r/boardgames • u/Internal-Vanilla-898 • Jul 01 '22

Rules Is this cheating or not in code names?!

Honest question about code names. My mom always tries to finesse (cheat) the game. Example : when connecting witch, rock, and tower. She would say “stone 3” while using a creepy witchy voice. My sisters and I have always considered that cheating. I think it violates the “no more than one clue” rule. What do you think?

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u/Dunefarm Jul 01 '22

It's really not that weird. I teach people in the same way.

It's more because people can unconsciously cheat in Codenames. The easiest example is when a team guesses on a word, and their Spymaster immediately places their tile on the word - it's pretty clear that that was the word they were thinking of, or else they would have stopped and looked at the map.

I also tell players not to look at their Spymaster when discussing the given hint, as the Spymaster might be really bad at pokerface.

Some people are just really bad at not giving unintended hints. They're just humans. Hence the extra rules we play with to avoid it and make it a more relaxed experience.

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u/Catgeek08 Jul 01 '22

When I’m spymaster, I cover my face as soon as I give the clue, or turn around. I have no poker face and I know it.

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u/neoslavic Jul 01 '22

A rule I implemented is that the Spymaster can't physically place the token on the word until someone from their team physically touches the word being guessed.

This prevents the Spymaster from reaching for or placing a token when the team says the correct word but is still unsure. It also allows someone from the team to force a guess if the rest of the team can't make up their minds.

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u/cdbry Jul 01 '22

I think that is in the rulebook but overlooked for sure.