Codewords: How to play
Rules for playing this web based multiplayer partygame.
About the game
If you ever played Codenames, the boardgame by Vlaada Chvátil, you should be ready to play Codewords: It’s my take on a web version for this awesome game, with some slightly different rules (the ones we played as house rules).
If you don’t know this game, you should go find more about it. But these rules might help you play while your copy arrives.
Ideal setup
Although it’s possible to play this game with people far away from each other, Codewords was planned to be played by everyone together, in a room, as a normal boardgame would be.
I recommend connecting a big screen TV to a computer with internet access, so everyone can see and read everything. The TV will be the board for this game. Also, two players will be using their mobile phones containing their hidden information.
Number of players
This is a game for 4+ players, divided into two teams: The red team and the blue team. Each team will have a player that will be the codemaster for it. The remaining players in each team will be its codebreakers.
Objective of the game
Each team must find all their secret words using the clues given by their codemasters, before their opponents and avoid finding the bomb card.
If a team finds a bomb card, they lose immediately.
Playing the game
Whoever starts a new game will be playing as a codebreaker. As soon as the game starts, a screen will show the information needed for the codemasters to join that game. They can scan the QRCode on the screen, using their mobile phones (Android and iOS phones have built-in QRCode readers in their camera app, just point the camera to the code) or they can go to https://codewords.ludoratory.com/join and enter the room code.
The screen will have a colored border indicating who will be the first team to play. The starting team will have an extra word to find, to compensate the fact that they are playing first.
Codemaster’s turn
The game starts with the codemaster for that team. The codemaster has access to a colored map indicating the allegiance of each word. Each codemaster must give clues about the words that share the same color of their team. The words in beige are neutral, while the one word in black is the bomb: Stay away from it.
The codemaster must give their codebreakers a single-word clue that matches one or more cards of their team, followed by a number, indicating how many cards should be found with that clue.
Example: The red codemaster, after looking at their map, decides to use the clue “joke” hoping that their codebreakers will find the cards with the words “conversation” and “clown”. After typing the word joke, the codemaster chooses “2” as the number of cards to be found.
Tip to the codemasters: Be aware of the words from the other team, as well as the bomb (black) word. A clue you give may lead your codebreakers to find a card from the other team, or — worse — to lose the game by accidentally choosing the bomb.
Codebreaker’s turn
As soon as the codemaster sends their clue, it’s time for the codebreakers to decipher it. The code will appear, and they must choose the exact number of cards that the codemaster indicated. After the selection is made, they must send their selection to discover whether or not they made the right choices. It’s now time for the other team’s codemaster to send their code.
The game will proceed with these steps until someone finds all their cards, or a team finds the bomb card.
Rules for creating clues
- The clue must be about the meaning of the words.
- The codemaster can’t use any form of a word that is still visible on the board.
- The codemaster can’t use a part of a compound word that is still visible on the board.
That’s it
Play this game at: https://codewords.ludoratory.com
