Codenames Pictures

Codenames Pictures, is Codenames… with pictures, ya dig? The pictures however are not straightforward. They have multiple elements, and sometimes are a little bizarre. The benefit to this is that you have a lot of different elements in the picture to use for your clues, and the game is language independent.

Year of Release: 2015
Number of Players: 2-8
Playing Time: 15 min
Listed Age: 10+
Mechanics: Deduction, Party Game
Theme in a Nutshell: Espionage

What I like:

Codenames and it’s derivatives, play essentially the same, which makes it easy to whip out a different version.

It works really well as an online game to play over zoom.

The Codenames series of games are a great gateway games as players can be brought along slowly in to the game, where the more experienced players can be the codemaster, and/or guide the process along. I’ve brought this one out at parties to great success, and it works well with kiddos.

My Rating: 7/10

What I don’t like:

You need at least 4 to play, I don’t care what the box says.

It can be hard to make even teams if you have a real mix of skill.

Is it good for kids and families?

Codenames Pictures is for me, a great family option to play the game with kids. You won’t run in to the same vocabulary problems that you will with the original wordy version, and the bizarre pictures can be appealing for the kids to look at.

Learn more about the game:

• How to Play Codenames in 3 Minutes – The Rules Girl (video)
• Codenames Pictures Review – with Tom Vasel (video)
• Play Codenames Online
• Codenames Pictures on BGG
• Where to buy Codenames Pictures online in Canada

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