "pit" was the other brawl word. heh.

[@nellgwenn]

Cthulwho? Should have said Ian Anderson or Aqualung. They would have got it for sure. A flute is not a woodwind instrument. It has no reed. An oboe or a saxophone is a reed.

[@islanddave]

@@nellgwenn Flutes are woodwinds. There are two types of woodwinds: Reed instruments, and flute styles. Both are woodwinds.

[@theorganiseddinosaur7748]

Dave saying the Death Row scenario being illegal seems wrong to be. I often clue something that leads to one word and then that word helps you get the second. for example if you want to link "game" and "night", I might say "chess" which is a game. And then guessing game, makes you think of night (because GameNight). To me that is clever play. Furthermore, I don't recall.the rules not allowing it...?!?!

[@KabukiKid]

I agree with you. I think he was interpreting the rule about homonyms to apply to other things, which isn't what the rules intend. Regardless, I have yet to play with a group that interprets it the way Dave did, and I have played this one close to 200 times now.

[@TommonSensePro]

The rules even say this game is a bit of a stretch. So you're right.

[@DateTwoRelate]

Theory videos are fine but PRACTICE gets me connected to the game concepts. This video combines BOTH. #hooray

[@VultureCulture]

The amount Lincoln laughed during this was magnificent.

[@TheNerdShelves]

We love this game, especially the creative aspect and live being able to discuss how brilliant our clues were after the game. That's why we never play with the rule of not being able to link words, as in "death row." If we're lucky enough to be able to do that, it just makes us feel "brilliant." 😆

[@MeatBombMMB]

When the clue was "horse", I had to double take on "cook". Dyslexia sure can make things interesting sometimes.

[@shepherdsgamingrun]

I smell a Codenames Against Humanity spin-off... it'll probably stink.

[@carlthehero]

I love Rusty but I wish Aaron was here to partner with Dave. I always love their bantering. :)

[@Sidnv]

This game is even better with more people. When I usually play it, it's four to five people a team and that makes it a much more interactive, social game. I actually don't like it too much with just 2 people in a team.

[@SkiptheRulebookShow]

Heard some great things about this game. Nice to see it played through. Its now on the wish list :)

[@cindymckinnon5472]

I enjoyed this game immensely! Played with my son and 2 grandchildren. We laughed so hard!!

[@TheCagedRaven]

I love this game. I bought it after watching this video, before the pandemic, but haven't played it yet. I can't wait to have a game night and play it with friends.

[@faxhandle9715]

It's probably more fun to play than watch, but it still looks interesting. You guys are awesome. Nikki is still boss!

[@farchamb]

This game is better with the image! We use image since more that a year, so great!

[@BenRangel]

I think the tempo of Codenames is somewhat hurt by the clue-giver having to look back and forth between the secret and the cards. Would be so much faster if the clue-giver had a piece of paper with a list of their team word, neutral words, the opposite team's words and assassin. Secondary benefits: a) no risk of unintentional cheating when everyone sees the direction the clue-giver is staring at while giving a clue. b) after the game you could show the guessers the paper and let them see what you were working with

[@ThanatoselNyx]

My brother in law does this with a notepad. No reason you can't do the same.

[@steelbeard151]

I disagree with Dave. Sacramento 2 is a fine clue for state and capital. Sacramento is the capital of a state, and as such it's a clue for state even if capital weren't visible. As long as the clue relates to the meaning of the words and not their spelling or rhymes or something like that, it's fine.

[@HomestarRunner20X6]

A small list of games I bought because of Game Night on BoardGameGeek: One Night Ultimate Werewolf Favelas Sagrada Azul Codenames

[@lulubelle1963new]

Hello Game Night Team! Don't know if you read these comments or not, but if you do, and if you are open to game suggestions, I would enjoy seeing you play Jamaica and Mombasa. Enjoy your show! How did you all meet? You seem like a fun group....wish I had friends who lived close who like to play games.

[@Greatermaxim]

I like the game and do well at it. My best was someone guessing correct on my word and '4' related to it.

[@david10101961]

One small trick that the developers missed: the blue and red cards could have been numbered 1-8 and stacked/played in order from 8 down to 1, making it easier to see at a glance how many each player has remaining.

[@cwej82]

Pretty sure the rules say you CAN use rhymes but I guess house rules can apply on this anyway.

[@KabukiKid]

This was definitely one of my favorite videos, so far... because we, as the viewers, were able to play along! :-D Loved it!

[@paramnesic]

Thanks for the video. I had no clue what the game was like, thought it was more like Love Letter. Very wrong! Will definitely have to grab this for family occasions.

[@romedome9060]

Skip to 13:30 if you know the rules already.

[@MRdaBakkle]

I finally got to play my copy yesterday. We had 6 players, so two agents on each team. I was a spymaster first round and it just so happened that the cards were really hard to connect. My team eventually won due to the other spymaster giving car as a clue, they guessed glove thinking glove boxes are in cars. Glove was the assassin though. The next game we played a spymaster used whoosh as a clue pertaining to jet and car.

[@Hisplaypanic]

Love watching you guys play.

[@thegrimdestiny]

36:53 - Dave's awesome! This game's awesome too! Love this group :D

[@ellen12001]

Actually a lot of too much table talk your not really supposed to say correct or not as Lincoln and Dave did a few times. Cause your not supposed to be sure if you are done with the clue or not

[@KabukiKid]

This is true. People can stumble on a word that belongs to their team for the wrong reasons and the clue-giver isn't supposed to reveal if that is the case.

[@trdi]

Waaay too much talking, also too much visual clues, encouraging etc.

[@KabukiKid]

trdi Yeah... but you have to give them slack in this case, because it is also for purposes of doing a video that is also instructional to the viewers.

[@beemex01]

Also, it is supposed to be fun 😉

[@tonyduran5845]

I looked at this as a training game, so it's more relaxed. After one or two learning games I can see it getting serious after that.

[@KabukiKid]

Capital also could have worked for the "location" clue, because it could be the capital of a state or something. The two Nikki picked were the best choices, though... if it was State and Capital that Lincoln had to clue for, he could have said something like, "Oklahoma City" as the clue to help veer towards those two. Dave's interpretation of the rules with how that works with cluing for two different things is wrong... as least as far as I have ever played it. I think he is mixing it up with the rule about homonyms.

[@duckofdeathv1595]

The capitol of a state is spelled differently than capital.

[@KabukiKid]

DuckOfDeathV Nay... you are thinking of a capitol building. The capital of a state is spelled the same as monetary capital or a capital letter.

[@duckofdeathv1595]

Oh, apparently you are correct. That is an odd distinction.

[@KabukiKid]

DuckOfDeathV Yeah... we need a new language.... ours is too weird. lol :-)

[@fitz33]

Yeah. If Dave was right that you can say "jail" for "death + row," the saying "pen" for "ball + point, which is a great clue, would be illegal. That makes no sense at all...

[@camkind4377]

This is one of my favorite games. Why isnt rusty putting out his own color tiles? Also i like, if im the not-clue giver i like talking as much as possible, "well it could be this, or this, or this, or this". The clue taker is allowed to communicate where the cluegivers are not so its really the only way to tell them whats in your brain

[@ShuffleUpandDeal32]

Personally don't think bottle should have worked for pickled, maybe if it was jar instead.

[@iloveyouamberappel]

The picture one is better. Less worries about false clues.

[@markcooke776]

heh, I might have guessed torch for security, cos guards carry them (maybe known more as Flashlights in the US maybe?)

[@TheEricBooth]

Love love this game.

[@homelessjoe]

Brilliant design.

[@ChristianChua]

Interesting game and good review, but my friends like to play games which do not wait for their turn, do you have a game to recommend?

[@boardgamegeek]

Christian, simultaneous play. One that we played recently on the show that keeps everyone engaged is Bad Company. Check that one out!-Lincoln

[@ensigndj]

Love this game. Great video. Would Nikki's clue of "Pen" be illegal for "Ball" and "Point", similar to your discussion of "Prison" for "Death" and "Row"?

[@jirdir9025]

ball point pen...its literally the name of a pen

[@TapCat]

After Nikki said "Animals 3" as her first clue, Lincoln selects 3 animals and Dave states that there are no other cards that happen to be animals. Not so fast! Kid was on the board and that is what you call a young goat. Not that any rules were violated or anything, but I thought it interesting that everyone at the table apparently missed that.

[@davidarnott6085]

True. Also, OMG, in my explanation at 8:02, my example: "If, say, there were 3 animals on the board.." :)

[@Devz0r]

And "Pit" could be short for "Pitbull"

[@MikeElmore]

wow this is the first explanation of this game that has made it sound incredibly boring... for such a fun exciting game!

[@Kento300]

maybe I missed it, but how do you know what words you are trying to describe in a word?

[@MattzuFF]

We played multiple games before I shuffled those cards! Having the same thought, are there even blue cards! lol! This game is very different with four as opposed to six players but fun either way. Vladda is genius.

[@gaaraxebeard]

I totally would have picked wind and tube for flute

[@jambomambo3808]

Could you say "government" for State and Capital?

[@lulubelle1963new]

Perhaps I missed it, but what is the purpose of the Double Agent card? Thanks.

[@stevetennispro]

The team that goes first has one extra word/agent to find. The double agent, which can be red or blue, serves that purpose.

[@derwoodbowen5954]

murderers row was the nickname of the old Yankees baseball team because of the tough hitters you had to face all in a row

[@Uuugggg]

10:09 I'd say "unlimited" is more used to get multiple words that were missed from previous rounds. Again, probably as the last turn, but not just random guesses.

[@nellgwenn]

Guys, if you want someone to guess the 1927 Yankees you say Murderer's Row. That's what the phrase means.

[@twistedlimitsjj1901]

Prison is a row of cells a cell block is just a row I would fight for it

[@BenRangel]

I think one must explain to new players that there's not much benefit to taking a risky guess on your first turn. So taking a guess on "dental" after it was said to be a dangerous clue was a bad move. The only benefit from guessing all your words correctly is that you get an extra guess - which is useless on turn 1.

[@RoderickEtheria]

Was Nikki's pen for Ball and Point an illegal clue? It may be she said it because she intended LIncoln to think of a Ballpoint pen.

[@10175978]

I would say its good, refers to both seperately.

[@embers2ashes]

I would say it's illegal as "pen" and "point" aren't really related. "Pen" and "ball" are only loosely related. She should've gone with "pin" for pinball and pinpoint

[@LessonIsNeverTry]

You guys are no fun, I thought that was an awesome clue!

[@bumptiousbuffoon7824]

+embers2ashes "penpoint" is a word and "ball pen" is another way of saying ballpoint pen.

[@clueyluey1295]

that wind tube turn non guess makes me feel like it was rigged. theres no way he allows red team to possibly win on that last turn and doesnt take a stab at the extra guess. either a great display of restraint or cheating. as he said the horn being covered up helped clear it up even though he said he thought it could have already been guessed by ivory (which ended up being the case). board set up was done off camera for time purposes im sure but still i can see how rigging cards and knowledge of the assassin card would be beneficial so as not to ruin the video by stopping game/experience early. nonetheless great video as always dont mistake my suspicion as displeasure im just blown away by your restraint! ty!

[@omerhertz]

I wish they'd make a language independent version of this... Oh wait, they are making one! Yay!

[@ykl1277]

In an actual game, 1st clue given was transmogrification - 2. Magic, Change and Switch are on the board. 2 of them were on-colour, the other is the assassin. Guess what happened.

[@theorganiseddinosaur7748]

I enjoyed this game a lot when I first played it. Bought it straight away. Have played with a large number of different people and regardless of the group the AP is unbearable... to the point that I just can't play it anymore. I do plan to try again with the timer used at all times. To clue and guess. Timer is 2 or 3 mins, so still lots of time.

[@gejyspa]

For poacher I thought he was going for IVORY and COOK, since someone who poaches eggs is also a poacher/cook

[@janek49]

I thought for sure it was FOREST.

[@Spanner1971B]

Murder Row is a phrase. And Murder/Death is fine. But Prison doesn't work, I don't think.

[@farchamb]

No, Prison is a legal hint!

[@farchamb]

Is legal to use the imagination and hope! ;-)

[@BillGrant3]

there are rows in a prison, I think it works regardless

[@nellgwenn]

Spanner1971B Murderer's Row is referring to the 1927 Yankees. Murder Row means nothing to someone who knows what Murderer's Row means.

[@advikrao7743]

So good

[@gordonplayer]

this game is even better on bilingual people, for the word have even other relations.

[@statters]

It might be my Australian interpretation. The clue was Zeus and my immediate reaction was to choose Lincoln's shirt :) Yes I know they are spelled differently.

[@wondertoy16]

Great as always guys, but Dave gave bad info in his demonstration clues. Ring should never be a good clue for Jupiter; Saturn would work, but Jupiter doesn't.

[@wondertoy16]

+BoardGameGeekTV Thanks for that Lincoln. I've learnt something new, never knew that Jupiter had rings!

[@MajinWamu]

It sure does. I could see them with my telescope at home. Very thin though.

[@davidarnott6085]

Nah, he's right. I was totally thinking Saturn.

[@ThanatoselNyx]

Jupiter has rings and Saturn isn't on the table.

[@SheezyBites]

I hate the zero rule, it so often gets abused to ensure the assassin never gets picked, which removes most of the fun. Also I don't understand Pickled Bottle? The obvious second guess would be Date surely? You can't pickle glass...

[@dr3putt62]

Advanced Password, eh?

[@sandrarodriguez7257]

Codenames 3 players

[@ericfitch9181]

Huh?

[@vida3814]

The first video watching frpm your channel and I'm out! He's explaining stuff too much too long! Are you playing or still explaining the rules? 15:0

[@jimmaccormaic6689]

As usual, Dave talks far too much.

[@samplautz5586]

You guys talk too much. Talking is fine, but we are here to see the game, and it can get boring sometimes