If you’re looking for a quick way to expand your creativity, find yourself a few friends or colleagues and play Codenames. It’s a game where you provide one-word clues that link a set of words together – allowing your partner to guess your words without guessing those of your opponent. It’s harder than it seems but forces you to use your imagination and to consider dual meanings of words. Does “march” refer to the calendar or a military formation? Is “strike” a reference to bowling or the picket line? Would “draft” mean an initial stab at writing or a chilly breeze?
Games such as Codenames allow you to see different perspectives in a light-hearted setting. Oftentimes, partners are on one wavelength while the opposing team furrows their brow as if they can’t comprehend how we were able to guess correctly with those clues. Other times, the clue seems so obvious to the giver but is obtuse for the receiver.
Codenames is good practice not only in creativity but in empathy as people realize that communication has different meanings to different people. People may not hear you if you tried to convey this message in a heated context or around a topic that engenders passion, but you may be able to make the point after a game night or two.
