A month ago, we announced Codenames is coming to Steam in the future. But if you are impatient, we have good news for you. The Steam version of Codenames [codenamesapp.com] will be based on our latest mobile adaptation which is already available worldwide. Are you ready to step into a new era of the Codenames experience? Read on, and you’ll find answers to your burning questions below.

Wait, what is Codenames?
It’s entirely possible you might not be familiar with the original Codenames board game[boardgamegeek.com]. No worries! Codenames is our award-winning word association party game from designer Vlaada Chvátil. It has sold over 15 million copies and has been translated in over 45 different languages.

In Codenames, two teams (4-8 players) compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. They lay out 25 cards, each bearing a single word. Each team has a spymaster who holds the master grid key and knows the secret identity of each card. Each turn their mission is to give clues consisting of a single word and a number suggesting how many cards are associated with that word.
The rest of their team must work together to follow the clues to identify one agent they think is on their team. If they’re correct, they can keep guessing up to the stated number of times. If the agent belongs to the opposing team or is an innocent bystander, the team’s turn ends. If they uncover the assassin card, they lose the game.

Ok, cool. So what’s the digital adaptation of Codenames?
Preparing for Steam, available for iOS and Android, the digital adaptation of Codenames [codenamesapp.com]is a completely new standalone Codenames experience. It’s based on the same word association principles of the original, but with a lot of fresh additions. The app offers some slightly changed rulesets and features that are tailored to asynchronous gameplay, as well as other exclusive unlockable content like new game modes, unlockable avatars, trophies, word packs, and more. The game is designed to be played when you have five minutes of free time to kill, when your friends are not available, or when you want to play but are alone.

For more specifics, you can find a lot of detailed info in our announcement video below:

Isn’t there also Codenames Online? If I can play that for free, why should I pay for the other version of Codenames?
That’s a good question. Codenames Online is a free web-based platform that essentially plays the same as a regular game of Codenames — there aren’t any rule changes. It’s basically a virtual table that lets you gather online to play Codenames. No rules are enforced, and it’s up to you how you play. The main difference from the physical game is that you’re playing online with your friends, using third-party chat services like Zoom or Discord to talk things out as you play.

As we mentioned earlier, the digital version is a very different kind of Codenames experience that you can play on your own time, asynchronously, with lots of other players (and even your friends) from around the world. You can have multiple game sessions going at a time (we encourage this), since players aren’t necessarily taking their turns in real-time. There are lots of unlockable game modes and collectibles that you earn over time. If you’re looking for a way to enjoy Codenames while you’re on the go, or when you don’t have access to enough local players (or friends available to play Codenames Online), the app is a great fit.
You can learn more about the specific differences between Codenames Online, the Codenames App, and the original tabletop version in this article here on Steam.
Why is it a paid game? There are plenty of free to play games in the stores.
We wanted to find the most user-friendly model for monetizing the game. We decided to ask you for a one-time payment because we believe it’s fair. That decision allows us to give you a game without any advertisements or subscriptions. You simply pay once and unlock cool content as you go. Quite a lot of games out there are “free to play,” but they force you (sooner or later) to buy some premium currency, cool gadgets etc. This often gives a gameplay advantage to players who’ve paid. We don’t like this approach, as we don’t believe it’s fair. Nobody should receive any in-game advantage just because they paid for it.

That’s why the digital version of Codenames is a premium mobile app and it will be a premium Steam game. You only pay for it once, then you gradually unlock a ton of additional modes, skins, features, word packs, and more as you play it over time.

Is Codenames: Duet Included in the app?
No, not at the moment. But there are still plenty of different ways to play. For example, we’ve designed a new Team vs. Assassin game mode in which 2 players are playing together against the assassin who covers one random word each turn. Can you beat the assassin before they contacts all their agents?

Are there any rule differences?
Yes, there are! But don’t worry, the game will tell you about them when it’s needed. Maybe, let’s mention one interesting one. We prepared an automatic control of clues. It should work similarly to the way it works in the board game in general. But we decided to allow some clever or funny clues, even if they don’t connect words based on their meaning. For instance – a clue “rhyme 2” for cream and dream is allowed. In general, we decided to go with an approach of: if the game allows it, it’s a valid clue.

What languages can I play in?
English, Czech, and German are the languages currently available at the moment. French should be coming by Q1/2025. More languages will appear later next year, too. They will be available for free in updates. There’s no extra charge for them. And you can play in all of them. You will have separate careers and statistics in each language.

Surprisingly, we believe you’ll find there’s room for both in your collection. The digital Codenames delivers a whole new experience, designed for playing when traveling, chilling in a bed, or anywhere else when you have at least five minutes. You can play alone as well, or with up to four players with local pass and play. However, the Codenames board game is still the best option when you and a bunch of your friends want to have fun together at the table after a busy day.

Did you know? Codenames was announced to be published on Steam! But it’s also already available on mobiles. Yes, this is separate from the free browser-based Codenames Online platform that you might have seen on Twitch or YouTube the last few years. Each provides a pretty unique Codenames experience. If you’re curious about how the newest digital Codenames and Codenames Online platform are different, read on! We’ll break down what you can expect from each offering and provide recommendations to help steer you in the right direction.

Codenames Online is a free, browser-based platform that CGE launched back in the early days of the pandemic. Our goal was to create a simple and fun way for people to play Codenames with their friends and family remotely, during a time when it was pretty difficult to play board games in person. CNO essentially plays the same as a regular game of Codenames — there aren’t any rule changes. It’s basically a virtual table that lets you gather online to play Codenames. No rules are enforced, and it’s up to you how you play. The main difference from the physical game is that you’re playing online with your friends, using third-party chat services like Zoom or Discord to talk things out as you play.
Over time the platform has evolved and grown. We’ve incorporated Codenames Duet and added many new features to make the online experience more accessible and fun to play. The player base has also exploded, thanks to the platform gaining popularity among Twitch streamers and YouTube content creators. You can learn more about that story in this article on BGG, if you like.

In development for many years, the Codenames App is an all new standalone game available for iOs and Android and developed for Steam at the moment that is based on the same word association principles as Codenames, but with some cool twists. It offers some slightly changed rulesets and features that are tailored to asynchronous gameplay and other exclusive unlockable content. It’s a premium game. You only pay for it once, then you gradually unlock a ton of additional modes, skins, features, word packs, and more as you play it over time.

• Tons of new game modes to unlock — It’s still the Codenames you know, but with some wild rules, new twists, and mechanics. For example, in Converter the spymaster can change the color of two words each turn. Quantum Gadget lets you touch two words instead of one when guessing, and only the better result applies. Mines is a crossover between Codenames and the popular Windows game Minesweeper, where you can see how many of your agents are adjacent to the flipped card. These are just a few of the many new ways to experience Codenames through the mobile app.
  
• Word packs galore — You can collect and play with thousands of new word cards divided into thematic categories (words that refer to pop-cultural phenomena, etc.). All these words were chosen by our designers and linguistic specialists to reflect both the category itself and their potential to work well in the game.
  
• New solo play — Challenging solo cases are served daily to train your Codenames skills (as in Duolingo, for instance). Also, explore daily scenarios to compete in “who gives the best clues” challenges.
  
• Secret agent career — As you play, you’ll train and level up your agent, which earns you interesting upgrades that allow you to enhance and customize your progress.
  
• Cool stuff to collect — Lots of trophies to earn, achievements to fulfill, and avatars and animated backgrounds to unlock.

If you enjoy playing Codenames, each format suits a different occasion. We still believe that playing the original physical board game is the best way to experience the game when you want to hang out with friends and play games in person. But maybe that’s not always an option. Here are some recommendations on which other version to play, based on what you’re looking for.

• You can play a synchronous game with your friends online (perhaps all of you want to spend some time together, but distance doesn’t allow you to meet up to play in person).
  
• Your gaming group is much bigger that what the original game can support (CNO can be played by up to 64 players per session).
  
• You are looking for a fun online party game that you can easily share with others (no installation is needed, all you have to do is just send a link to play).
  
• You want to play with your own words (CNO supports custom words).
  
• You are looking for different languages (CNO is available in all 45 languages that the original game can be found in).

• You want to spend some time playing Codenames when no friends are available (and perhaps find new gaming friends while playing).
  
• You have friends you would love to play with, but it is difficult to set up a time when all of you are available to play the game from start to finish.
  
• You are looking for a clever game to kill some time during the day.
  
• You want to experience something new from the Codenames world (CNapp offers new game modes, solo puzzles, and other ways to enjoy Codenames differently).
  
• You like building your secret agent’s career, and you want to see your progress and accomplished achievements across time.
  
• You want to play whenever you have some spare time (even a few minutes are enough for a session).
  
• You would enjoy playing multiple games simultaneously at a slower pace, not waiting for the other players. ( All you have to do is just let the app notify you when it is your turn, and play it whenever it suits you.