Continue if you are looking for games like Codenames and are curious about what similar games to play next. Codenames has hit the scene as one of the best and most loved party board games of all time. Two teams go head to head in who can pull their spy operatives out of the field first.
Using a secret decoder, a team representative gives one-word clues to their team to pick from cards in a big grid. It is a deduction game of communication with elements of memory and pushing your luck. Now that you have played, you are ready to find something similar. Here is the list of 5 games like codenames.
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#05 | Other Themed Codenames Games
This one is obvious but just cannot be ignored. We would normally try to do completely different games for the list of games like codenames, but you should know about the varieties. There are multiple versions of the Codenames that use the same mechanic but have a different theme and backdrop. Any of these are a fantastic choice if it is a topic you and your group are into. There is: DISNEY based on the magical world, MARVEL based on the comic book universe, HARRY POTTER based on the magical book series, DUET for smaller groups to work as one team, PICTURES using picture clues instead of the original words, XXL a physically larger version and DEEP UNDERCOVER a more adult version of the original.
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#04 | Witness
In Witness, you are one of four (has to be four) characters and your goal is to solve mysteries or crimes by sharing information with one another. the backdrop is a 1940s comic book and you have 64 cases to solve. Players randomly decide who shares information first and in which direction, e.g., player A might whisper information to player B while player C talks to player D.
This is a fun adventure of mystery-solving so not quite the competitive back and forth of codenames, but if what you want is that what clue to give communication journey fun, this one is for you. This is an out of print game on the list of games like codenames but if you can find it, do not pass it up.
FOR MORE: Buy Witness on Amazon
#03 | Decrypto
Players compete in two teams in Decrypto, with each trying to correctly interpret the coded messages presented to them by their teammates while cracking the codes they intercept from the opposing team. It is very much the same core mechanic of Codenames. Where this differs is that one has their own board where you put clues into different numbers. So this still has that clue decoding, but it also adds some additional puzzle elements.
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#02 | Hanabi
Hanabi—named for the Japanese word for “fireworks”— makes the list of games like Codenames because it is a great cooperative game in which players try to create the perfect fireworks show by placing the cards on the table in the right order. The hook is everyone can see your cards except you and clues need to be given to make sure the right card is placed. This is a communication puzzle game very much in the vein of Codenames.
FOR MORE: Hanabi Page | Games Like Hanabi | Buy Hanabi on Amazon
#01 | Mysterium
Mysterium takes the top spot on the list of board games like Codenames because it is basically Codenames meets Clue. One player takes the role of ghost while everyone else represents a medium. To solve the crime, the ghost must first recall all of the suspects present on the night of the murder.
A number of suspect, location and murder weapon cards are placed on the table, and the ghost randomly assigns one of each of these in secret to a medium. As time goes on new clues are revealed and the mediums need to guess the elements of the crime. It has the communication, the clue deduction and so much more.
