How to play Agents — free online one-clue spy deduction game
One codeword. Extract your three agents — and dodge the double agent.
- Players
- 3–4
- Length
- ~9 min
- Type
- Deduce
- Price
- Free
Agents is a one-clue spy game. Each round a rotating handler secretly sees which three words in a nine-word grid are their planted agents — and which single word is the enemy double agent. They get to say one thing: a codeword and a number.
Everyone else has to read that codeword and tap the words it points at. Get them and the extraction lands. Tap the double agent and the whole thing blows up in the handler's face — which is, reliably, the funniest outcome of the round.
The Handler's board shows which words are theirs — keep that screen hidden and let the one typed clue do the talking.
Free, no app and no sign-up to join — players hop in with a 4-letter code on their own phone.
How to play Agents
The handler is dealt the board
One player per round sees the nine-word grid marked up: three of their agents, one double agent, and five neutral words. That screen is for their eyes only.
They write one codeword and a number
The handler types a single word that they hope links their agents together, plus how many words the room should tap. That's their entire turn — no gestures, no follow-ups, no clarifications.
The room reads the clue
Everyone else sees the same nine words and the codeword. The argument about what the handler could possibly have meant is the heart of the round.
Tap the words you think are agents
The room taps up to the number the handler gave. Each tap flips over immediately, so a hit encourages the next guess and a neutral word is a warning.
Hit the double agent and it's over
Tapping the double agent ends the extraction on the spot. The reveal shows the full board and exactly how badly the codeword was read.
What Agents looks like
How scoring works
The room banks points for every agent it extracts, so a codeword that lands two or three is worth far more than a cautious one that lands one.
Hitting the double agent ends the round immediately and costs the room whatever it hadn't already banked. That single trap word is what stops handlers from giving vague clues that cover half the board.
The handler role rotates every round, so everyone gets the same number of turns giving clues and reading them. Points accumulate across rounds.
Tips for winning Agents
- As handler, check the double agent FIRST and pick a codeword that can't possibly point at it. A clue that links your agents but also fits the trap is a disaster waiting to happen.
- Ask for two rather than three when your third agent is a stretch. Banking two is worth more than blowing the round on a hopeful third.
- As a guesser, start with the word the codeword fits most obviously. The handler was aiming at something, and the safest tap is their most direct hit.
- Say your reasoning out loud before tapping. Someone else in the room usually spots the trap you were about to walk into.
Frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Agents?
Three to four. It needs at least three so there's a handler plus a room to read the clue.
Is Agents like Codenames?
It's in the same one-clue-many-words family, with two differences: there's one handler per round rather than two teams, and the trap word ends the extraction rather than losing the game outright. Rounds take a couple of minutes and it runs free in the browser.
Do we need to talk to each other?
It helps a lot — arguing about what the codeword meant is most of the fun — but it isn't required. The one thing that matters is that the handler keeps their board hidden.
Is it free?
Yes, free to play and free to host. Joining a room needs only the 4-letter code.
Free, no app and no sign-up to join — players hop in with a 4-letter code on their own phone.