Yorimichi Games
How to play hangman
Hangman is the classic word-guessing game: one side hides a word, the other side guesses it one letter at a time, and every wrong letter brings you closer to running out of chances. On paper, the misses are usually counted by drawing a little figure piece by piece. This version keeps the game exactly the same but counts misses with something calmer: a flower that drops one petal for every miss (or a bunch of balloons that go flat one by one). It is free, needs no sign-up, and works with a mouse, a touch screen or a keyboard.
Step 1: See how long the word is
When a new word begins, you see one blank for each letter. The theme (Animals, Food, School and so on) is always shown, and you can choose whether a short definition is shown from the start or only when you ask for it. If the answer is two words, such as “ice cream”, there is a gap between the words.
Step 2: Pick a letter
Press one of the A–Z buttons or type a letter on your keyboard. If the letter is in the word, it is written into every blank where it belongs, so the E in “elephant” fills two spaces at once. A letter you have already tried is greyed out, so you can never waste a turn by picking it twice.
Step 3: A miss costs a petal
If the letter is not in the word, that is a miss. One petal falls from the flower and the counter of misses left goes down by one. The letters you missed are listed next to the picture, so you do not have to remember them. Fill in every letter before the last petal falls and you win; use up all your misses and the answer is revealed.
Step 4: Guess the whole word when you know it
You do not have to find every letter one by one. As soon as you recognize the word, press “Guess the word” and type it in. A correct guess wins immediately. A wrong guess counts as one miss, just like a wrong letter. If your guess has the wrong number of letters, the game simply tells you so and nothing is counted.
Step 5: Check the meaning
Whether you solve it or not, each word ends with its full spelling and a short, plain definition. Press “Next word” to keep going; the game counts how many words you solve in a row.
Hangman rules at a glance
| Rule | In this game |
|---|---|
| Correct letter | Filled in everywhere it appears |
| Wrong letter | One miss; the letter is listed |
| Same letter again | Not allowed, not counted |
| Guessing the word | Allowed any time; wrong = one miss |
| Misses allowed | 10, 8 or 6 (you choose) |
| You win when | Every letter is filled in |
Game modes and settings
| Mode | What you do |
|---|---|
| Solo | Pick a level (Easy, Medium, Hard or All) and a theme, then solve word after word. There are more than 350 words in 10 themes: animals, food, colors and shapes, school, body and clothes, home, town and travel, nature and weather, sports and hobbies, people and jobs. |
| Daily word | One word a day (Easy or Medium, 8 misses allowed). Everyone gets the same word on the same date, so you can compare results with family and friends. |
| 2 players | One player types a secret word, which is hidden as dots, and can add a clue. The other player guesses. Roles swap after every round and the score is kept. |
The number of misses allowed changes the difficulty more than anything else. Ten misses is relaxed and good for younger players; eight is a comfortable middle; six is the classic count used in many paper-and-pencil games and feels tight.
Hangman strategy: tips to guess the word faster
1. Start with vowels
Almost every English word contains at least one of A, E, I, O and U. Guessing a vowel first is a safe way to reveal the shape of the word. If two or three vowels miss, the word probably has few vowels, so switch to consonants.
2. Use the most common letters
In English text, the most frequent letters are roughly E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, L and U, in that order. When you have no better idea, going down this list keeps your misses low. Letters such as J, Q, X and Z are rare, so save them until the pattern clearly calls for them.
3. Think about common endings
Many words end in familiar patterns: -ING, -ER, -Y, -LY, -ED or -TION. If the last three blanks are still empty, try the letters of an ending that fits the rest of the word.
4. Use the theme and the length
“Animals, 5 letters” already narrows things down: tiger, horse, sheep, mouse, zebra… List a few candidates in your head and pick a letter that tells them apart. That way one guess can rule out several words.
5. Watch for double letters
English is full of doubled letters: the PP in “apple”, the OO in “cookie”, the LL in “balloon”. When a letter appears, check whether the space next to it could be the same letter again.
6. Guess the word when you are sure, not before
Once you know the word, typing it in is faster than picking the remaining letters. But while two or more words still fit, picking a letter that separates them is safer than gambling a miss on a whole-word guess.
7. Setting a word for a friend
In 2-player mode, short words with unusual letters are the hardest to crack, because there are few letters to find and the common ones often miss. Words like “jazz” or “quiz” are famously tricky. Long words are usually easier than they look, since every correct letter fills in more of the answer.
Using hangman for spelling and vocabulary practice
Hangman is a natural fit for spelling practice because it makes you think about a word as a sequence of letters. Turn on “Clue: show from the start” and the game becomes “read the definition, then spell the word”, which is a good way to review vocabulary. The Daily word gives everyone in a group the same puzzle, which makes a nice warm-up. In 2-player mode the person setting the word has to spell it correctly too, so both sides practice.
Hangman FAQ
Why is there a flower instead of a hanged man?
The traditional drawing is a figure on a gallows, which many people find unpleasant, especially in classrooms. The rules of the game do not depend on the drawing at all, so this version uses a flower losing its petals or balloons going flat. Teachers have long used similar ideas, such as crossing apples off a tree.
How many wrong guesses do you get in hangman?
There is no single official number. Six is common on paper (head, body, two arms, two legs), and many players allow more by adding extra parts. Here you can choose 10, 8 or 6.
Does picking the same letter twice count as a miss?
No. Once a letter has been tried its button is disabled, and typing it again does nothing.
Can I use hints?
Yes. “Show clue” shows a short definition and “First letter” fills in the first letter wherever it appears. Neither counts as a miss, but the result notes that hints were used.
When does the Daily word change?
At midnight on your device’s clock. You can replay it, but only your first try of the day is recorded.
Can I stop and continue later?
Yes. Open the page again on the same device and browser and press “Continue”. In 2-player mode the score is kept as well.
Where does hangman come from?
Nobody knows exactly where the game began, but a very similar guessing game called “Birds, Beasts and Fishes” appears in a collection of traditional children’s games published in Britain in 1894. Keeping count of misses with a drawing came later, and different groups have always used different pictures. The core idea has stayed the same for well over a century: a few blanks, a handful of letters, and the fun of seeing a word appear.