Codenames Copilot
Overview
Codenames Copilot is a browser-based AI toolkit designed to help Spymasters think more strategically during the game Codenames.
It offers three complementary features to support game play:
Clue Creator — Generates high-quality, multi-word clues with danger-word avoidance.
Clue Canvas — A workspace where players brainstorm, compare, and organize clue ideas.
Clue Checker — Reverse-engineers a clue to show which words it might accidentally point to, including risks.
Together, these features support both creative clue generation and risk-aware decision making without removing human strategy or breaking game balance.
Problems Solved
Being a Spymaster requires juggling a lot at once: creativity, strategy, and risk management under time pressure. Codenames Copilot focuses on solving the three core pain points Spymasters face:
1. It’s hard to think of clues on the spot.
The Clue Creator helps players come up with strong starting ideas. When you’re staring at the board and nothing comes to mind, or you’re trying to connect multiple words without hitting a danger word. It gives you inspiration and direction.
2. It’s hard to keep track of your ideas.
The game provides no built-in way to organize or compare your clue options. The Clue Canvas gives players a dedicated place to store, group, and prioritize their top clue ideas so they can think a few steps ahead and stay organized as the board evolves.
3. It’s hard to know if your clue is safe.
Even when you think you’ve got a good clue, there’s always the fear of accidentally pointing to the assassin or the other team’s words. The Clue Checker reviews your clue and shows which words it’s most likely to point to — helping you spot the biggest risks and feel more confident before committing.
My Process
I built Codenames Copilot from scratch on Replit, handling the UX design, AI prompts and ranking logic, feature development, and monetization strategy. Every feature was shaped by how real players used the tool and what they asked for:
Early users requested a way to sanity-check their own clues → Clue Checker
Players wanted faster setup with fewer typos → Board Manager
Users needed a place to compare ideas visually → Clue Canvas
High API usage from a small set of heavy players → introduced credit packs to cover costs sustainably
I optimized for speed, clarity, and mobile-friendliness so the tool works during real, in-the-moment gameplay.
Impact
800+ users signups
User return rate of ~23% across multiple days
Reached users in 25 countries, entirely through organic discovery
The majority of active users use multiple features, not just the initial clue generator
Monetization: 3 credit-pack sales in the first week, with almost $20 total earned so far
Key learning: players don’t just want AI to give them clues. They want a system that supports their thinking process across creativity, planning, and risk evaluation.