Popular
Hangman
Hangman is one of the most widely played word-guessing games, popular in classrooms and as a casual pastime since at least the Victorian era. One player thinks of a word and the other guesses letters. Each wrong guess draws another part of the hangman figure — typically six parts before the game is over.
Hangman Rules
A secret word is chosen and displayed as a row of blank dashes, one for each letter. You guess one letter at a time.
If the letter appears in the word, all instances are revealed in their correct positions. If the letter is not in the word, it counts as a wrong guess and part of the hangman figure is drawn.
You get 6 wrong guesses before the hangman is complete and the game is over. You win by guessing every letter in the word before that happens.
Hangman Strategy & Tips
Start with the most common letters
In English, the most frequently used letters are E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R. Start with E — it appears in more English words than any other letter. Then try T, A, and O. These four letters alone appear in the vast majority of common words.
Use word length to narrow down options
A 3-letter word has very different likely letters than an 11-letter word. Short words are more likely to contain common letters (the, and, for). Long words are more likely to contain less common letters but also give you more positions to work with.
Read the pattern as letters are revealed
Once you have a few letters, look at the pattern. _O_E is likely LOVE, MOVE, DONE, GONE, or BONE. _IGHT is almost certainly a word ending in -IGHT (LIGHT, FIGHT, NIGHT, SIGHT). Recognizing common letter patterns beats random guessing every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best first guess in Hangman?
E, by a wide margin. The letter E appears in approximately 11% of all letters in English text and in about 70% of common English words. After E, the best guesses are T, A, O, I, and N in roughly that order.
How many wrong guesses do you get in Hangman?
Traditionally 6, corresponding to the head, body, two arms, and two legs of the hangman figure. Some variants allow more or fewer. Our version gives you 6 incorrect guesses.
What are the hardest words to guess in Hangman?
Words with unusual letter patterns and uncommon letters are hardest — think JAZZ, MYTH, LYNX, PYGMY, or RHYTHM. Words without common vowels (E, A, O) are particularly tricky because most players start with vowel guesses.