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Free game guide · TABLE Method™

Codenames

Making private associations public · Stage 3

Buy the guide, $7 See the TABLE plan

Codenames TABLE Method™ Game Guide cover

What the game is

Two teams race to find their secret agents on a grid of 25 word cards. Each team's spymaster can see a key showing which words are theirs and gives one-word clues that connect several words. Teammates guess by touching words.

Why it works at a table

Codenames asks people to make a private chain of associations public and then watch how others read it. Misreadings are frequent, quick, and usually funny, which makes it a low-cost way to build shared language with a new group. The spymaster's choice between a safe clue and an elegant one gives concrete material about risk and clarity.

Try one variation

Rotating spymaster (BGT house rule, not an official rule). Between complete games, invite a new volunteer to be spymaster. Willing players get a turn once before anyone repeats, and the same person may volunteer again if nobody else wants the role. Never require anyone to take it.

  • Targets: Inclusion and shared pressure
  • Suits: Any group; the book's top watch point
  • Watch for: Someone who does not want the role. Rotation is opt-in.
  • Debrief prompt: “What was it like on the other side of the clue?”

The TABLE Method™, applied

A short excerpt from the full guide's TABLE plan. Anyone can pass, pause, or stop at any time.

  1. Target

    Notice how teams interpret clues, how spymasters choose between safe and bold clues, and how teams handle a misread.

  2. Assess

    Check the player count, the time, and whether the game serves today's goal.

    • Is everyone comfortable with English vocabulary at this level? Agree on house standards for names and abbreviations, as the rulebook allows.

  3. Build

    • Rotate the spymaster each game so pressure does not sit on one person (the book's main watch point).
    • Play a short first game as practice.

  4. Lead

    • Keep reactions neutral; spymasters keep a straight face under the rules, and so do you. During play, never ask spymasters to disclose intended answers or react to guesses; save questions about intentions until the game has ended.
    • After a misread, describe it as a different association, not a mistake.

  5. Extract and Extend

    Debrief in order: Board, Self, Us, Life or Work, Extension. Ask what participants make of the game. Do not tell them.

Game not included; play by the rulebook in your box. In the BGT book: Chapter 12 (Setting the Table), Appendix C (Stage 3, scope: all), Appendix E, and Appendix F (first game in the single-session and six-week shapes). Independent companion. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Czech Games Edition. Codenames is a trademark of its owner and is named only to identify the game. Board Game Therapy is not inherently psychotherapy. Copyright 2026 Solid State Strategies, LLC.

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