How to Play Codenames Remotely with Friends on Zoom

COVID Codenames! Play this fun game remotely with friends, even when in self-quarantine -- or anytime you can't be together in the same room.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

1

Lay out the Codenames cards on a table like you normally would.
Set up a phone (screen facing up) using a flex-arm phone holder or something similar so that its camera has a clear view of the cards.

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3

Decide who will be the "spymaster" (clue-giver) for each team, and text or email a picture of the "key" to them. (For the first round, it's easiest if you are one of the spymasters and you just text the key to the other one.)

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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

1

Start "New Meeting" on the second Zoom device (e.g. , a laptop or tablet that's not suspended over the cards -- where you'll be interacting with others). Make sure your audio and video are on.
2

Click "Invite" and invite the others who'll take part. Be sure to include the account for the phone over the cards.
3
Find the email invite on the phone over the cards. Connect to the Zoom meeting. Mute the phone's mic, and tap the reverse-camera button so you see the cards on the screen.
- You could also join by clicking "Join Meeting" and typing in the Meeting ID.
4

Greet all the players on your hosting device. This is the device showing you, not the cards. Have everyone go to the upper right corner of the cards video, click on the three dots (...), and choose "pin video." This will put the cards video on the big screen and everyone else as little squares on the side.

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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

1
Play the game pretty much the same as you would in person. The objective is to guess all your team's cards before the other team guesses theirs. Each card has a single word on it. The key, which only the two spymasters can see, shows which cards are the red team's, which are the blue team's, which are neutral cards, and which is the death card (if you guess that by accident, your team loses).
- The red or blue color surrounding the key determines which team starts (it also means that that team has one more card than the other team).
- The official rules are here: https://czechgames.com/files/rules/codenames-rules-en.pdf .
2

Give out a clue. For each turn, the spymaster gives a one-word clue and the number of cards the team has to choose. For example, the red team's spymaster might notice that the cards "mouse," "stork," and "reindeer" are all keyed as red, and say "animal for three."
3

Make a guess. After the spymaster gives the clue and number, the team decides which cards to guess.
4

The spymaster either covers the guessed cards with the appropriate colors (red, blue, neutral, or black) or tells someone in the Zoom host's location which ones to cover -- while everyone watches the pinned video in anticipation!

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You will need two devices -- one for the cards and one for you as host.

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Works best when you use the free Zoom app, which works with Mac OS, Windows, Apple, and Android.

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Remember to mute the mic on the phone over the cards -- and make sure it's charged or plugged in so it doesn't die during the game.

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