How to Play Hangman: Rules and Letter Strategy
Updated
Hangman is a word-guessing game: one player picks a secret word and draws a dash for each letter, and the other guesses letters one at a time. A right letter is written in every place it appears; a wrong one adds a part to a stick figure. Fill in the whole word before the figure is complete and you win.
Hangman rules, step by step
- The setter picks a word, or a short phrase, and draws one dash per letter.
- The guesser calls one letter.
- If the letter is in the word, the setter writes it on every dash where it belongs. A word like BANANA shows all three A's at once.
- If the letter is not in the word, the setter adds one part to the drawing and writes the letter to the side, so nobody calls it twice.
- The guesser may try the whole word at any time. If it is right, the round is won; if it is wrong, the setter may count it as a miss and add a part.
- The guesser wins by completing the word, and the setter wins if the drawing is finished first.
- Swap roles and play again.
How many wrong guesses do you get?
There is no single official number: you get as many misses as the drawing has parts. Agree on it before the first round.
| Drawing | Wrong guesses allowed |
|---|---|
| Head, body, two arms, two legs | 6 |
| The same figure, with the gallows drawn piece by piece first | 6, plus one per gallows piece |
| Extra parts such as a face, hands or feet | One more per extra part |
Screen versions set their own count. In Cat-A-Gory you start with eight cats, lose one for each wrong letter and win two back for every solved puzzle, so a good run keeps going.
House rules worth agreeing on
Groups play hangman in slightly different ways. Settle these before you start.
| Question | Common choices |
|---|---|
| Are names, places or slang allowed? | Some groups ban proper nouns and slang; others allow them |
| Single words or phrases? | Either works; show the spaces between words |
| A clue or category? | Saying "animals" or giving a short definition makes the game easier |
| A limit on vowels? | Some players cap vowel guesses to make the game harder |
Which letters to guess first
Letter frequency is the guesser's main tool. In running English text, the most common letters are E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, L and U, in roughly that order. Counted across dictionary words instead, the order starts E, A, R, I, O, T, N, S, L, C. Hangman words come from a list rather than from a sentence, so the dictionary order is the better guide.
| Stage | What to guess | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First guess | E | The most common letter by either count |
| Next | A, then I or O | Almost every English word has at least one vowel |
| Then | R, T, N, S, L | The most common consonants in dictionary words |
| Once the shape shows | Letters that fit the pattern | A word like _ _ _ L L is far easier than an empty row |
If no vowel shows after A, E, I and O, try Y: words such as RHYTHM and GYM use it where other words have a vowel. Leave U, and rare letters such as J, Q, X and Z, until the pattern asks for them.
Read the pattern
Once a few letters are on the board, stop guessing by frequency alone and start guessing words.
- Count the blanks. Short words are often harder than long ones, because each guess has fewer places to land.
- Look for common pairs. TH, HE, AN, RE, ER and IN are among the most frequent letter pairs in English.
- Look for doubles. LL, EE, SS, OO and TT are the most common doubled letters.
- Use the ending. A seven-letter word that shows _ _ _ _ I N _ very likely ends in G.
- Use every miss. If E and A are both wrong, set aside every word that needs them.
Picking a hard word
When you are the setter, the same lists work in reverse. Pick a short word, with rare letters or with few of the common ones. A 2010 study by Jon McLoone at Wolfram Research, cited in Wikipedia's hangman article, found JAZZ, BUZZ, HAJJ, FIZZ and FUZZ among the hardest words to guess. Words such as RHYTHM and ZEPHYR avoid most of the common vowels.
Play hangman online
Hangman asks you to guess each word before the stickman is completely hanged, from a wide range of words. Hangman 2-4 Players brings the paper game to the screen for two, three or four players, with word pools for colors, animals and fruits or an ALL option, and you pick letters with the mouse.
Cat-A-Gory swaps the drawing for eight cats, and Guess Word Game turns letter guessing into a six-chance puzzle where your letters change color as hints. INCOWORD has you work out a hidden word from a phrase you read out loud, and Word Ladder changes one word into another a letter at a time.
More word puzzles are in the word games collection, and games like Wordle covers letter-guessing puzzles in more depth.
Hangman FAQ
How many guesses do you get in hangman?
As many wrong guesses as the drawing has parts. A head, body, two arms and two legs give six; drawing the gallows first gives more. Right guesses never count against you.
Which letter should you guess first in hangman?
E. It is the most common letter in English, whether you count running text or dictionary words. A is a strong second guess.
Can you guess the whole word in hangman?
Yes, at any time. If you are wrong, the setter may count it as a miss and add a part to the drawing, so agree on that rule first.
What are the hardest words in hangman?
Short words with rare or repeated letters, such as JAZZ, BUZZ, FIZZ and FUZZ, and words with few common vowels, such as RHYTHM.
E first, vowels next, then the pattern: that order solves more hangman words than any lucky guess.
