How to Play Hangman

The game picks a secret word and shows one blank slot for each letter. Guess one letter at a time by clicking a key on the on-screen alphabet or by typing on your keyboard. If the letter is in the word, it fills every matching slot and its key turns green with a check mark. If it is not, the key is crossed out and another part of the stick figure appears on the gallows.

You win by filling in every letter before the drawing is finished. You lose on the sixth wrong guess, when the head, body, two arms and two legs are all drawn. A line under the word tells you how many wrong guesses you have left, and guessing a letter you already used changes nothing. At the end of a round the game shows the full word. Click New word or press Enter to start the next one.

Hangman Game Rules and Themes

These are the usual Hangman rules, with the computer choosing the word and drawing the gallows: six wrong guesses and the round is over. There is no timer, score or hint button, and the game has one player. The theme name appears above the word, and it is your only clue.

The Theme menu has Animals, Fruits, Sports, Ocean, Space, Kitchen, Weather, Music, School and Jobs, plus a random theme, which is the default. The lists hold 279 different everyday words, from FIG and POT to THERMOMETER. Choosing a theme starts a new word right away, and the game will not hand you the word you just played.

Tips and Strategy

Start with E. In the word lists, E appears in 152 of the 279 words, followed by R (137), A (132), O (103), N (96) and I (95).
Save the rare letters for last. Z, Q, J and X show up in only 6, 4, 5 and 4 words. Each miss uses one of your six guesses, so wait until the pattern points to one of them.
Count the slots. Of the 279 words, 195 have 5, 6 or 7 letters. For those lengths, work through the common letters in order (E, R, A, O, N, I) and let each hit shape your next guess.
Use the theme. It limits what the word can be. In Sports, 13 of the 28 words end in ING, so a G in the last slot is a cue to try I and N. In Jobs, 18 of the 28 words end in ER or OR.
Try Y when the vowels fail. RHYTHM is the only word in the lists with no A, E, I, O or U. If every vowel misses and the theme is Music, think of it.

Hangman FAQ

What are the Hangman game rules?

The computer picks a word from the theme you chose. You guess one letter at a time. A correct letter fills its slots, and a wrong letter adds a part to the drawing. Fill the whole word before the sixth wrong guess to win.

Can I play Hangman online for free?

Yes. The game is free, runs in your browser and needs no download or account. The player has a full screen option, and New word gives you another round whenever you want. Other word games are Wordle and Word Search, and you can browse the puzzle games category.

Is Hangman good for kids?

The words are everyday nouns grouped into themes such as Animals, Fruits and School, there is no timer, and nobody has to sign up. Pick a theme to keep the words familiar. For another paper-and-pencil classic, try Tic-Tac-Toe.

Can I choose my own word or play with a friend?

Not in this version. The computer picks the word from its theme lists, so Hangman here is a one-player game.