Hangman
Guess the word before six misses.
0 of 6 misses
What is Hangman?
Hangman is a letter-guessing game. A secret word appears as blank spaces. Choose a letter to reveal every place it occurs. A wrong guess adds one part to the drawing. In this version, you can make six wrong guesses before the round ends.
How to play
- Choose Nature, Food, Places, or Science. A new word appears as blanks.
- Tap a letter on the on-screen keyboard, or type a letter on your physical keyboard.
- Correct guesses fill all matching blanks. Wrong guesses move the drawing one step closer to completion.
- Reveal the whole word before the sixth wrong guess to win. Use New word for another round.
Choosing a letter twice does not spend another miss. The letter is disabled after its first guess, and the status message tells you whether it was found. The category stays visible so you have a clue without revealing the answer.
Play with a friend
Two players lets one person set a secret word locally. Player one types 4 to 12 English letters into a password field and presses Set word. The field is cleared and removed from view before player two guesses. This mode does not send the word to a server or save it in browser storage. Hand the screen to player two only after the ready message appears.
Useful guessing ideas
Vowels often reveal the shape of a word, but a category clue can make a less common consonant a better first choice. In Food, for example, a word with many blanks may still be easier after you find an R or P. Look at repeated blank patterns after each correct guess. A repeated letter can reveal more than one position with one choice.
When only one or two misses remain, avoid guessing from letter frequency alone. Read the visible pattern aloud, use the category, and compare plausible whole words. The game does not ask you to type a whole-word guess, so each letter matters.
Read the pattern, not just the blanks
Suppose the Nature word shows _ I L L O _. One guess revealed two Ls, so you know the word has a repeated letter in the middle. Both W positions would be revealed by a single W guess if the answer were WILLOW. Repeated letters are especially valuable because the game fills every matching position at once.
Category clues narrow the possibilities. A six-letter Food word ending in O may invite different guesses than a six-letter Science word with the same pattern. You can change categories at any time, but doing so starts a new round. Finish your current word before changing the category if you want to keep that attempt.
Frequently asked questions
How many mistakes can I make?
Six wrong letters end the round. Correct letters do not add a drawing step. Repeating a letter you already tried also does not count as another mistake.
Does the game use a daily word?
No. New word selects another word from the chosen category. There is no daily limit or timed mode on this page.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. Press A through Z to guess while the game is active. Tab and Enter also work with the on-screen letter buttons and other controls.
Can I guess the entire word at once?
No. This version accepts one letter at a time. The on-screen keyboard and physical keyboard both enter single letters, so use the visible pattern to choose your next letter carefully.
Does changing the category keep my current word?
No. Selecting a different category begins a new round immediately with a word from that category. Your old guesses and drawing are cleared.
Are two-player secret words saved?
No. The secret word stays only in the current page's memory while the round is active. Reloading the page starts a fresh category round.
For a different kind of word challenge, play the Outspell board game or check a candidate in the Outspell Dictionary.