Hangman

How to Play Hangman

Hangman is the classic letter-guessing game, free to play online. A secret word is hidden behind blank spaces, and the category gives you a clue. Guess one letter at a time to reveal the word before the drawing is complete.

• Tap a letter on the keyboard or type it.
• If the letter is in the word, every place it appears is revealed.
• Each wrong letter adds a part to the drawing. You can make 6 mistakes.
• Reveal the whole word to win.

There's a daily hangman word that's the same for everyone, plus unlimited mode so you can keep guessing. Words come from sixteen everyday categories, such as Animals, Fruits, Sports, Space, Music and Jobs.

A Sample Game

The category is Fruits and the word has six letters: _ _ _ _ _ _. Here's one way to play it:

1. E: the most common letter in English, but not here. One mistake.
2. A: three hits! The word is now _ A _ A _ A. A repeating vowel like this is a big clue.
3. N: two more hits, giving _ A N A N A. With the Fruits category, there's only one sensible answer.
4. B: BANANA. Solved with just one mistake.

Notice how the category did a lot of the work. Always read it before your first guess, and think of a few words that might fit the length.

Hangman Strategy

Open with the vowels

Almost every English word contains at least one vowel, and E, A, O and I are the most common. Guessing two or three vowels first reveals the shape of the word and tells you where the consonants go.

Follow with frequent consonants

After the vowels, try the consonants that appear most often in English: T, N, S, R, H and L. Letters like J, Q, X and Z are rare, so save them for when the pattern points to them.

Read the pattern

Look at where the revealed letters fall. A word ending in _ _ E might end in -ATE or -INE. Two blanks after a revealed vowel at the end may suggest -ER or -ED. Common pairs such as TH, CH, SH and double letters like LL, EE and OO are worth checking once you see part of the word.

Use the category and the length

The category narrows the answer down to a short list, and the number of blanks narrows it even further. In the Space category, a seven-letter word could be JUPITER or ECLIPSE. Pick letters that would tell those apart, like U or C.

Don't waste mistakes

You only have six wrong guesses. Before choosing a rare letter, ask yourself whether a more common letter could give you the same information with less risk.

Where Hangman Comes From

Nobody knows exactly who invented Hangman, but it's been played with pencil and paper for well over a century. An early version called "Birds, Beasts and Fishes" appears in a collection of traditional British children's games published by folklorist Alice Bertha Gomme in 1894: players guessed the name of an animal letter by letter. The game later took its current form and spread around the world as a classroom favorite, because it needs nothing more than a chalkboard. In Spanish it's called Ahorcado, and it's just as popular in schools across Latin America and Spain.

Why Hangman Is Great for Learning

Hangman is one of the best spelling games ever made. To win, you have to think about which letters belong in a word and in what order, which strengthens spelling and letter-pattern awareness. The categories also help build vocabulary in themed groups. Teachers use it as a warm-up, parents use it to practice spelling at home and language learners use it to get familiar with how English words are put together. It's also simply fun: a quick round takes a minute or two, and it's easy to play one more.

Like guessing games? Try Word Guess to find a hidden five-letter word, or explore the same themes in Word Search.

Hangman FAQ