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How to Solve Hangman Puzzles

Hangman is a game in which one player picks a word and the other player or players try to guess what the word is, letter by letter. For each letter that a player misses, one part of a hanged man is drawn. When the hanged man is finally complete, the game is over. If you want to play the game without the hanging man, since it is somewhat vulgar, especially for young children, you can make your own variations. You could draw parts of a man simply standing or a man hanging off of the side of a wall.

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a group of players. It might be helpful to pick a group of people who have some capacity for word games. Or, try a group of English language learners, since hangman can be a fun way to learn vocabulary words and spelling. If you can't find anyone to play with, try playing hangman online at sites like Playhangmanonline.com or Hangmania.com
- 2
  Get inside the mind of the person who chose the word. People usually choose words that come directly to mind. If a player who lives to ride his bicycle chooses a six letter word, for example, guess a "b" as your first guess. Or if you're dealing with a person who loves vocabulary words or likes to trip up other players, try to think of uncommonly used words.
- 3
  Scan the word and consider the possible answer as you wait for your turn. When other players guess letters that are not present in that game's word, the letters will be listed at at the bottom of the paper, chalkboard or screen before part of hanged man is drawn. Keep those letters in mind and try to think of words that do not include those letters.
- 4
  Use this simple, non-sense word: "etaoin shrdlu," pronounced eh-ta-o-in shird-loo. The letters of "etaoin shrdlu" comprise the 12 most common letters used in English words. This handy little phrase dates back to the old Linotype keyboards. Printers wanted to speed up typing, so they arranged the keys according to frequency. Thus, the keys displayed the pattern of "etaoin shrdlu." Oddly enough, "etaoin shirdlu" is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.
- 5
  Use the letters of "etaoin shrdlu" before you pick any other letters when you play hangman. Also remember, all words have to include vowels. So try to pick vowels before you choose consonants. This can also make things easier by narrowing down your choices. Only five vowels are present in the English alphabet, six if you include "y." On the other hand, 20 consonants are present.

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