Hangman

Hangman is a word-guessing game that you can play online in your browser. The game hides a word, and you guess one letter at a time. Each wrong letter adds a part to a stick-figure drawing, and six wrong guesses complete the figure and end the round.

This free hangman game needs no account. It has 516 words in eight categories, from short three-letter words to long words and two-word answers. You can also play with a friend on the same device, where one player types a secret word and the other guesses it.

Choose Any category to draw from all eight lists, or pick one category such as Animals, Food or Countries. Difficulty depends on the number of letters: Easy words have 3 to 5 letters, Medium 6 to 8, and Hard 9 or more. Your wins, losses and streaks are kept in your browser, so your record stays on the same device.

How to play hangman online

1. Open the page. A new 1-player round starts with Any category and Medium difficulty.
2. Under Players, keep 1 player or choose 2 players.
3. In 1-player mode, pick a Category and a Difficulty. Each change starts a new round, and your choices are remembered.
4. Guess a letter by typing A to Z on a computer, or by tapping a key on the on-screen keyboard.
5. Read the word line and the drawing. A correct letter appears in every place it occurs. A wrong letter adds one part to the figure and lowers the number of guesses left.
6. If you are stuck, press Hint. It reveals one random hidden letter and costs one wrong guess. It is only available while at least two wrong guesses remain.
7. When the round ends, a dialog shows the word. Press Play again to start another round, or Close to look at the board.
8. Press New game at any time to start over. In 2-player mode, Player 1 types the secret word first.

On a computer, Esc closes the dialog, and after a round ends, N starts a new one. While a word is being guessed, the shortcuts N, F, H and U are switched off, because every letter you type is a guess. Use the New game, Hint and Fullscreen buttons instead. There is no Undo, so a wrong guess stays counted.

Hangman rules: how to play

The hangman rules are simple: you guess one letter at a time, and a correct letter is shown in every place it appears in the word. Each wrong letter adds the next part to the drawing, in this order: head, body, left arm, right arm, left leg and right leg. Six wrong guesses are allowed, and the sixth one completes the figure and loses the round.

Hangman game rules: winning, losing and scoring

A round is won when every letter has been found, and the dialog shows the word with a “You got it!” message. A round is lost on the sixth wrong guess, with the word revealed and the missing letters shown in red. Guessing a letter you already tried does nothing and carries no penalty. Keys other than A to Z are ignored.

The word is chosen at random for the category and difficulty you picked. Difficulty counts the letters in the answer, with spaces not counted. Answers have only letters, with a single space between words, as in ICE CREAM. The last 15 words are not repeated while other words are available.

In 1-player mode, a win adds one to Wins and to your streak, and a loss adds one to Losses and resets the streak to 0. A round you leave with New game counts as neither. In 2-player mode, the Wins, Losses and streak numbers do not change.

Hangman strategy and tips

Start with the most common vowels, E, A, I, O and U, because they appear in many words. Then move to consonants that fit the word shape you can see.

Check the on-screen keyboard before guessing. A letter in the word gets a green frame and a tick, and a wrong letter is greyed out and struck through. Using these marks prevents you from spending a guess on a letter you already know.

Use the Category stat to confirm the topic of the word. Choose a lower difficulty if you want more practice with short words.

Use Hint only when you have at least two wrong guesses left, because it costs one. With one guess left, the game will not allow a hint, so plan your last letters carefully.

Hangman meaning: where the name comes from

Hangman is a word-guessing game in which one side hides a word and the other tries to reveal it one letter at a time. The name comes from the drawing of a gallows and stick figure that is built up with each wrong guess. The same word is also used historically for an executioner.

Frequently asked questions

Is hangman free, and do I need to sign up?

Yes, the game is free to play. There is no sign-up and no account. Your progress is stored in your browser on this device only.

Can I play hangman on a phone?

Yes. The on-screen keyboard shows letters A to Z in alphabetical order, seven per row on phones, and each key is at least 44 px tall. A 20-letter word fits on a 375 px wide phone, and dark mode is supported.

Is my game saved?

Yes, on this device only. The round in progress is saved after every guess, so reloading the page returns you to it. Your mode, category, difficulty, wins, losses and streaks are also kept, and nothing is sent anywhere.

How many wrong guesses do I get?

You always get six. The number cannot be changed, and the sixth wrong guess completes the drawing and loses the round.

Can I undo a guess?

No. The game has no Undo button, so a letter you guessed stays guessed.

Can I play against the computer in 2-player mode?

No. In 2-player mode, Player 1 types a secret word of 3 to 20 letters, and Player 2 guesses it. There is no computer opponent.

Can I get the same word again?

Words are picked at random, and the last 15 words are not repeated while others are available. Adding ?seed=123 to the address makes the first 1-player word the same each time.

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• Dice Game: play this when you want a game driven by rolling dice.
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• Tower of Hanoi: play this to practise planning moves in a puzzle of stacked discs.
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