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what is codenames fr?

tobymao/codenames — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2018-05-21

6RubyAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

tl;dr

A web-based version of the Codenames board game that lets people play the word-association game remotely with friends or coworkers.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((codenames))
    What it does
      Online Codenames game
      Real-time play
      Browser-based
    Tech stack
      Ruby backend
      JavaScript frontend
    Use cases
      Virtual game night
      Remote play with friends
      Fork and customize
    Audience
      Board game fans
      Coworkers
      General

Code map

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filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Host a virtual Codenames game night with remote friends or coworkers.

VIBE 2

Play Codenames online without needing a physical board.

VIBE 3

Fork the project to add custom features like chat or user accounts.

VIBE 4

Run the game locally to test or explore how the spymaster clue system works.

what's the stack?

RubyJavaScript

how it stacks up fr

tobymao/codenamesn8n-io/homebrew-n8nobsproject/homebrew-tools
Stars666
LanguageRubyRubyRuby
Last pushed2018-05-212022-11-032026-06-12
MaintenanceDormantDormantMaintained
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity2/51/51/5
Audiencegeneraldeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · moderate time til it works · 30min

Requires installing Ruby dependencies and starting a local server before playing.

The README does not specify license details.

in plain english

This project lets you play Codenames, the popular board game, with other people online instead of needing everyone in the same room. It's a web-based version where players can join games through their browser and compete in real time. Codenames is a word-association game where two teams try to guess secret words on a grid based on one-word clues. One player on each team acts as the "spymaster" and gives clues to help their teammates identify which words belong to their team. The challenge is giving clues that are specific enough to help your team but not so obscure that the other team figures things out instead. This online version lets you skip the physical board and play remotely with friends, coworkers, or random opponents. The project is built with Ruby on the backend (the server that runs the game logic) and JavaScript on the frontend (what you see and interact with in your browser). To get it running, you install the necessary code libraries, start the server, and then open a browser window to play. The setup is fairly straightforward, it just takes a few command-line commands to get everything going locally on your computer. You'd use this if you enjoy Codenames but want to play digitally without setting up a physical board, or if your friends are scattered across different locations. It's the kind of project a group of coworkers might spin up for a virtual game night, or people interested in board games might fork and customize for their own purposes. The README doesn't go into much detail about features like user accounts, game lobbies, or chat functionality, so you'd need to explore the actual application to see what's available.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Help me set up and run this Codenames Ruby app locally so I can host a game.
prompt 2
Explain how the spymaster clue-giving logic likely works in this codebase.
prompt 3
Suggest how I could add a chat feature to this online Codenames game.
prompt 4
Walk me through the install steps for getting the Ruby backend and JavaScript frontend running together.

Frequently asked questions

what is codenames fr?

A web-based version of the Codenames board game that lets people play the word-association game remotely with friends or coworkers.

What language is codenames written in?

Mainly Ruby. The stack also includes Ruby, JavaScript.

Is codenames actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2018-05-21).

What license does codenames use?

The README does not specify license details.

How hard is codenames to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is codenames for?

Mainly general.

peek the repo → explain another one

This repo across BitVibe Labs

double-check against the repo, no cap.