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How to Play Hangman

Rules, the category-plus-clue hint system, letter-picking strategy, and the small tricks that save your last two guesses.
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What is Our Daily Hangman?

Every day there's a new mystery word. You see the category and the number of letters. Guess one letter at a time. Each wrong guess draws one part of a stick figure. Crack the word before 6 misses finish the drawing. Classic hangman, free daily - open the page and play.

How to Play

  1. A daily word: Each day at midnight a new mystery word appears. You see blank spaces for each letter and a category hint (e.g. Animals, Science, Food).
  2. Guess letters: Tap or click a letter on the on-screen keyboard, or type on your physical keyboard. Each letter can only be guessed once.
  3. Correct letter: If the letter is in the word, it appears in every position where it belongs. The keyboard key turns green.
  4. Wrong letter: If the letter is not in the word, one body part of the stick figure is drawn. The keyboard key is greyed out.
  5. Win: Guess every letter in the word before the drawing is complete and you win. The fewer wrong guesses, the better your result.
  6. Out of guesses: After 6 wrong guesses a "One more try / Give up" prompt appears, with a 20-second cooldown on the retry button. Pick One more try and one wrong guess is forgiven (a limb un-draws) - the wrong letter stays on the keyboard so you can't re-guess it. Retries are unlimited; pick Give up to end the game and reveal the word.

The 6 Wrong Guesses

Each wrong letter draws one part of the stick figure, in this order:

  • 1. Head

    A circle appears as the head.

  • 2. Torso

    A vertical line for the body.

  • 3. Left Arm

    A diagonal line from the torso.

  • 4. Right Arm

    A second diagonal line from the torso.

  • 5. Left Leg

    A diagonal line downwards.

  • 6. Right Leg

    The final body part - the drawing is complete. A "One more try / Give up" prompt appears: take the retry to un-draw a limb (the wrong letter stays disabled), or give up to reveal the word.

Category & Clue Hints

  1. Category hint: Every word has a category (e.g. Animals, Food, Science) shown from the start. Use it to narrow your guesses to words that fit the theme.
  2. Clue unlock: After 4 wrong guesses a "Show clue" button appears. Tap it to reveal a more specific hint about the word.
  3. Strategic choice: You do not have to use the clue. If you want a bigger challenge, try to solve the word using only the category. The clue is there as a safety net when you are running low on guesses.

Strategies & Tips

  1. Start with vowels: Try A, E, I, O, U first - almost every English word contains at least one.
  2. Common consonants next: After vowels, guess T, N, S, R, L. These are the most frequent consonants in English.
  3. Use the category: If the category is "Animals", you can rule out abstract words and focus on creature names. Let the category guide your guesses.
  4. Look for patterns: If you see _ _ A V E, think of words like BRAVE, GRAVE, or SHAVE. Partial words narrow down the possibilities fast.
  5. Common endings: In longer words, look for typical endings like -ING, -TION, -ER, -LY. Confirming an ending reveals multiple letters at once.
  6. Save rare letters: Leave Z, Q, X, J for last. Only guess them if the pattern and category strongly suggest they fit.

Advanced Tips

  1. Letter pairs: In English, Q is almost always followed by U. Seeing a confirmed U in a suspicious spot can hint at a Q nearby.
  2. Double letters: Words like LETTER, COFFEE, and BALLOON have double letters. One correct guess fills both spots at once, so spotting a likely double (e.g., two blanks side by side in a word with the category Food) can be a powerful move.
  3. Wait for the clue: If you have 3 wrong guesses and no clear idea, slow down. One more miss unlocks the clue button - it may save your remaining 2 guesses.
  4. Elimination: Once you have a few letters, mentally list all words that fit the pattern and the category. Cross off ones that use letters you already tried.

Game Features

  • Daily puzzle: A new word every day at midnight. Everyone gets the same word so you can compare results with friends.
  • Archive: Missed a day? Open the archive to play any previous puzzle. Your progress on each puzzle is saved automatically.
  • Share your result: After finishing, share a spoiler-free result showing how many guesses you used - green dots for remaining lives, red dots for wrong guesses.
  • Works everywhere: Phone, tablet, or desktop. Browser only. Your progress saves automatically.

Why Play Hangman?

Benefits of the daily hangman habit:

  • Better Vocabulary

    Discover new words every day and reinforce correct spelling through active recall.

  • Logical Thinking

    Practice deduction and strategic thinking as you narrow down possibilities with each guess.

  • Language Sense

    Build an intuition for letter frequency, common patterns, and word structure.

  • Daily Ritual

    Under two minutes, one mystery word. Share your result and see how friends did.

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