Codenames

Codenames — Rules

Objective

Two teams compete to be the first to identify all of their team’s words on the grid using one-word clues from their Spymaster.

Setup

Split into two teams: Red and Blue. Each team chooses a Spymaster (gives clues) and Field Operatives (guessers).
Lay out a 5×5 grid of word cards (or words on screen).
Randomly select a key card that marks which words belong to Red, Blue, Neutral, and the Assassin. Only Spymasters can see the key.
The starting team has one extra word to guess.

Turn Structure

Clue Phase: The Spymaster gives exactly one word as a clue plus a number indicating how many words relate to the clue (e.g., “Ocean: 2”).
Guess Phase: The Operatives discuss and select words, revealing their identity after each round.

Giving Clues — Rules

Clue must be a single word (no hyphens or multi-word phrases).
No forms, parts, translations, or spelling tweaks of unrevealed words on the grid.
No gestures, sounds, or extra hints.
Number indicates how many words you want to link. 0 is allowed.

Making Guesses — Rules

Operatives may guess up to number + 1 times (the extra guess can catch up on older clues).
Revealing a card:
- Your Team’s Word: Covered with your color, keep guessing.
- Neutral Word: Covered neutral, turn ends.
- Opponent’s Word: Covered with opponent’s color, turn ends and helps them.
- Assassin: Immediate loss.
You may stop guessing anytime after at least one guess.

Ending the Game

First team to guess all their words wins.
Guessing the Assassin loses instantly.

About This Project

Overview

This is a real-time, multiplayer version of the game Codenames, designed for seamless play directly in the browser. It focuses on delivering a responsive, fast, and engaging experience whether played locally or across the globe. The project was built with scalability, maintainability, and professional deployment standards in mind.

Key Features

Real-time multiplayer gameplay powered by WebSockets.
Fully responsive UI built with Tailwind CSS for smooth desktop & mobile experience.
Persistent game states using MySQL and in-memory caching with Redis.
Secure, production-grade deployment with Ubuntu, Nginx, and Certbot for SSL encryption.
Dockerized environment ensuring reproducibility and easy scaling.

Tech Stack

Backend: Django, Django Channels (WebSockets), Python
Database: MySQL (persistent data), Redis (real-time state & caching)
Frontend: HTML5, Tailwind CSS, JavaScript (vanilla + DOM manipulation)
Deployment: Docker, Docker Compose, Ubuntu Server, GitHub Actions, Nginx, Certbot
Version Control: Git (GitHub-hosted repository)

Development Practices

Clean, modular code structure for easy maintenance and extension.
Environment variables for sensitive configuration and secure deployments.
Automated build & deploy pipeline via GitHub Actions, ensuring every push is tested and deployed to production without manual steps.
Optimized assets and lazy loading to ensure fast page loads.

Credits

Designed & developed by Danylo Samedov. You can explore more of my work and connect with me here:

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OPERATION: CODENAMES