Hangman
How to play Hangman
Hangman is a word-guessing game in which you find a hidden English word one letter at a time before six wrong guesses complete the drawing.
Guess the word before the drawing is finished.
The goal of Hangman
Find the hidden English word before the drawing on the gallows is finished. Every word has 5 to 12 letters, and the row of slots shows how many.
Hangman rules
Guess one letter at a time with the on-screen keyboard or by typing it. A letter in the word is revealed in every slot where it appears. A letter that is not in the word is a miss and adds a part to the drawing. Each letter can be guessed only once.
Hint reveals one covered letter at random without costing a miss, but a win after a hint is not recorded. Undo takes back your last guess while the word is still in play.
Restart plays the same word again from an empty board, and New word loads a different one, picked by the server. A restart after a loss can be played but is never recorded as a win, since the word has already been shown.
How to win at Hangman
You win when every letter is revealed. The sixth miss completes the figure, with head, body, two arms and two legs, and the board is lost; the word is then shown.
Hangman strategy tips
Open with common vowels such as E, A, I and O, then move on to frequent consonants like R, S, T, N and L.
Read the pattern of revealed letters: endings such as -ING, -ED and -ER are common, and a Q is almost always followed by U.
With few misses left, choose letters that fit many possible words rather than rare ones like J, Q, X or Z.
The words come from a list of commonly used English words, so try everyday words that fit the pattern before rare or technical ones.
Hangman questions and answers
How many wrong guesses do you get in Hangman?
Six. Each letter that is not in the word adds one part to the figure, head, body, two arms and two legs, and the sixth miss loses the board. The Misses left counter shows how many you have. A letter you already tried cannot be guessed again, and a hint never counts as a miss.
What words does this Hangman game use?
Common English words of 5 to 12 letters, made only of the letters A to Z, so there are no spaces, hyphens or accents. The list holds 21,989 words taken from a public domain word list and narrowed to frequently used words, with offensive words removed. It stays on the server, and each page receives only its own word.
Is there a daily Hangman word?
Yes, for signed-in players. The daily Hangman is one word for everyone that day, picked from the same list as any other board. Earlier days can be played from the daily archive, and each daily is recorded against its own date.
Does a hint cost anything in Hangman?
A hint costs no miss and you can take as many as you like, but a board on which you took one is never recorded as a win. Undo does not take the hint back, even when it covers the letter again. Restart plays the same word from the beginning and clears the hint.