How to play hangman
Guess letters one at a time and reveal the hidden word before you run out of wrong tries.
Hangman hides a themed word behind blank slots. Each correct letter fills every matching position; each wrong letter costs one of your allowed mistakes. Reveal the full word to win—there is no separate Check button; the game updates as you play.
Goal
The secret word is shown as underscores—one slot per letter. Guess letters from the on-screen keyboard. Every correct guess reveals those letters everywhere they appear. Win by uncovering the whole word before your wrong guesses reach the limit shown on the play page.
Controls
Click a letter on the keyboard (or tap on mobile). Each letter can only be guessed once. Correct letters turn green on the keyboard and appear in the word display; wrong letters turn red and increase your wrong count.
When you guess the last missing letter, you win instantly and see a completion message. If you run out of allowed wrong guesses, the game ends and shows the answer so you can try a new puzzle.
Difficulty & themes
On the hangman home, choose a theme and difficulty. Harder tiers use longer words and allow fewer wrong guesses:
- Easy — shorter words (about 4–6 letters), up to 8 wrong guesses
- Medium — about 5–8 letters, up to 7 wrong guesses
- Hard — about 6–10 letters, up to 6 wrong guesses
- Expert — about 7–12 letters, up to 5 wrong guesses
Play the shared daily challenge calendar, or print puzzles from the printable hangman page for pencil-and-paper games.
Tips
Start with common vowels (E, A, O) and frequent consonants (T, N, S, R). Use the theme as a clue—animals, nature, and other topics narrow what the word might be. More strategy in our beginner tips article.
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