<p>No. First entry under &quot;Firm Rules&quot;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your clue must be about the meaning of the words. You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or <strong>its position on the table.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I agree with <a href="https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/51685/can-you-use-the-row-the-card-is-in-as-a-clue/51687#comment75178_51686">a comment on another answer</a> to keep the firm rule in place; as position clues can be used on every board, the game will become repetitive if they're allowed.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T02:10:35.947Z
2020-07-15T07:31:31.597Z
2020-07-15T07:31:31.597Z
deworde
<p>No.<br />
From the Codenames rule book:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your clue must be about the meaning of the
words. You can't use your clue to talk about
the letters in a word or its position on the table.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This rule is in place to keep the game interesting.</p>
<p>I would recommend keeping close to the game rules, but if the spymaster thinks they've got the perfect clue (Maybe there are two words relating to 'top' and one unrevealed card in the top row) the other spymaster can authorise a clue:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the opposing spymaster allows it, the clue is valid. If you aren't sure, ask your opponent. (Quietly,
so the others can't hear.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The only times I've asked the other spymaster have been words that are open compound words, such as 'pet food', which represent a single concept but don't have a single word name.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T03:11:39.360Z
I would **strongly** advise you to keep that rule in place (do not relax it). That rule exists to keep things interesting. The game has tons of replay value since there are 400 words in the box and hundreds of thousands of interesting connections you can make between them, but because *every* grid of words has a top row etc, if you allow position clues then your games can get boring and repetitive.
Benjamin Cosman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T11:45:39.900Z
"You can use house rules" is always true. Adding house rules should generally come after having an understanding of the official rules, and the question indicates that that is not yet the case. The golden rule is, in Codenames, intended to cover gray areas, not to alter the hard-and-fast rules. (But you can house rule that away, too, of course).
L. Scott Johnson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T13:55:23.680Z
If you allow clues based on card positions, all the following hints are going to be coordinates stacked together in one monster-word. (okay, that's probably easier in languages like Finnish where compound words are more of a thing, but anyway.) Sure, you could invent ways to pack numbers into words as a puzzle, but it would be something different than Codenames, or even Codenames-with-house-rules.
ilkkachu
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-16T05:54:48.313Z
Where it gets really problematic, in my opinion, is that every card can be identified by its row combined with its column. While being guaranteed a card every two turns is much lower than the usual pace, I don't like the idea of it being an option. And there are cases where it might be strategic, but not sporting, such as one team has only one word left, and the other has five.
Acccumulation
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T02:09:10.623Z
2020-07-16T21:33:15.697Z
2020-07-16T21:33:15.697Z
Matthew Jensen
<p>If you are the spymaster, can you use the row as a clue?  For example, can I say &quot;Top 3&quot; for the field operator to guess the top row?</p>

<codenames>
Can you use the row the card is in as a clue?
user32837
# Can you use the row the card is in as a clue?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-15)

If you are the spymaster, can you use the row as a clue? For example, can I say "Top 3" for the field operator to guess the top row?

**Tags:** codenames


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-07-15. Score: 33

No. First entry under "Firm Rules"

> Your clue must be about the meaning of the words. You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or **its position on the table.**

I agree with [a comment on another answer](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/51685/can-you-use-the-row-the-card-is-in-as-a-clue/51687#comment75178_51686) to keep the firm rule in place; as position clues can be used on every board, the game will become repetitive if they're allowed.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2020-07-15. Score: 12

No.  
From the Codenames rule book:

> Your clue must be about the meaning of the
> words. You can't use your clue to talk about
> the letters in a word or its position on the table.

This rule is in place to keep the game interesting.

I would recommend keeping close to the game rules, but if the spymaster thinks they've got the perfect clue (Maybe there are two words relating to 'top' and one unrevealed card in the top row) the other spymaster can authorise a clue:

> If the opposing spymaster allows it, the clue is valid. If you aren't sure, ask your opponent. (Quietly,
> so the others can't hear.)

The only times I've asked the other spymaster have been words that are open compound words, such as 'pet food', which represent a single concept but don't have a single word name.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I would **strongly** advise you to keep that rule in place (do not relax it). That rule exists to keep things interesting. The game has tons of replay value since there are 400 words in the box and hundreds of thousands of interesting connections you can make between them, but because *every* grid of words has a top row etc, if you allow position clues then your games can get boring and repetitive.  
> **username_4**: "You can use house rules" is always true. Adding house rules should generally come after having an understanding of the official rules, and the question indicates that that is not yet the case. The golden rule is, in Codenames, intended to cover gray areas, not to alter the hard-and-fast rules. (But you can house rule that away, too, of course).  
> **username_5**: If you allow clues based on card positions, all the following hints are going to be coordinates stacked together in one monster-word. (okay, that's probably easier in languages like Finnish where compound words are more of a thing, but anyway.) Sure, you could invent ways to pack numbers into words as a puzzle, but it would be something different than Codenames, or even Codenames-with-house-rules.  
> **username_6**: Where it gets really problematic, in my opinion, is that every card can be identified by its row combined with its column. While being guaranteed a card every two turns is much lower than the usual pace, I don't like the idea of it being an option. And there are cases where it might be strategic, but not sporting, such as one team has only one word left, and the other has five.  

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