Question 1

Which version is preferred by most people? The original one with words or the picture one? I have played the original and just not sure which to get

Accepted Answer

My family prefers the one with words especially when we play with older family members who may have trouble seeing the small details in the pictures but both are very fun!!

Question 2

My mothers doctor suggested getting this to her to help with her memory (alzheimer's).  does anyone use codenames pictures for that purpose ?

Accepted Answer

My grandfather who is in his eighties enjoys playing Codenames when we have family gatherings (his mind is still sharp, though he takes a little longer to think about things than he used to).   But he likes to play as a supporting member of the team rather than take a lead with thinking through every possible connection for 25 cards (which might seem overwhelming and take too long, at least for the larger group to keep having fun).  So, this might be an example of our team's dialogue during a turn of the game (we have the version of Codenames with printed words): "Chris gave us the clue *rescue* and said there are two cards that he wants us to find.  Hmmm...cat, code, honey, fire...  Maybe fire?"   Grandpa: "Yeah, that seems like a safe guess."  "OK, let's look for the second one.   Maybe a helicopter because a helicopter can rescue someone who is injured?   Oh, but there is also the word dog...and some dogs are trained to be rescue dogs.  They both seem like good answers.   Which one do you think Chris might have been thinking of?"  My grandpa likes to help vote on which final guesses our team should give.  We always give my grandfather the choice of whether he wants to take a turn being the clue giver or instead let another member of our team take an extra turn as clue giver.  He never wants to be clue giver because he wisely recognizes that it would take a long time for him to think up the clues.  It is a cognitively very challenging task to have a set of 25 word (or picture) cards and think of a clue that will make people guess only two or three specific cards while eliminating potential clues that might risk your team members mistakenly guessing one of the many cards that you don't want them to guess  (Chris, in my above example, was probably thinking, "Uh oh...rescue dog?  That connection didn't even occur to me!  I hope they guess helicopter!")   Thinking up good clues makes my brain kinda exhausted and I'm half my grandfather's age  :-)My comments thus far have been about using Codenames with its traditional rules as a competitive game for 4+ players.  There is a 2 player variation, which would have you and your mother playing cooperatively (and simulating an opposing team by covering up one of their eight assigned words each turn).  I suppose you could come up with your own variations of how to use the cards.  Perhaps if 25 cards is too many for your mother to think about, you could play a smaller version of the game with 16 cards or even 9 cards.  You could abandon the regular game rules entirely if they are too complex and create a simpler game or activity.  For example, you could set out just 4 cards and give your mom a clue and ask her to guess which two cards you were thinking of when you made the clue.Another game that might be worth considering is Dixit.  It has dreamlike illustrations.  I think of it as being a game that touches on the emotions, whereas Codenames seems to give more exercise to the logical side of the brain.  If you think that your mom would enjoy the detailed illustrations (rather than find them bizarre and confusing), you could perhaps enjoy Dixit together.  It is usually played as a lightly competitive game with three or more players, but if you google "Dixit two player" you'll find some ideas that people have suggested for two player cooperative versions of the game.

Question 3

What is the difference between this edition and the $14 one?

Accepted Answer

I'm guessing the $14 one you're referring to is the original Codenames.  Codenames is played with cards containing a single word on each side.  In Codenames Pictures, the cards are pictures.

Question 4

Is this the XLL size?

Accepted Answer

Nope.

Model Number	CGE00036
Number of Game Players	10
Number of Pieces	1
Batteries Required?	No
Batteries Included	No
Material Type(s)	Paper
Target Gender	Unisex
Manufacturer recommended age	3 years and up
Language	English
Item model number	CGE00036
Product Dimensions	22.86 x 16.51 x 6.99 cm; 599 g
ASIN	B01HT9DERU

Codenames Pictures Card Game

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