Knowing how to play hangman should be a basic life skill. After all, we’ve been playing it since elementary school. So, now’s the time to start winning like a pro. Here’s what you need to know.
How to play hangman like a scholar
You play hangman like a scholar by brushing up on your vocab. This is a game of word wizardry, so you need to know how to play with letters. Practice your skills with friends or play online to become exposed to words you usually wouldn’t see. This isn’t as risky as roulette but it still takes patience.
Scholarly hangman isn’t all serious though. It’s often used as part of a school curriculum, but it can also help sharpen your cognitive reasoning. There’s even a national hangman competition with 7 different teams competing for first place. Do you have what it takes to win?
The rules and the basics of hangman
The rules of hangman are pretty simple. You can play it with another person or as part of a group. Plus, this game involves little skill outside of having a basic vocabulary. So, people of all ages and languages can enjoy it regardless of their IQ or social status.
Meanwhile, here’s how you play according to the unofficial handbook:
- Choose a word or phrase and write out enough blanks for it on a piece of paper or board.
- Have someone pick a letter from the alphabet.
- If their letter is in the word or phrase, the player gets to take another turn. The phrase picker must then write the letter in the appropriate blank.
- If their letter is NOT in the word or phrase, the player loses their turn until the next round. The host must then draw a part of the hanged man on the paper or board.
The game continues in a clockwise direction. It goes on until the entire word or phrase is either revealed or guessed.
- When the word gets revealed, then nobody wins.
- But if the word is guessed, then the person who guessed it is the winner.
It’s not hard to win at hangman if you have a large vocabulary. Plus, there are some tips and tricks that can help you guess the mystery words even faster. So, pay close attention as we explore the possibilities.
How to play hangman and win every time
You can win every time you play hangman just by following a few simple guidelines. It doesn’t matter if you’re the host or the guesser either. Do these things and you’ll probably never lose a game again:
- Start by guessing the most common letters in your language. For English, that’s r, s, t, l, n, and e.
- When it’s your turn, choose short and obscure words or phrases to throw off clever people in the group.
- Keep phrase lengths modest. The average length is between 6 and 11 words in total.
You can also jazz it up a bit by selecting themes. For example, many people like to play “Movie Quote Hangman” with friends or online. That’s because it’s fun and uses common phrases that just about anyone can guess.
