‘Everyone is thinking at the same time’: how Codenames became the board game of the decade Culture | The Guardian

‘Trying something out’ with a few scribbled notes, Czech games maestro Vlaada Chvátil conceived a tabletop contest than has since sold more than 15m units. Now it’s coming to take over your phone

My mum’s given me a clue: “soup: two”. I scan the grid of words before me, hunting for a pair. There’s “bowl”, “fog”, “bowler” and “Europe”. Soup is eaten in a bowl – that’s easy. What’s the second one? My mind races. Is European cuisine known for its soupyness? The word “bowl”, of course, is contained within “bowler”. I go with those two: bowl and bowler.

I’m wrong. It’s bowl and fog. “Like pea soup! Fog!” she exclaims, unable to contain her frustration. I have no clue what she’s talking about: it turns out we are two generations divided by a common language.

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