CODEWORDS 2026

CODEWORDS is an encrypted word-puzzle game for 2–8 players, divided into two teams, ages 14 and up. Both teams compete simultaneously to decode encrypted words and assign them to the correct categories.

In each round, the teams see different sides of the same “Coded!” card, with each side featuring three codes. The puzzles use a variety of techniques, including opposites, phonetic spelling, emojis, English words, and words without vowels. The goal is to identify the hidden words or terms and determine which of six categories they belong to: Nature, Music, TV & Film, Brands & Advertising, Food, or Leisure Activities.

Each category has its own color. Teams arrange their three selected code cards in the correct order to create a color code. As soon as a team believes it has cracked the code, it draws the “Coded!” card, ending the first phase of the round.

A team earns 1 point for a completely correct color code. Each correctly solved wordpuzzle then earns an additional point, for a maximum of 4 points per round.The opposing team can also score 1 point for each of its categories that has already been placed correctly, provided they know the correct answer.

The first team to reach 15 points wins.

CODEWORDS combines collaborative word-puzzle solving with a race to crack the correct code. A game takes approximately 20 minutes.

—description from the publisher