Codenames Tournament

To finalize your tournament entry, Venmo $20 to @steve-pomerantz.

Half of the entry fee proceeds will be donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The other half will be awarded to the top three teams (60% to first place, 30% to second place, 10% to third place).

If you don't have a partner, you can sign up as a free agent and be paired with a partner.

There are two phases to the tournament: First we'll play a Regular Season where teams play five randomly assigned matches. Then we'll enter the Playoffs, a double-elimination bracket tournament.

Playoff seedings are based on Regular Season records.

Regular Season matches are 3 games. You get 1 point for each game won and -0.5 point if your team guesses the Assassin (the dark gray card). Playoff matches are best-of-five. (The first team to win three games wins the match.)

In the Playoffs, higher-seeded teams will have Home Court Advantage. The higher-seeded team's Spymaster will be allowed to choose their team's color for the entire match after seeing the Spymaster View of the first game board.

Up to twice per match, each team is allowed to Buy a Pass for an additional charitable donation of $2. Buying a Pass means refreshing the game board before the game starts because you don't like your cards.

In each round, you'll have one week to schedule, play, and report the results.

Matches will be played on Horsepaste while all four contestants are on a video conference (Zoom, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, or some other app).

Registration may close after the first 16 participants sign up, or we may choose to let more players in.

Individual players may not play on multiple teams.

Please don't take this too seriously, and remember to have fun!

The Official Codenames Rules govern play.

Compound words, proper names, acronyms, and abbreviations are allowed. Homonyms, rhymes, and made up words are not.

All clues have to be consistent as far as tone and intonation. No changes in volume, accent, or voice inflection.

Teammates are not allowed to communicate through facial expressions or extracurricular chatter. A Field Operative (i.e. the teammate receiving clues and making guesses) is permitted to think out loud until his or her turn ends.

There are no time limits.

Disputes, including failure to schedule a match, will be adjudicated by the Tournament Committee (i.e. Steve Pomerantz).