# Codenames — user reviews > 437 indexed App Store user reviews of Codenames by CGE Digital s.r.o., rated 4.70/5 from 1,090 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codenames/id1055650930/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codenames/id1055650930.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 953 · 4★ 66 · 3★ 27 · 2★ 12 · 1★ 32 ## What do users think of Codenames? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Smooth and intuitive gameplay - 🎨 Excellent visual design - 💰 Good value for money - 🕹️ Engaging single-player modes - 🤝 Enjoyable multiplayer experience - 🔓 No microtransactions or ads **Cons** - ⏱️ Long wait times for other players - 🌐 Connectivity issues and server problems - 🌍 Cultural differences and language barriers - 🔒 Restrictive clue-giving rules - 🤖 Jury system allowing questionable words **Commonly reported bugs** - Initial launch with only Czech language support - Occasional app crashes and server disconnections **Most requested features** - Add Codenames Duet mode - Implement AI/bot players for faster games - Allow custom word packs and themes - Add a 'speed mode' for faster gameplay - Improve the jury system to maintain game integrity ## Newest reviews (14 of 437) ### 4/5 — Great Game…But There Needs To Be Fixes *2026-08-24, version 2.6.4579* I just started playing this game a couple of days ago, and I love it! I really like the adaptation of the board game and the additions of side games and achievements. It makes for a captivating game that you can spend a long time on. However, there is one issue that I have with this game which is the long wait times for a lot of the games. I mean some take hours to days to play. I know that the developers encourage to keep multiple games open so that you can play more, but I don’t that enjoy a whole lot. The reason why is that most of the games end up stalling near the last move and it clogs up the inbox. I would rather have games where I could complete all the way through with one play-through. So if there is a way to optimize the experience that would be great. With all that I said, I do recommend this game if you are a fan of the board game since it is really fun to play! Just be aware of waiting for a while for some games. ### 4/5 — Fantastic! *2026-08-23, version 2.6.4579* Really enjoy this game! Lots of opportunities for different words and challenges. My only real issue is the verdicts. So many non-words get approved simply because “ish” or “like” are added as suffixes to real words. Like cubed > cubedish and webbing > webbinglike. In most cases, the actual English words are a fine clue. Cubedish doesn’t add much to the word cubed and you could use webbed or webbing instead of webbinglike. It’s a cheap way to add a potential modifier to a word. For example you can’t say “not x” or “non x” as a false prefix for something it’s not. Why do people have such a hard time just sticking to the rules and English in these games? ### 3/5 — Brilliant adaptation but read the reviews first! *2026-08-22, version 2.6.4579* It’s a great adaptation of the party game BUT, I wish I had dug into the reviews before buying. There is some limited offline content but it is - as the devs say repeatedly in their responses here - primarily an asynchronous multiplayer game where your opponents will step away for apparently hours (days?) at a time If you’re looking for a faithful adaptation to just fire it up and play a quick game this is not that ### 3/5 — So much fun, but do wish there was like a computer automatic system that could play the opposing sid *2026-08-12, version 2.6.4579* I do love this app. I just wish there was a way you could like. Kind of play with a computer because having to wait for people to respond is kind of annoying but I do get it. ### 3/5 — Fun but … *2026-08-12, version 2.6.4579* This is a fun game, but apparently it is not played in real time. After waiting over an hour for the other operative to play, I left the game to cook dinner. Then I got a message that if I left games I would be considered an “unreliable player “. How long am I expected to wait? I was going to ask friends to get this game so we could play together, but now I don’t think so. ### 3/5 — Needs more to do *2026-08-09, version 2.6.4579* It’s a great game. Very well designed. The issue is: too many times there’s nothing to do. I’m waiting for other players to make their move. ### 2/5 — 日本語追加して欲しい *2026-06-09, version 2.5.4497* お願いします ### 4/5 — Can you please add the DUO Version as gameplay? *2026-06-06, version 2.5.4497* The game is so promising and well designed. A bit tough to get into but nice! Really waiting for the Duo Version where you can play 1:1 ### 4/5 — Over all a fun game *2026-05-29, version 2.5.4484* I had a fun time playing it with family and strangers the only downside about playing with strangers is that you have to wait a long time to actually play but a very fun game. ### 3/5 — Persian Language *2026-05-21, version 2.5.4469* I really enjoy playing Codenames on your website, and I think it is a great game. It would be amazing if you could add Persian language support to the app as well. Thank you! ### 3/5 — Vertical Orientation Mode *2026-05-05, version 1.57.4430* Please consider adding an option to play in vertical orientation mode. This would make a big difference usability and overall experience, especially since vertical orientation already works in the mobile browser but not in the paid app. ### 5/5 — Enjoyable game! *2026-04-28, version 1.57.4425* Very enjoyable version of the game but can seem slow paced since you have to wait for players in the team to return online. So you have 24 hours to play per game & would have a few running at the time. ### 4/5 — Stürzt bei Nutzung des Chats ab *2026-04-20, version 1.57.4396* Und zwar seit vielen Wochen inzwischen schon. Könnte auch langsam mal behoben werden. Außerdem wäre es mal ganz schön, neue Wörter zuzufügen (Basiswörter). Es ist totaler Stillstand. ### 3/5 — Inaccessible at best *2026-04-18, version 1.57.4396* I cannot shrink the window to only take up half my screen. Therefore I cannot play with groups who simultaneously use Zoom cuz I gotta view a sign language interpreter on Zoom. I woulda loved to play this game but I need my language access for communication during gameplay. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — محد موجود اونلاين عشان يلعب! *2026-06-24, version 2.5.4507* اللعبه حلوه بس مشكلتها ما فيه لاعبين اون لاين، افتح القيم الحين له ٤ ايام مو قادرين نكمل لان ما فيه لاعبين! حسافة الفلوس فيها ### 1/5 — Makes No Sense *2026-06-21, version 2.5.4507* I played the game and enjoyed it up until I had to start creating clues… the game makes no sense. There should be a better tutorial or something…. Also, there is no explanation as to why certain words are associated with clues. It’s just blind guessing at times. ### 1/5 — Online play *2026-05-26, version 2.5.4475* Absolutely would not have paid for a game that is online play only. Fully defeats the purpose of a phone game. This was not listed anywhere I could find on the app page and I am very disappointed that gameplay is not accurately described anywhere in its listing. ### 1/5 — Dog water *2026-04-24, version 1.57.4396* At first, I thought I’d give this game a week to preform. I’ve had it two hours since installing for $5 and it’s the worst game i’ve ever paid for, let alone ran. It’s crashed 6 times since i unlocked the spymaster feature. An hour ago. This game is clearly full of bots. Don’t waste your money. There’s no real people. You will always play against ai. Worst $5 i’ve ever spent. For that amount of money without real players, atleast fix the game thrives. ### 1/5 — Broken Gameplay in Arabic Version – Exploited and Unfair *2026-04-23, version 1.57.4396* The Arabic version of this game has a serious gameplay issue that completely ruins the experience. Because Arabic contains many words and variations, players have found an easy exploit: they use the first letter of each word as a clue system. This basically bypasses the intended mechanics and turns the game into something unfair and uncompetitive. What’s worse is that a large percentage of players rely on this method—sometimes right from the start, but often switching to it when they begin losing. This removes any sense of skill, strategy, or fun. Instead of clever wordplay, the game becomes about exploiting a loophole that the system doesn’t seem capable of detecting or preventing. As a result, matches feel pointless, especially for players who want to play the game as intended. Until this issue is addressed—either by improving moderation, restricting certain clue patterns, or adapting the system for Arabic—the game will continue to feel broken in this language. I hope the developers take this seriously, because in its current state, the Arabic version is not enjoyable to play. ### 1/5 — Can’t actually play this game *2026-04-21, version 1.57.4396* I bought this expecting an offline game, but it’s online-only. Quick to find a match, but players don’t engage. I’ve waited 30+ minutes multiple times for spymasters to give clues or for players to answer. It’s infuriating. I feel like I wasted my money on a game I can barely play.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ### 1/5 — Waiting for data. *2026-01-31, version 1.57.4239* It was a good game but I cannot connect to servers due several weeks from different places and IPs (Russian or European over VPN). What’s wrong? Developers, you are losing players. Do you notice this situation? ### 1/5 — Die waiting *2026-01-29, version 1.57.4239* This game takes WAY TOO LONG to take a turn, ridiculously so. There should be a play with a bot option instead of playing with random people who don’t take their tun for hours. ### 1/5 — Hangs my iPhone *2026-01-26, version 1.57.4239* Looks pretty but it’s really hard to switch to other apps or shut it downwhen it’s running. Website for Codenames provides a good app for free. ### 1/5 — Türkçe yok acilen türkçe lazım kelimeler ingilzce geliyor *2026-01-08, version 1.57.4212* Türkçeeee ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Love this game *2026-08-22, version 2.6.4579* We often play the board game Codenames with our friends. This is a great alternative when you don’t have 4 people. We play games when we camp. The board game doesn’t work in wind, but the electronic version is a great alternative. ### 5/5 — Great game with lots of added interest *2026-06-15, version 2.5.4507* I love the board game and was made-up to discover the online version. It can be a bit frustrating wait for responses, but overall it’s so much fun. ### 5/5 — Improvement upon the board game *2026-06-12, version 2.5.4507* I expected the regular board game but as online experience, what I received instead was a compelx system of progression, achievements, games and even some sort of decor. ### 5/5 — the best mobile game *2026-06-10, version 2.5.4497* Soo good to killl. time and whatnot; just wish there was more stuff to do offline, like maybe downloading daily cases also would like better image sharing functionality like being able to share hints you gave to previous games/rounds without it showing the answers to show off how cool of a hint u made ### 5/5 — Saving me $$$$$ *2026-06-07, version 2.5.4497* This has replaced gambling and other expensive go to’s. Plus it’s building my linguistic skills. ### 5/5 — Top game *2026-05-21, version 2.5.4469* I have hardly ever written an app or a game review but I must do it for Codenames. We own physical board versions which are among the most popular in our family. The digital version adds a whole lot of new features and game modes. I am totally addicted and keeping my eyes open for other CGE games! ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2026-05-19, version 1.57.4430* The online version of this game is beautifully designed and super intuitive. It reflects the board game version fantastically. My Only gripe is I feel that the $5 price tag scares some people away (even though it’s worth it). Hopefully one day the price can go down so more new players will start. ### 5/5 — Incredible game with an incredible community *2026-05-19, version 1.57.4430* I can’t praise this game highly enough! It is polished, gorgeous, and well worth the one-time cost to purchase. But what really makes the game shine is the strong community of thoughtful players. ### 5/5 — تطوير اللعبه *2026-05-14, version 1.57.4430* اتمنى يكون فيه لاعبين اونلاين ماننتظر كثير باللعبه يصير طفش ### 5/5 — Worth it *2026-05-13, version 1.57.4430* Great but wish it were vertical instead of horizontal --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*