Guessing secret codes is a staple mechanic for board games these days, largely thanks to the stupendous smash hit that is Czech Games Edition’s Codenames – but if that’s the only tabletop game of spies, codes, and ciphers you’ve tried, you’re missing out on some real gems. Top of the class is Decrypto, a clever twist on the same experience – and right now you can scoop a copy 50% off at Target for a frankly unmissable price of $12.24.
Don’t get me wrong, Codenames deserves the plaudits it gets – it’s helped bring thousands of new fans into the board gaming hobby, and has enjoyed stints in our list of the best board games ever. Its 2-player adaptation has pride of place in our guide to the all time best couples board games.
But a nerd cannot survive on one game alone. If you love you some Codenames, but want to level up the complexity a bit, Decrypto is the perfect choice – especially as, with 50% discount, it’ll cost you less than a pizza.
Here’s how it works: you’ll split into two teams, with each team getting a board of four secret code words facing them, numbered one to four. Each team nominates a ‘decrypter’ every round, who will secretly draw a card with three numbers on it.
The decrypter must give their team three separate clues to the words on their board corresponding to those numbers (in order) without using the words themselves. Their teammates then have to guess the three digit sequence right. So far, so word association.
But the genius here is that each team is doing this at the same time, and trying to decipher the other team’s clues as well as their own. Everyone keeps notes of both teams’ clues as you go along, and uses that information to puzzle out each other’s clues the fastest. Everyone’s constantly trying to crack everyone else’s codes, just like real spies!
It might seem a bit of a headache written down like this, but you’ll pick it up very quickly, trust me – Watch it Played’s excellent video above may help out, too.
I’ve only played Decrypto a handful of times, but can honestly say the chaotic, two way deciphering makes for a uniquely fun mix of team strategy, misdirection, and mayhem. It pushes many of the same buttons as Codenames, but brings a lot more nervous energy and sneaky brain-work to the table, making it my personal favorite of the two. And, at just over 12 bucks, it’s a no brainer.
Got your own favorite party board games you think blow Decrypto and Codenames out of the water? Come let us know by joining the board games discussion in the Wargamer Discord community – we don’t even use ciphers in there, for ease of communication!
Source: Wargamer
