How to Give Great Codenames Clues

The spymaster’s chair is the hardest seat in Codenames, and the most fun once it clicks. This lesson is about the opening: the first look at the key and the first two or three clues. Get those right and the rest of the game flows from them.

Our article on Codenames clue tips covers the safety check in detail. This lesson focuses on the craft around it.

Read the key before the grid

When the key goes into the stand, resist the urge to hunt for clues. First, find three things on the grid:

1. The assassin. Say its word to yourself. Every clue you give tonight has to stay clear of it.
2. The other team’s words. Eight or nine of them, depending on who starts. These are your second biggest danger.
3. The bystanders. Seven of them. A bystander ends your turn, but costs nothing else.

Only then look at your own words. You are not looking for clues yet. You are looking for the shape of the board.

Sort your words into pairs

Look for pairs first, not long chains. Two of your words that share a clear link make a clean clue for two. Try to sort all of your words into pairs and a leftover or two before you speak.

That gives you a plan for the next few turns, not just this one. With nine words to find, four clean pairs and one single word take five turns.

When a word will not pair with anything, do not force it. A clue for one is allowed, and the rulebook notes that more words are more fun, not that one word is wrong.

Build from the danger outward

Once you have a pair in mind, test the clue against the board in this order: the assassin, the other team’s words, then bystanders. If the clue reaches the assassin, drop it, even if it is perfect for your pair. Your team will stretch, and a stretch toward the assassin ends the game.

A useful habit: think of two or three clues for the same pair, then keep the one that touches the fewest danger words.

Know your table

The best clue is the one this team will get. A clue that would land with old friends may miss with coworkers or with your kids. Think about how your operatives talk, what they know, and what they care about.

This is also why the game is so good for groups that are still getting to know each other. Our piece on Codenames for team building looks at what a clue reveals about how people think.

Give an honest number

The number is part of the clue. It tells your team how far to go. Say the number you mean, every time. If your team learns that “two” sometimes means “two, maybe three,” they will start guessing past it, and that third guess is where turns go wrong.

An honest number also helps later. When your team knows every clue was exact, it can count which clues still have a word left on the grid.

The first clue

The first clue of the game is the slowest, and the rulebook says to expect a couple of minutes. Use that time on the steps above. A strong first clue for two does three things:

• It lands both words cleanly, so your team trusts you.
• It clears space on the grid, so your later clues have fewer nearby words to trip over.
• It keeps your hardest words for later, when the board is smaller and the risks are clearer.

Starting with your safest, clearest pair is rarely wrong. Big, clever clues are easier to give once half the board is covered.

Plant a leftover on purpose

Sometimes the cleanest clue reaches two of your words and one more of yours that the team may not see yet. Give it for two anyway. If the team picks the two you meant, the third stays in their minds. On a later turn, the plus one guess can pick it up.

This works only if the number stays honest. Do not count the bonus word in your number.

When to give a clue for three

Go for three when the link is tight and nothing dangerous sits nearby. “Three” works best on a set of words that share one clear category, with no other word on the grid in that category. If you have to explain the link to yourself, it is a two.

Expert clues in the opening

The expert rules add an unlimited clue and a zero clue. Both are better tools for later in the game, when the board is small. The endgame lesson puts them to work, and expert clues at Level 3 goes deeper. In the opening, plain clues for two keep your team on solid ground.