In this version of Hangman, a friendly snowman stands in for the old gallows. Guess the hidden word one letter at a time. Each wrong guess melts the snowman a little more, and if he melts away completely, the round is over.

How to play

The blanks on the screen are the letters of the hidden word. Tap a letter on the big on-screen keyboard, or press the same key on your computer keyboard.

If the letter is in the word, it appears in every place it belongs. If it is not, the snowman melts one more step, and the wrong letter is marked so you do not try it again. Fill in every blank before the snowman is gone and you win. When you lose, the word is shown to you.

There is no clock, so you can sit and think as long as you like.

The levels

The level changes the words, the hint and the number of wrong guesses you are allowed.

Easy: short everyday words of 3 to 5 letters, with a topic shown as a hint. You can miss 8 times.
Medium: everyday words of 5 to 7 letters, with a topic hint. You can miss 6 times.
Hard: longer words of 8 to 14 letters, with no topic. You can miss 6 times.
Expert: less common words of 5 to 14 letters, with no topic. You can miss only 5 times.

On Hard and Expert, the line above the word tells you only how many letters it has.

Today's game

A daily word is picked for everyone at Medium level, so every player faces the same word that day. Open it with the "Today's word" button on the new game card. When you finish, the screen reminds you of the word and whether the snowman survived.

Tips

Start with the letters that most words contain: E, A, R, S, T. Vowels are especially useful because they show where the letters in between must go.
After one vowel appears, look at the pattern of blanks. A gap in the middle often suggests a common letter pair, such as TH, ER or ING at the end.
Use the topic hint before your first guess. If the topic is "garden", a word with the letters L and O in the right places might become obvious.
Count the blanks and watch the Misses counter in the bar above. It tells you how many wrong guesses you have left, so you can decide when to take a chance.
Try to guess letters that split the possibilities in half. A rare letter like Q or Z almost never helps early on.
On Expert, keep some patience. With only 5 misses, one risky guess spends a fifth of your safety, so prefer common letters.
When only two or three blanks are left, say the word in your head with each missing letter in turn. Your ear often catches the right answer.

A bit of history

Hangman is a pencil-and-paper game that people played long before it came to a screen. Nobody is sure exactly where it began.

Questions

Is there a hint button? No. The hint is the topic line shown on Easy and Medium, and it is always visible.

Can I use my keyboard? Yes. Press the letter keys. The on-screen keys are there for phones and tablets.

Will I get the same word twice in a row? The game avoids words you played lately when it has a choice.

What happens if I leave? An unfinished game is saved on this device and opens again when you return.

Hangman