Codenames

App Store Editors’ Notes

So much fun!

I love the board game, and somehow this works so well as an app. There’s the obvious slight annoyance of having to wait for the other players to take their turn, but you can have lots of games going. You can either play with random players, play with other players that you’ve chosen, or do a pass and play with people in the room with you. There are daily scenarios, and the clues that players create for these scenarios are given to other players as daily cases to solve. There are VIP games with themed words, and lots of options for different gameplay in the games you play with friends with gadgets, different sized boards and other switchups to keep it interesting - but if you're a purist and just want to play it the original way, you totally can. It's satisfying to collect the words and achievements. It seems like the potential problems have been considered and addressed very thoroughly. If your clue isn't in the dictionary, it's submitted to a jury of other players. I don't understand how it works but you can rate your spymaster/operative when the game is over, with the implication that if you rate them unfavorably you won't get matched with them again. And if a player doesn't finish a game, they drop in a new player and call it a rescue mission (I just think the theme is fun). 🙂 One thing that might be helpful (and maybe it's there and I just don't see it) is info about how many games you've played with each one of your friends, and when it was and maybe even how often you've won. I've wondered that when I'm starting a game with friends. But that's really the only suggestion I can think of. It's a very well-thought out app iteration of the Codenames board game!

Genius, superbly satisfying app

Folks, CGE knows how to do mobile gaming. I’d say they’re kind of the masters of it now, given their outstanding previous releases. It’s not just about the highly polished and intuitive interface and functionality of the app, which is impressive in it’s own right. The most noteworthy aspect of the Codenames app is how they’ve ingeniously expanded the appeal and variety of the game. They didn’t just take the Codenames game and put it online. Instead, they looked at how they could actually evolve the game through the opportunities an online platform offers. The result is a highly satisfying and enjoyable experience that doesn’t get old thanks to its variety. And variety doesn’t just mean the many unlockables and achievements that it also sports - variety means the 10+ different twists on the core game. In short, it’s a steal at $5 and one of the best mobile games I’ve played, and I highly recommend it to everyone I know. But be warned - dangerously addictive!

Outstanding app with one stupid design choice

This app is a wonderful digital adaptation of an excellent game. The many little variants they came up with add some fun variety and new interesting decision-making. You should absolutely buy it and play it! So why 2 stars? Because after months of playing on this app and loving it, I suddenly unlocked a feature that I can't turn off and is wrecking my experience; I basically need to stop playing until they hopefully remove this (and then I will happily replace this with a 5-star review; 6+ if I could!). Specifically: you 'collect words' from different categories, and when you collect enough you get a figurine from that category and games related to that category start showing up in your selection of game variants. Since these new variants displace some old options and the app developers recognize that not everyone likes them as much, they sensibly let you 'disable' figurines that you don't want active. I disable them all, so far so good. But then once you unlock your 9th, with no warning suddenly you can't disable them all anymore! So I can no longer reliably play the games I loved anymore :( Note that as a new player you can avoid this problem by just not earning more than 8 figurines, so you should still buy and play this game; just don't make the mistake I did unless you like the collectors missions and want them appearing in your queue forever.

The ultimate Codenames experience

I’ve been a fan of Codenames for years. First the board game, and then the online web page version. But this is the ultimate version. The developers really put all the love and thought into this game. First, there’s basically infinite gameplay here. You can start any number of games as spymaster or operative, so you can always have a game running. And you can collect new words, and earn upgrades to access special new variations of the Codenames format. And the daily challenges are an innovative way to help keep your brain sharp on giving and receiving clues. I also really appreciate the jury system. If a word isn’t in the dictionary you can have a jury vote to accept it. Once you’re high enough level you can help vote on the jury too. This way, the game’s lexicon can grow and evolve as real language grows and evolves. Brilliant. I can’t imaging a more perfect game.

Great Game…But There Needs To Be Fixes

I just started playing this game a couple of days ago, and I love it! I really like the adaptation of the board game and the additions of side games and achievements. It makes for a captivating game that you can spend a long time on. However, there is one issue that I have with this game which is the long wait times for a lot of the games. I mean some take hours to days to play. I know that the developers encourage to keep multiple games open so that you can play more, but I don’t that enjoy a whole lot. The reason why is that most of the games end up stalling near the last move and it clogs up the inbox. I would rather have games where I could complete all the way through with one play-through. So if there is a way to optimize the experience that would be great. With all that I said, I do recommend this game if you are a fan of the board game since it is really fun to play! Just be aware of waiting for a while for some games.

Fun Game, potentially, but TWO Problems...

Second Update after several more weeks of play: -Based on years of experience playing iOS games, I can confidently report that this one has the greatest amount of Server Downtime that I've encountered. IMO, the Developers need to prioritize fixing this game play disruption. PLEASE FIX THIS *********** First Update after two weeks of playing this game: -The developers need to fix the regular server connectivity problems I have noticed. Ideally, solo game play would work better if offline play capability were available because the server down time is too frequent (this is the only app during the period that has inflicted this issue on me. ************* ORIGINAL Review: I'd rate this port of Codenames with 5 stars instead of 3 if only the Developer would update the game to allow endless solo game sessions WITHOUT requiring players to wait for the next solo game playing time window to open. BASICALLY, I want to be able to play solo games whenever and for however long I want to play and without having to wait...‼️

More than I expected, nearly perfect…

If you enjoy Codenames in any significant way, it is worth getting, even with the few annoying issues. There is surprisingly a LOT of game in here. And, as another reviewer mentioned, I am enjoying this so much, I have turned on notifications (which I rarely have on for anything). So. It is everything you love about Codenames. In normal, teach vs team play, it is setup in a 2 vs 2 matchup. The async gameplay is nice, you will likely have multiple matches going on so you always have some action. Whether you are the spymaster or a guessed is initially random (but you can win powerups as you play and one allows you to pick what you would rather do) It also has a play against the assassin mode that is a bit like the one team variant (although instead of the spymaster picking one card of the other color each turn. It is random.) There are also solo games where you either have guesser puzzles, or spymaster puzzles. These are fun quick time killers, but oddly rewarding as it is structured. Can play with friends if they have the app too, or can do pass and play, which is lovely when you have your tablet, and want to play. (One of the few current flaws of the game is when I wanted to do pass and play, because it couldn’t reach the server, couldn’t access anything about the game. Pass and play should always be an option, imo) As you play, you slowly unlock more stuff. I am surprised how much more they squeezed out of a simple party game, but they did. And the experience point system, while not perfect, works more than it doesn’t. All in all, it is a no brainer at $5 if you even remotely like the BoardGame version.

Finally!!

Codenames is probably my favorite game of all time. The app has small issues, mostly not found on the iPad version. We have had connection issues now and then on the iPad version but that’s it. On the iPhone version I had to delete and reinstall to avoid the language issue someone else mentioned. I have also had an issue with chatting on the iPhone version. Overall though I’m really excited to see where this goes! There are already a lot of word cards to unlock, avatars to unlock, different game types, achievements, etc. I would love to see Codenames Pictures implemented sometime. Also Duet game modes would be fun but I’m only just starting and the game modes they have created for the app are really creative and interesting. Can’t wait to see where this goes, keep it up!!