If you’ve ever sat around a tabletop trying to figure out how a single word could possibly connect "Adobo," "Jeepney," and "Chismis" without landing your team on the Assassin card, you already know the magic of Codenames.
Designed by Vlaada Chvátil and published by Czech Games Edition (CGE), Codenames has been a staple in the board gaming community for years. The core concept is deceptively simple: two rival Spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents laid out in a grid. By giving one-word clues and a number, they try to guide their teammates to contact their own agents before the other team does—all while avoiding neutral bystanders and the instant-loss Assassin card. It’s light, high-stakes, and endlessly replayable.
Plus, if you've been keeping an eye on our shelves at Gaming Library, CGE's refreshed edition of the original classic will be hitting our library soon! But whenever I think about Codenames, my mind instantly jumps back to a specific deck: Codenames: Philippine Edition.
The Secret Origin (and Snack Obsession) of Codenames PH
Long before I joined the Gaming Library team, Codenames: Philippine Edition was already making waves across game nights nationwide. It was created by Adrian and his team, who took CGE’s brilliant system and infused it with pure Filipino culture—places, traditions, pop culture, and lots of local flavor.
There’s actually a running insider joke about this deck: if you’ve ever wondered why there seem to be so many food-related words on the cards, it’s not just a coincidence. Legend has it that while Adrian and the crew were working long hours localizing the word lists, they were constantly ordering snacks and eating. Naturally, their craving-fuelled brainpower leaked straight into the game!
A 2019 Game Night in Cebu
Back in 2019, I moved to Cebu for work. Being away from home, the very first thing on my checklist was to find a local board game group. Luckily, I connected with a wonderful community of gamers pretty quickly.
One evening, we broke out Codenames: Philippine Edition. What followed was one of the most memorable game nights I’ve ever had.
Even though my Cebuano friends were fluent and comfortable conversing in Tagalog/Filipino, word-association games hit differently. Everyday Tagalog words took on totally unexpected double meanings under pressure. Watching everyone get equally amazed, stumped, and competitive over the word choices was hilarious. Every few turns, someone would look over at me with a grin, searching for guidance or questioning whether a specific slang term really meant what their Spymaster intended.
Full Circles and Shared Language
That game night taught me a lot about linguistic nuance. While Tagalog and Cebuano intersect in so many ways, the subtle cultural weight behind certain words shifts depending on where you grew up.
It’s funny how life works—fast-forward to today, and Gaming Library is opening a new store right in SM City Cebu! As our team works on bringing GL closer to the local community, we’re the ones learning Cebuano/Bisaya now, constantly catching ourselves realizing just how many subtle nuances we’re discovering along the way.
It’s a complete full-circle moment for me. The very game that helped me break the ice and build lasting friendships in Cebu back in 2019—Codenames: Philippine Edition—is connected to the same community we're coming back to serve today.
At the end of the day, that’s what makes board gaming so special. Whether you’re decoding clues in Tagalog, Bisaya, or English, tabletop games are a universal language. They give us a reason to sit around the same table, debate over silly word connections, share a good laugh, and leave as closer friends than when we sat down.
About Gaming Library
Gaming Library aims to be the go-to resource for board games, providing not only titles that can be enjoyed by families, but also to be enjoyed by friends both newcomers and veterans alike. By pulling from different resources from all over the world, we at Gaming Library curate an impressive collection of games for consumers to choose from, suitable for anybody from casual players to hardcore hobbyists. In doing so, we hope to provide the best means to foster activities that strengthen family ties and friendships, while teaching relevant skills and practical critical thinking that can be applied to your everyday life.
