A Quick Guide to Codenames: Duet

This is a fan-made work. Game and pictures are copyright Czech Games Edition.

Overview
We are a spy agency on a secret mission! Our two groups must work together, communicating
in code to contact our allied agents (green cards) while avoiding the assassins (black cards).

Setup

Goal
We win if we identify all 15 green words in 9 turns (aka 9 clues). We lose if either group ever
guesses an assassin word, or if we fail to find the 15 green words in time.

How to Play
Each turn, one group will give a clue and the other group guesses Word Cards that match it.
Roles switch from turn to turn, so the guessing group becomes clue-givers and vice-versa.
Turns are tracked with the 9 timer tokens.

Giving Clues
Give clues based on what you see on your side of the Key Card. On the Key Card you’ll see 9
green words (good agents), 3 black words (assassins), and 13 tan words (neutral bystanders).
Clues are a single word, followed by a number for how many Word Cards your clue pertains to.
Example: “Pets, 3” could be a good clue if you see green words of “dog”, “cat”, and “rabbit”
…but it would be a bad clue if there was also an assassin word of “hamster” – too risky!
 Example: the clue “Salad, 3” is good for “Ranch”, “Caesar”, and “Lunch”

Guessing Clues
After Group 1 gives a clue, then Group 2 guesses words (touch the Word Card to guess):
• If it is a green ally, great job! Cover the word with a green agent. Group 2 may choose to
keep guessing based on the current or previous clues they’ve been given.
• If it is an assassin, both Groups 1 & 2 instantly lose!
• If it is tan, Group 2 must stop guessing this turn. Cover the word with a bystander token
and point the arrow towards Group 2 to remind them they’ve already guessed it.
Once Group 2 is done guessing, flip a timer token over (unless it was just used to mark a tan
card). Then the groups switch roles, Group 2 looks at their side of the Key Card and gives a clue
for Group 1 to guess.
Remember, the Key Card is double sided, so just because a Word Card was tan for Group 2’s
guesses, it could now be green or black when Group 1 is guessing.

Advanced Notes
• Clues must relate to the meaning of the Word Cards (no rhyming) and cannot contain
any part of the words on the table
• With only 9 clues available and 15 green words to guess, many of the clues need to
pertain to multiple Word Cards! Think cleverly like “Bun, 2” for “hair” and “hamburger”
• There are 9 green squares on each side of the Key Card (9+9=18), but there are only 15
green agents – this is because 3 green squares overlap for both groups
• Extra advanced: The Key Card is setup so that of the three assassin (black) words you see
on your side, one is black, one is green, and one is tan on the other side of the Key Card.