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Agent Hunter
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- 6.2
Codename: Oracle
2014
Rules assistance for Codename: Oracle
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 30 min
- 13+
- Complexity 2.0/5
Rules assistant for Codename: Oracle
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Codename: Oracle is a board game released in 2014 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Andrew J. Clark and its main mechanics are Memory.
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About the game
In Codename: Oracle, you are an American CIA Psychic Operative or a Soviet KGB Mentalist in a struggle of wills with the fate of the world at stake. Can you pry the launch codes out of your target's mind before a nuclear showdown? Each player has a "Mind-field" made up of a 4x5 grid of Zener cards. (Zener cards were designed by perceptual psychologist Karl Zener in the early 1930s and used to conduct experiments for extra-sensory perception, most often clairvoyance.) The players also have a "Code Row" of five cards which represents their launch code. Players must position and remember where cards are in their mind-field in order to group them and perform a "strike", "shield", or "focus". Each of these has a different effect depending on the matching Zener cards turned over and used. To win the game, a player must either correctly guess each Zener card in the opponent's Code Row, or deal enough psychic damage to the opponent to move that player's life counter to zero.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Wishing Tree Games
Questions and answers
Codename: Oracle supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Codename: Oracle is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Codename: Oracle for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Codename: Oracle has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Codename: Oracle belongs to these categories: Card Game, Deduction, and Memory. Its main mechanics are Memory. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Codename: Oracle are: Andrew J. Clark. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Codename: Oracle as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.