How to play hangman.
Hangman is a two-player word-guessing game — but works just as well solo. One player picks a secret word; the other tries to guess it, one letter at a time, before a stick figure is fully drawn.
The rules, step by step
- 01
Pick a word or category
Traditionally one player thinks of a secret word. In the Hangman app, choose from themed word packs — Capitals, Elements, Combustion, Battles — or hit random.
- 02
See the blanks
The word is drawn as underscores, one per letter. Word length is your first clue: a 4-letter puzzle plays very differently to a 12-letter one.
- 03
Guess a letter
Try one letter at a time. Correct guesses fill in every position that letter appears. Wrong guesses cost you a stroke of the drawing.
- 04
Save the stickman
Classic hangman gives you six wrong guesses — head, torso, two arms, two legs. Some variants add a face; in the app you can adjust this in difficulty settings.
- 05
Uncover the whole word
Reveal every letter before the drawing finishes and you win. Fastest correct guesses earn the highest leaderboard scores.
Winning strategy
Start with vowels
Every English word has at least one vowel. E, A, and I are the most common — starting there uncovers structure fast.
Then hit the top consonants
T, N, R, S, L, and D turn up in most English words. Guessing them early rules out large classes of words at low cost.
Use word length
Short words (3–4 letters) are surprisingly hard — fewer clues. Long words often contain double letters, common endings (-ing, -tion), and prefixes.
Look at what's already revealed
Patterns like _ _ ING or Q _ _ narrow the possibilities to a handful of words. Match to the category to close it out.
Save risky guesses for last
Letters like Z, X, Q, and J rarely appear. Guessing them costs a stroke every time. Only try them once you've already narrowed down the word.
Common questions
How many wrong guesses are allowed?
Six is the traditional number — head, body, two arms, two legs. Some variants add a face (eyes, nose, mouth) for a total of ten. In the app you can tune this in difficulty settings.
Do repeated letters count as one guess?
Yes. If the word is letter and you guess T, both Ts are revealed for one correct guess.
Can you guess the whole word at once?
In classic hangman, yes — but a wrong full-word guess usually ends the game immediately. The app supports this as an optional rule.