Czech Game of the Year

Czech Game of the Year – The 30th Award for Codenames and a Special Event

Nearly a decade after its release, Codenames continues to captivate players with its fun core mechanics—this applies to both its physical version and the mobile adaptation. The recent Czech Game of the Year awards underscore this ongoing appeal.

This year’s ceremony was special, as awards for two consecutive years were announced due to organizational reasons that appeared at the very last moment last year. CGE had two titles nominated: the current hit Codenames and Boom Mania, a simple and accessible action game paying tribute to classics like Bomberman and Dyna Blaster.

While Boom Mania didn’t win in its category, Codenames achieved significant success. It has won the award for Best Game Design of 2022. “We are, of course, delighted. For us, excellent gameplay remains—perhaps a bit old-fashionedly—the most important aspect of a game. By the way, Codenames is the only mobile title that has made its way among ‘major games’ for PCs and consoles across both award years,” commented Ondřej Skácel from CGE.

For Codenames, this means its 30th award to date. Beyond the Czech Game of the Year, in both its digital and tabletop forms, the game has previously received honors such as the Golden Geek Award and Mensa Best Game. It has also been named Game of the Year in Germany, Japan, or Poland.

The digital version of Codenames was released in the Czech Republic in December 2022, followed by its global English release in September 2024. A German translation launched a month later, and a French version is currently in development, with preparations underway for five more languages.

“Each new translation of Codenames is a real challenge for us. The game relies heavily on word associations and linguistic nuances. Translating the user interface takes just days, but creating word lists and ensuring players can only use valid clues require hundreds of hours of work. These translations can bear comparison to the complexity of localizing some RPGs or adventure games,” added Ondřej Skoupý, a designer responsible for the game’s localization.