How to Play Codenames and Quick Tips for Busy Families in Friday’s Fast Five 13th Edition

Building a stronger, happier family is at the top of most parents’ list. However, we are busy! These weekly Fast Five ideas and tips are a quick way to brainstorm, check-in, and create the family relationships you really want. Today’s ideas include how to play Codenames (a fun family game), a gratitude idea, a quick cleaning hack, and more. Happy Friday!

* These ideas are NOT meant to be a checklist or guilt trip of things we “should do.” Rather, they are intended to inspire you to find what works for YOUR family to learn, laugh, and love together. Remember to stick to the Simple Side of Parenting.

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What is Friday’s Fast Five?

Each Friday, we share five quick and simple ideas for families under the following categories:

1. Something Fun

This is an activity, game, entertainment recommendation, or simple outing for family fun.

2. A Little Lesson

Here you will find a simple lesson to help teach kids important ideas. Examples include life skills or personal qualities like kindness and patience.

3. A Service Idea

Volunteering is good for our mental and physical health. Serving together strengthens relationships with those we serve and those we serve with. Service can be fun and eye-opening. Service is an important way to learn, laugh, and love together.

4. Something Random

This is a random thought, idea, quote, or meme, typically to help you smile. 🙂

5. A Quick Tip

Here you will find a quick parenting or family tip for peaceful parenting or building a stronger, happier family. These come from research, personal experience, or those common sense reminders we all need to hear once in a while.

Subscribers also receive exclusive tips and downloads to simplify parenting life.

Yes, Please!

With that, here is the thirteenth edition of Friday’s Fast Five. (You can find other editions HERE.)

1. Something Fun: How to Play Codenames

Codenames is one of our family’s favorite games! It’s a unique thinking game played in teams. If you’re not familiar with this game, here’s how to play Codenames.

Codenames Set-up

Codenames is played with four or more players in two teams, red and blue. (You can also play a variation with fewer people.)

First, place 25 cards on the table in a five by five grid. These cards are called “codenames” and each card has one word written on it.

Choose one player from each team to give clues. This is the “spymaster.” Pick a map card, and put it in the holder. Only the spymasters look at the map card. The map card tells which cards belong to which team this round.

How to Play Codenames

To play the game, spymasters take turns giving a one-word clue and one number to their team. Spymasters try to think of a clue that will help their teammates guess their own Codenames cards, without guessing any other cards. The number tells how many cards go with the clue.

For example, in the picture above, I might say, “Fly, 2.” This tells my team that we have two cards related to the word fly. What do you think they could be? (I’m trying to get them to guess helicopter and trip.)

The team discusses together and then guesses cards one at a time.

If they guess a codename card that belongs to our blue team, we put a blue agent card on top of it, and the team gets to guess again. If they guess a codename card that belongs to the other team or neither team, we put a red agent card or brown bystander card on top of it, and our turn is over.

At any point in the game, if anyone guesses the codename card represented by the black X on the map card, that is the “assassin,” and the team loses. The assassin is shark in the game above.

How to Win Codenames

With practice, learning how your team thinks, and some luck, spymasters can connect multiple words at once. Clues can get really creative, and it’s entertaining to be on either end of the game, either giving or figuring out clues.

The team that guesses all of their codename cards first wins.

And that is how to play Codenames!

Who Codenames is Good For

The Codenames box says it’s made for age ten and older. That’s a pretty good estimate to play completely independently and at a higher level of strategy. But technically, younger kids can learn how to play Codenames too. Kids just need to be able to read in order to play. Our younger kids and relatives play all the time, but they sometimes need help thinking of clues when it’s their turn to be the spymaster.

We play this game a lot as a family or on adult game nights. Because the cards change every round, each time you play the game is a little different. It’s an awesome game for anyone that enjoys thinking games that also include a little luck.

We have the original Codenames game, and we’re getting the Codenames Disney Family Edition for the kids this year for Christmas. (Don’t tell them!)

It’s a ton of fun!

Click image for purchasing information.

What are some of your favorite family games?

2. A Little Lesson: Gratitude Paper Chain

Grateful people are happy people! We can teach our kids to live in gratitude all year. One fun family activity that encourages us to appreciate our blessings is to make a Gratitude Chain as a family.

Cut strips of construction paper or any colored paper. Have a family member write something they’re grateful for on each strip of paper.

Use a stapler, glue stick, or tape to connect the strips into a chain.

See how long your family Gratitude Chain can be! Hang it up in your home as a reminder of all your many blessings.

Related: 15 Ways to Practice Gratitude as a Family

Wondering how to fit Little Lessons into your busy family schedule?

The two main ways to fit important lessons into your busy family schedule are to find spontaneous teaching moments throughout the day and to schedule family learning time each week. These two posts go into detail about these two ways and tips for making it happen with your family.

How Busy Parents Can Teach Important Life Lessons

6 Tips for Family Time that Teaches Life’s Most Important Lessons

3. A Service Idea: Kits for the Homeless

Reach out to people who are homeless.

As a family, talk about the struggle of homelessness. Put together kits with items like hygiene supplies, new socks, gloves, and nonperishable snacks. Many homeless women have a hard time getting feminine hygiene supplies, so you can also make kits especially for women.

Write kind notes to include in each kit.

Keep the kits in your car, and give them to homeless people you pass. Help your kids be sure to share eye contact, a smile, and a kind word with the kit.

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Service is a great way to build a stronger, happier family. If you want more service ideas, request Raising Compassionate Children in a Conceited World, which includes 101 Service Ideas for Families.

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4. Something Random: Emails!

Anyone else or just us?

And apparently it’s not a one-way thing. One teacher mentioned she was getting over 200 emails a day too! Crazy!

5. A Quick Tip: Cleaning Hack

It can be overwhelming to keep up with the cleaning, especially if we have kiddos undoing the clean all day. 😉 But we can get necessary cleaning done by making good use of little pockets of time we find throughout the day or doing routine quick cleans at the end of a day or activity.

Our brains kick into gear when there is a limited amount of time. We don’t put as much effort into making decisions and instead just get the work done. Additionally, we’re generally more motivated if we know when a task will end, so we can get ourselves to do this, even at the end of a tiring day.

This is one of my favorite cleaning hacks for busy parents because we can use this tip for motivating our kids clean too. And getting the kids on board will cut an incredible amount of home management stress! (There’s another tip for you! 😉 )

Add some fun by using a play list as your timer: “Let’s see how much we can clean for five songs. Ready, go!”

Related: 10 Cleaning Hacks for Busy Moms: Tips to Stress Less about Cleaning and Enjoy Life More

And that is Friday’s Fast Five!

Yes, Please!

You can also see Friday’s Fast Five on Instagram or other editions HERE.

Building a Stronger, Happier Family

It takes time and intention to build a stronger, happier family. I hope Friday’s Fast Five helps you find the ways that work for YOUR family to learn, laugh, and love together.

We will never regret the time we devote to our families and relationships with our kids.

Have a great weekend with your family, know that you’re loved, and keep on lovin’!

Do you have a great idea for a future Friday’s Fast Five? Have a question or parenting struggle you want help with? Share in the comments, shoot me an Email, or schedule a call.

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