The Codenames Endgame: Counting and the Assassin

Early in a game of Codenames, the grid is a fog of 25 words. Late in the game, it is a short list. That changes how both spymasters and operatives should play. This lesson is about the last few turns: counting, risk, and knowing when to stop.

The grid adds up

Every game starts with the same mix on the grid:

• 9 words for the starting team, which has the double agent.
• 8 words for the other team.
• 7 innocent bystanders.
• 1 assassin.

That is 25. Each covered card takes one away from its group. So late in the game, you can count what is left. If six cards are still showing, and your team has 2 words left, the other team 2, and there is 1 bystander, the last card is the assassin.

Operatives can do this math too. The spymasters’ tiles in front of them show how many words each team still needs, and the covered cards show which bystanders are already found.

How close is the other team?

The most important number in the endgame is not yours. It is theirs.

• They need several more words. You have time. Give and take safe clues, and stop guessing when unsure.
• They need one or two words. Their next turn could end the game. Now a safe stop often means a loss.
• They need one word and have a clear leftover. Assume they will win on their next turn. Anything your team can find this turn is worth the risk, short of the assassin.

Remember that a team wins when all its words are covered, even if the other team covered the last one. A wrong guess on their word late in the game can end it in their favor.

The assassin late in the game

With only a few cards left, the assassin is a larger share of what remains. A random guess among six cards hits it one time in six. That is far worse than early in the game, when it was one in twenty five.

So the endgame rule for operatives: a risky guess is fine when the worst it can do is end your turn, and dangerous when the assassin is one of the words it might be. Before any long shot, ask the team: could this be the assassin?

For spymasters, the assassin can be the biggest obstacle late, because it is often one of the few words left near your last ones. Clue around it, even if that costs a turn.

Unlimited clues at the end

The expert rules let a spymaster give a clue as “unlimited” instead of a number. The team may keep guessing as long as it guesses right.

This shines in the endgame. If your team has three words left and two of them are leftovers from earlier clues, an unlimited clue for the third lets the team guess all three in one turn. The rulebook gives this exact use: the team works out how many words the clue meant from how many are left.

Without the expert rules, the plus one guess does part of this job, but only one leftover per turn.

Zero clues at the end

A zero clue, like “feathers: 0,” means do not guess the word linked to feathers. Under the expert rules it also allows unlimited guesses, with no plus one limit.

Late in the game, it is a way to fence off the assassin or the other team’s last word. If your team keeps reaching toward a word that would lose, a zero clue on it can save the game. Then your team asks why, and guesses the words the warning was protecting.

Agree before the game if your table plays with these expert clues. They are a good step after a few games.

When to stop guessing

Stopping is a choice, and the right answer shifts as the game goes on. A rough guide:

• You are ahead: stop at the number. Let the other team take the risks.
• It is close: take the plus one guess only on a word you are sure of.
• You are behind and they are about to win: keep guessing, but never on a word that could be the assassin.

A last word for spymasters

Your final clue can be bolder than any other, because there is less to hit. If one clue can reach every word your team has left, and nothing else on the grid fits it, give it. Giving the other team one more turn is often the bigger risk.

For more on why steady clues win the long game, our Codenames clue tips walk through the math.