Disney Code Names: Win or Lose?
My daughter received Disney Code Names as a gift for Christmas last year. She was excited to get it. I was too. We played the game quite a bit over the holidays, partly because the cold temperatures forced us to stay inside and partly because my guilt kept me from letting my kids stare at screens all day. It was a fun way to spend some time together and snag a little Disney magic too. Today’s post shares my review of Disney Code Names.
Overview
Let’s start with an overview of how the game is played.
Disney Code Names is a lot like the original Code Names or the old Password game, if you’re familiar with either of those. Players compete on teams and use one word clues to guide their teammates to specific Disney-themed cards. A key or map, shown in the bottom of the picture above, helps the “cluemasters” determine which cards belong to each team so they can guide their team mates accordingly. The first team to correctly identify all 8 or 9 cards, without accidentally choosing the “Game Over” card wins.
Likes
There’s a lot to like about Disney Code Names. For starters, it only takes about fifteen minutes to play. This is a great selling point for convincing your less than enthusiastic friends and family members to join you. It also means you can easily adjust the number of rounds to fill whatever time you have available.
Secondly, it’s fun. The game mixes a little bit of strategy and word play with family-friendly silliness. It’s not too difficult either, which means you can easily chat, snack or discuss your favorite Disney films while playing. There’s not even a timer in this version, which keeps the mood mellow.
The third thing I like about the game, and these clearly are not in order, is the Disney theming. Each card depicts a Disney character or scene on one side and a written description of the image on the flip side. Most of the major Disney and Disney Pixar films are represented, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Moana. The number of cards allocated per film loosely matches its popularity (Two cards from The Good Dinosaur. Nine from Beauty and the Beast.)
Another thing I like about Disney Code Names is the game’s flexibility. You can arrange the cards to show all images, all words or some combination of both. These options allow you to cater the game to your specific situation (such as playing with kids that can’t read yet or people on opposite ends of the Disney-knowledge spectrum). You can also choose the traditional five-by-five grid to layout the cards, or a simpler four-by-four version. All of these variations are fun and great for repeat play.
The flexibility of the game also broadens the game’s appeal. Unlike the traditional Code Names that lists the age range as 14+ due to some of the vocabulary on the cards, Disney Code Names is designed for ages 8+. I suspect many younger kids could handle it too.
Dislikes
As much as I enjoy the game, there are a few less than perfect attributes I feel like I should mention too. First, the quality of the Disney cards isn’t great. Some of the images from the older films aren’t quite as bright as their newer counterparts. More importantly, all of the images are printed on thin card stock that causes them to move around a little too easily on a smooth surface. It’s not a huge deal, but it makes the game much harder to play in a car, outside or close to anybody prone to sneezing.
Another thing that could be disappointing to some is the game’s low level of difficulty. The rules allow you to use proper names as your code words. That means guiding your team mates to the Mickey Mouse card could be as easy as saying “Mickey.” That makes it a little too easy in my book, so you may have to get creative in what you allow or disallow as clues for your particular setting.
One final point, and this is getting really picky, is the “Game Over” card. In the original Code Names the “Game Over” card is really an assassin. This fits the overall spy storyline of the game. I think the Disney version missed a theming opportunity here by just calling it “Game Over” and putting a black X on the card. Couldn’t it have been a villain? A magic sleeping spell? Anything other than a black X on a plain card?
Like I said. Nit-picking. Disney’s theming is typically so over-the-top, sometimes it messes with my expectations.
Summary
So as you can tell from my lists above, there’s more to like about Disney Codes than to dislike. It’s a fun and quick game with tons of Disney characters for around $15-20. It’s also an easy way to get a little Disney fix on a snowy January afternoon, which is always a major plus in my (completely biased) opinion.
Add a little magic to your world!