Objective of the Game

Get ready, covert operatives! In Codenames: Duet, you and your partner are on a thrilling secret mission in a bustling city. Your goal? To collaboratively contact 15 secret agents before time runs out, all while dodging dangerous assassins.

Each of you knows 9 agents the other needs to find, and you'll communicate through clever, one-word clues. If you successfully uncover all 15 agents within your allotted turns, you both achieve a glorious victory!

Preparation (Setup)

Setting up your secret mission is quick and easy:

1. Sit Opposite: You and your partner should sit on opposite sides of the table.
2. Grid of Words: Shuffle the word cards and deal 25 of them randomly into a 5x5 grid in the center of the table.
3. Supply Piles: Place the green agent cards and the assassin card within reach of both players.
4. Time Bank: Place 9 timer tokens, bystander side up, next to the word grid. This is your time bank. (Note: For a slightly easier game, you can add 1 or 2 blue timer tokens from the box to make it 10 or 11 tokens total, but 9 is standard.)
5. Key Card Stand: Set the plastic stand next to the word grid.
6. Secret Key: Shuffle the deck of key cards and draw one at random. Place this key card into the plastic stand so that each player sees only one side of the card. The card should be wider than it is tall.

You're now ready to receive your first intel!

Game Play

Codenames: Duet is a turn-based game where you and your partner alternate giving and guessing clues. Each turn consists of exactly one clue and at least one guess.

Giving a Clue

When it's your turn to give a clue:

1. Formulate Your Clue: Look at your side of the key card. You'll see 9 green words (your agents to find), 3 black words (assassins to avoid), and other words that are innocent bystanders (tan). Your goal is to come up with a single word that relates to two or more of your green words.
2. Clue Format: Your clue must be one word and one number. The number indicates how many words on the table relate to your clue word. For example, "Weather: 2" could be a clue for STORM and RAINBOW.
3. Invalid Clues:
   • Your clue word cannot be one of the words currently visible on the table.
   • You cannot use any form of a visible word (e.g., if HIDE is visible, you can't say "hid").
   • You cannot use part of a compound word on the table (e.g., if EARTHQUAKE is visible, you can't say "earth").
   • Clues must be about the meaning of words, not their letters or position on the table.
   • Accents, vocal inflections, and singing are not allowed.
4. Deliver the Clue: Say your clue word and number aloud, and nothing else!

Pro-Tip: While giving a clue for one word is legal, you'll need to aim for two or more to win the game efficiently! A "zero" clue (e.g., "Lazy: 0") is also legal, indicating words to avoid, but your partner must still guess at least one word.

Making a Guess

When it's your turn to guess, your partner has just given you a clue:

1. Analyze the Clue: Carefully consider your partner's clue and the words on the table.
2. Make a Guess: Touch one of the word cards on the grid.
3. Marking the Guess (Clue Giver's Responsibility): Your partner (the clue giver) will mark the word based on their side of the key card:
   • Correct Guess (Green Agent): If you touch a word your partner sees as green, it's a correct guess. Your partner covers it with a green agent card. You can then make another guess.
   • Assassin (Black Word): If you touch a word your partner sees as black, it's an assassin. The game ends immediately, and you both lose!
   • Innocent Bystander (Tan Word): If you touch a word your partner sees as tan, it's an incorrect guess. Your partner takes a timer token from the time bank and places it on the word card, bystander side up, with the arrow pointing from them to you. This ends your turn immediately.
4. Multiple Guesses: If your first guess (and any subsequent guesses) was correct, you can continue to guess more words. You can make an unlimited number of correct guesses.
5. Ending Your Guessing Turn: Your turn ends either when you make an incorrect guess (bystander or assassin) or when you choose to stop. If you stop after one or more correct guesses, take a timer token from the time bank and place it checkmark side up in front of you.

Important: When you are guessing, only your partner's side of the key card is relevant. The words your partner wants you to guess could appear green, tan, or even black on your side of the key card. Focus on the words and your partner's clue!

End of the Turn

A turn always uses up one timer token. The number of tokens remaining in the time bank indicates how many turns (and clues) are left in the game.

• If a wrong guess (bystander) ends the turn, the clue giver uses a timer token to mark the word.
• If the guesser chooses to stop after correct guesses, they take a timer token.

After a turn, the role of clue giver and guesser switches. If you gave the clue this turn, your partner gives the clue next turn, and you become the guesser.

Using Clues from Earlier Turns

Keep previous clues in mind! You are not required to guess words related to the current clue. You can guess words related to any clue you have been given throughout the game. This is crucial for picking up words you might have missed before.

A word marked by a timer token (a bystander from a previous turn) might still need to be guessed by the other player. If you guess a word that already has a timer token:

• If your partner sees it as an assassin, you lose.
• If your partner sees it as an innocent bystander, they mark it with a second timer token, arrows pointing towards each other. The word is now considered covered, and neither of you can guess it again.
• If your partner sees it as a green agent, they cover it with a green agent card, placing the timer token on top to remember the earlier event.

End of Game and Scoring

Clear Victory!

You both win the game once all 15 green words (agents) from both sides of the key card have been covered by agent cards. This means the last agent card has been placed!

Other Possible Endings

• Assassin: If either player guesses a word that the other player sees as black (an assassin), your team is caught, and you both lose immediately.
• Sudden Death: If you use up your last timer token and there are still words to be guessed, you enter a sudden death turn. No more clues are given. Both players can guess any remaining words they need to find. Guesses are made one at a time and marked as usual. However, a single wrong guess (even an innocent bystander) in sudden death ends the game, and you both lose. If all your guesses are correct and you find the last green agent, you both win!

Scoring a 9-Token Mission

If you won a standard 9-token mission, you can evaluate your performance:

• Time Bank Points: Give yourselves 1 point for each timer token left in the time bank at the end of the game (remembering that one token was used on the winning turn).
• Efficient Guessing Points: Give yourselves 1 point for each timer token a player took when ending a turn after only correct guesses.
• Sudden Death Penalty: Subtract 1 point if you needed the sudden death turn to win.

A score of more than 5 points is really good, and 9 or 10 is awesome!

Tips for Winning

1. Think Multi-Word Clues: To succeed, most of your clues need to connect two or more words. Don't be afraid to give clues that are a bit of a stretch; your partner knows not every clue will be a perfect match.
2. Avoid Assassins at All Costs: Before giving any clue, always double-check the three assassins on your side of the key card. A single misstep here leads to immediate defeat.
3. Remember Previous Clues: As a guesser, don't feel limited to only the current clue. Keep all past clues in mind and use them to make connections to words you might have missed earlier. Sometimes it's safer to guess a word you're very confident about from an old clue than to risk a new, uncertain one.