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Codenames

Players: 2-8

Ages: 8+

“Codenames is a modern party game that pits two teams of spies against one another. Each team elects a spymaster for the round who must lead their teams to their operatives. A grid of possible names is displayed, and the spymaster doles out a one-word clue and the number of cards they are hinting at, while their team tries to guess as many cards as they can. A simple word association game that constantly has teams yelling and laughing over what the right answers are.” – BH

“Simply the best all-around board game there is. At its heart, Codenames is a simple word association game that pits you and your team against another to get as many words as possible with as few turns as you can. Good for any size group four or larger, it appeals to both extremes of gaming — those looking for deep strategy and competition, as well as those wanting a simple party game to be social with friends. It even comes in a variety of themes and difficulties.” – BF

Just One

Players: 3-7

Ages: 8+

“In short, the game is reverse Scattergories; it’s a prime example of ‘why hadn’t someone thought of this before.’ It creates very human moments when you look across the table and know your best friend thought of the same word as yours, forcing you to change gears to a new word no one else would write down.” – BF

“Just One is a cooperative word guessing party game for three to seven players. This game is perfect for families as it takes only a minute or two to teach and provides a ton of fun.” – CC