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Codenames: Marvel
Codenames: Marvel combines the hit social word game Codenames, while featuring characters and locations from the Marvel Universe including, Spider Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers and Doctor Strange.
In Codenames, two teams — S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra in this case — compete to see who can guess all of their field agents (identified by either a word or picture) correctly first — but those field agents are hiding in plain sight in a 5×5 grid that includes the agents of the other team, neutral words, and an assassin that will cause you to lose the game immediately if you guess it. One person on each team is a spymaster and only these two know which agents belong to each team. Spymasters take turns giving one-word clues that can help their teammates identify multiple agents on the board. Their teammates try to guess agents of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team — and everyone wants to avoid the assassin.
| Ages | 8+ |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players, 5 Players, 6 Players |
| Play Time | 15m |
| Designer | Casey Sershon, Vlaada Chvátil |
| Mechanics | Communication Limits, Push Your Luck, Team-Based Game, Memory, Pattern Recognition |
| Theme | Card Game, Comic Book / Strip, Deduction, Party Game |
| Publisher | Czech Games Edition, The OP |
DSmitty
I'm not a big fan of Codenames, and I don't watch superhero movies, so this game is not a match for me. I got it for the kids, but they don't play it. Seems like you'd have to be a huge Marvel fan to play the game, and it seems like you'd have a hard time finding the right crowd to play it with.
billarama
So it's exactly what you think it is, if you've ever played Codenames. The Marvel theme creates two problems. The first is practical, in that because it's all Marvel stuff, what you really end up testing isn't your command of Marvel lore so much as your understanding of your teammates' knowledge. That's a weird thing to test. But this is surmountable with the right crowd. Less surmountable is that the fun of Codenames is in finding clever ways to associate words by using different meanings or connections. But there just aren't many ways to associate "Baron von Strucker" or "Attilan." The specific theming neuters exactly what makes the game fun. I still like Marvel things, but I'd rather just play Codenames.
alexs34
This seems best with players who are all up to date on their Marvel knowledge. Not so good otherwise.