Codenames: Duet

Why Codenames: Duet.

Codenames: Duet takes the word-association game everyone knows and rebuilds it for two players working together. The 25-word grid is shared, but each player holds a key card showing a different set of agents to find and, crucially, different assassins to avoid. You take turns giving one-word clues to help your partner find your agents, and together you have nine turns and a small allowance of mistakes to uncover all fifteen. Point at an assassin on either key and the mission fails.

The two-sided key is the design's stroke: a word that is safe on your card might be the assassin on your partner's, and you never know which, so clueing becomes a negotiation with someone who cannot tell you what they see. The campaign map adds missions in different cities with tighter turn limits and fewer allowed mistakes, which gives a couple something to progress through over weeks. Rounds take fifteen minutes and the box is small enough for a carry-on.

It is the two-player game most likely to survive in a household where one person loves games and the other tolerates them, because it asks for vocabulary and empathy rather than strategy. It also works with two teams of two on a big table. If the original Codenames sits unplayed because you rarely have six people, Duet is the version you will actually get to the table.

No paid placement. No sponsorship. We chose it on merit. The Amazon link funds the lights - if you'd rather buy direct from a local game store, find one via BoardGameGeek.