Codenames: Back to Hogwarts (English)

Codenames: Back to Hogwarts puts a new spin on the classic word-association gameplay of Codenames, while offering new thematic mechanics to change the gameplay for both longtime fans and new players.

As new first-year students at Hogwarts, players will be sorted into two rival houses, each with their own prefect who knows the secrets of the legendary school's mystery card grid. In turn, the prefects give their team of students a clue consisting of a single word and a number suggesting how many cards are associated with that word. Students must then follow these clues to explore Hogwarts by guessing the corresponding words and revealing one card at a time.

If they are correct, they can continue guessing words until the indicated number of times. If they encounter a card for the rival house, a dead end, a locked door or another obstacle, they will end their turn. Be careful not to get caught by goalkeeper Argus Filch, however, as this ends the game and marks a victory for the rival house. Each victory also earns points for their house, which can be tracked across multiple play sessions in the House Cup.

Beneath the surface, this should look very familiar to existing Codenames fans—at least mechanically. Codenames: Back to Hogwarts also adds new layers of strategic depth to classic Codenames gameplay in the form of unique asymmetric abilities.

Each house has access to two powerful and distinct special abilities. These abilities were designed to significantly transform the fundamentals of Codenames, providing muggles and wizards with surprising new gameplay possibilities. Because each game features two different houses, and each house will only use one of its two abilities, there are a multitude of possible combinations for players to explore and play with!