'When I dream'.
In 'When I dream', one player is blindfolded whilst the contents of his dreams are revealed on the bed in the centre of the board. Like Dixit the cards show surreal imagery, but the key word is also printed, in case you didn't realise that the dinosaur in underpants represents 'briefs'. The dreamer has to guess what's written on the card. To help him, the other players in turn say a one word clue, and carry on going round doing this until the dreamer gives an answer. So for 'briefs', the circle might go:
'Underpants'
'Boxers'
'Short'
etc
When the dreamer says an answer, the card is removed. If the dreamer got it right, it gets placed on one side of the bed; if wrong (or he passes), it goes on the other side. A new card is revealed and play continues until the timer runs out. Before the dreamer wakes up, he gets the chance to recount his dream and if he says all the answers on the 'correct' side of the board, he gets two bonus points.
But, unfortunately, each player has a secret role. Players are randomly assigned membership of three teams: fairies, bogeymen, and sandmen. Team Fairy want the dreamer to have sweet, happy dreams, and get points for each correct answer the dreamer says. Team Bogies want the dreamer to have a series of horrific nightmares, and get points for each incorrect answer. Team Sandmen, who just want the player to sleep well, get points based on the balance between right and wrong answers - too much of an imbalance hurts them. After scoring, the blindfold is passed to the next player and the role cards are shuffled and redealt so you might have a different role in each round.
So when you've got the blindfold on, not only are you trying to decipher the clues but you're also trying to work out who can be trusted and who can't. All you know is what role you were given so you know that there might be more fairies on this round than bogeymen. But that guy is saying 'swordfish' so confidentily whilst the others are saying fruits so surely he can't be Team Bogies, but what the heck is the link between these words, and it feels like I've been stuck on this card for ages and why are they laughing and...argh...
This game went down really well with my group. It felt just the right length for a party game, and didn't drag on. Being the dreamer was an interesting challenge as you had to pay attention not only to what was being said but who was saying it. The novelty of the blindfold added an element of unease and made the two minutes feel far longer than it was.
Moreover, unlike other guessing games, it was also challenging to be one of those giving the clues as not only did you have to think fast to come up with a new clue every time it got round to you but you also had to decide what kind of clue to give depending on your role. For example, if you were on Team Bogies, there's no point in reeling off lists of cutlery if the card said 'bear' as you'd obviously be ignored, but if you could identify who else was on your side you might be able to build up a convincing alternative scenario. Having Team Sandmen needing to get a balance of right/wrong answers added an extra layer of complexity and made the game that much more interesting for the clue-givers.
As was aptly demonstrated at the last Cottage, I'm not very good at 'Codenames' . This game moves fast, and has all the players interacting and laughing throughout. Definitely one I'm going to use an icebreaker in future.