A simple-to-use tool to generate pages you print out to play a fun cooperative wordgame.
Use it online, or locally by downloading via git or the zip file.
Once open in a browser you select which wordlist you want to use from the dropdown menu, or drag local textfiles with words onto the page. Use one of the included wordlists or create your own.
- Adjust the options to set the style and number of games to generate.
- Print the pages from your browser, or save them as a pdf.
- Play the game with friends!
This plays pretty much like Codenames Duet so if you know how to play that you are good to go. The main difference is that you play with pen and paper instead of cards and tokens.
It is a cooperative wordgame for two or more players where you and your partner try to locate certain words by giving single-word clues for them, while avoiding words that will end the turn or the entire game.
A clue is only one word, but it can point to multiple words that you want your partner to find. You and your partner take turns giving clues and selecting words. If you find all the words before you run out of turns, you both win.
Each player has their own page with the same selection of words, but mixed up differently. The circled letter in the top left (1) tells you which player's page it is. The number in the top right (3) is the game id.
The large section on top (4) is the list of all the words and is the same for both players. The smaller list below with the double outline (5) contains the target words you want your partner to find. The list below that, with the single outline, (6) are words you want your partner to avoid because that ends the turn. Finally, the black words at the bottom (7) are words that your partner absolutely must not select because if that happens, you both lose the game!
The table at the bottom right (8) is the tracker, which you use to record the turns and help you keep track of game progress.
Finally, the table with the symbols at the top (2) is a reminder on how the words are distributed between the players. It can also be used to keep track of the number of words left to find. See below for details.
A game consists of 2 pages. Each player takes one of the pages, A or B. Make sure they have the same id.
The top list of words is identical to both players, but the smaller lists below are different and should not be revealed to your partner.
Choose a starting player, then alternate turns giving clues.
You give a clue by saying a single word and a number. The number tells how many words relate to the clue.
Your partner then selects a word he thinks your clue refers to and says it out loud.
If the word is in your list of target words you say it was a correct word and your partner can continue selecting more words, or opt to end the turn.
If the word is among your black words, you both lose the game.
Otherwise, the selected word is incorrect and the turn ends immediately.
At the start of a round you note down the word and number for the clue in the tracker.
When a correct word is selected you circle it both in the upper and lower lists.
When an incorrect word is selected you cross it off in only one list; the upper one if you are the guesser, the lower ones if you are the clue giver.
When a black word is selected you tear the paper up and start a new game...
After a turn ends you note down how many words were found and if any words remain, to keep track of progress.
If you want to easily see how many words remain to find in total, you can use the table on top and cross out a column with a target symbol for each word found.
Each row is a turn and the columns are:
- Player giving the clue (e.g. A/B or initials).
- Clue word.
- Clue number.
- Correct words. The number of words found this turn.
- Incorrect words. Put a 1 if an incorrect word is selected.
- Remaining words. The number of words left to find from this clue.
Your clue must be a single word about the meaning of the words. You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or its position in the list.
If players agree, you can choose to relax the "one word" rule and allow multi-word names, compound words, titles, and acronyms.
You can't use any part or form of an unfound word as a clue.
Clue givers can't give any indication about whether a correct guess was the word they were thinking of for their clue, and must refrain from any comments or reactions that could assist the guesser.
It is legal to assign 0 for clue number. But your partner must still select at least one word.
You might not find all the words related to a clue because of a wrong guess, or the turn ended early because you didn't want to risk selecting a black word.
When you select words, keep previous clues in mind. You don't have to pick words related to the current clue. You can select words related to any clue you have been given.
When giving clues, your partner will have another chance to select words he didn't initially get, so it might not be necessary to give another clue for that same word.
If all of your target words have been found, you notify your partner, who will now be the one giving clues on all remaining turns.
If players run out of turns they enter sudden death mode. No more clues can be given nor strategy discussed. Players make guesses in any order, one at a time, in an effort to find all words. Any mistake ends the game with a loss.
The table at the top of the page shows the relationship between the two players' words. The circles represent the three word types; target words, unused words, and black words.
Use this knowledge to your advantage. For example, 3 of your 9 target words are also target words for your partner. This overlap is why you only need to find 15 words in total.
Of your 3 black words, one is also black for your partner. Another is a target word and one is unused. This means that one of your black words is a word you must select. Furthermore, if you have found the word that is black for you and a target word for your partner, you should ignore the other two words you have as black for the rest of the game.
Scoring is optional, but can be used to compare games with others.
+2 points per target found, +10 per unused turn, -5 per mistake, -10 if sudden death. Games ended by a black word score differently: -10 points for each unused turn, mistake, and unfound target word.
Most settings should be fairly self-explanatory, the advanced ones might require some explanation:
The standard game has 25 words, each player gets 9 target words and 3 black words, and you both need to find a total of 15 words in order to win. By using the game configuration you can create new variants by changing the number of words and their distribution.
You do this by editing the numbers in the table of word combinations. There's three different word types, represented by the circles: target words, unused words and black words. These can be combined in 9 ways, but you can only adjust 6 values to keep the game symmetric (both players have the same combinations).
The values for the combinations where the words are the same type for both players are set in total, while the other combinations are set with the number per player, to keep the game symmetric.
The first page is by default interactive to enable play on device. Click on words to toggle their status. Found words are automatically marked in both sections.
Click on the tracker table cells to enter clues or toggle values.
The following browser versions or newer are needed to render the pages properly:
| Browser | Version |
|---|---|
| Chrome | 88 |
| Firefox | 89 |
| Safari | 15 |
Both Chrome and Firefox has been tested to produce printable pages.
To make sure all page elements print out, enable the "background graphics" option.
Safari seems to have issues with printing and can split up pages in weird ways.
Text might wrap incorrectly if the page previews are small. They should still print fine. Set the browser's minimum font setting to 0 to avoid this issue.
Inspired by cnpaperplay which in turn is based on the boardgame Codenames Duet.