A Czech-made board game has been named the prestigious “Game of the Year 2016” by German board game association Spiel des Jahres.
Codenames, developed by Czech Games Edition and game designer Vladimír Chvátil, competed with a field of about 300 board games produced by companies around the world for the prize, among the most prestigious in the board game industry.
In the espionage-themed game for 2-8 players, two teams of spies compete to make contact with their own agents while avoiding the other team using one-word clues and matching colors.
The game was also warmly received at last year’s Gen Con, an annual board games convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana, and won 2015 Awards for Best Party Board Game and Best Family Board Game by the 2015 Golden Geek Awards.
On Amazon.com, it scores a perfect 5-star rating from over 500 customer reviews.
In an exclusive adults-only version of the game sold by retail giant Target in the states, players must match more risqué terms as opposed to the usual family-friendly vocabulary.