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Hangman is a guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word, phrase, or sentence and the other(s) tries to guess it by suggesting letters or numbers within a certain number of guesses. Originally a paper-and-pencil game, there are now electronic versions.
Though the origins of the game are unknown, a variant is mentioned in a book of children's games assembled by Alice Gomme in 1894 called Birds, Beasts, and Fishes. [1] This version lacks the image of a hanged man, instead relying on keeping score as to the number of attempts it took each player to fill in the blanks.
A version which incorporated hanging imagery was described in a 1902 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer , which stated that it was popular at "White Cap" parties hosted by Vigilance Committees where guests would wear "white peaked caps with masks". [2]
The word to guess is represented by a row of dashes representing each letter or number of the word. Rules may permit or forbid proper nouns, such as names, places, brands, or slang. If the guessing player suggests a letter which occurs in the word, the other player writes it in all its correct positions. If the suggested letter does not occur in the word, the other player adds (or alternatively, removes) one element of a hanged stick figure as a tally mark. Generally, the game ends once the word is guessed, or if the stick figure is complete — signifying that all guesses have been used.
The player guessing the word may, at any time, attempt to guess the whole word. [3] If the word is correct, the game is over and the guesser wins. Otherwise, the other player may choose to penalize the guesser by adding an element to the diagram. If the guesser makes enough incorrect guesses to allow the other player to complete the diagram, the guesser loses. However, the guesser can also win by guessing all the letters that appear in the word, thereby completing the word, before the diagram is completed. [4]
As the name of the game suggests, the diagram is designed to look like a hanging man. This has led to some controversy. [5] An alternative for teachers is to draw an apple tree with ten apples, erasing or crossing out the apples as the guesses are used up.[ citation needed ]
Some modifications to game play (house rules) to increase the difficulty level are sometimes implemented, such as limiting guesses on high-frequency consonants and vowels. Another alternative is to give the definition of the word; this can be used to facilitate the learning of a foreign language.
How many incorrect guesses are allowed in the game can also be modified. This can be done by adding extra elements to the stick figure, like a face or shoes, or by first drawing elements of the gallows for every mistake before starting to draw the stick figure.
The fact that the twelve most commonly occurring letters in the English language are e-t-a-o-i-n-s-h-r-d-l-u (from most to least), along with other letter-frequency lists, are used by the guessing player to increase the odds when it is their turn to guess. On the other hand, the same lists can be used by the puzzle setter to stump their opponent by choosing a word that deliberately avoids common letters (e.g. rhythm or zephyr) or one that contains rare letters (e.g. jazz).
Another common strategy is to guess vowels first, as English only has five vowels (a, e, i, o, and u, while y may sometimes, but rarely, be used as a vowel) and almost every word has at least one.
According to a 2010 study conducted by Jon McLoone for Wolfram Research, the most difficult words to guess include jazz, buzz, hajj, faff, fizz, fuzz and variations of these. [6] In speaking with Dr. Richard Davis, his favorite winning word is syzygy.
The American game show Wheel of Fortune was inspired by hangman. Merv Griffin conceived of the show after recalling long car trips as a child, on which he and his sister played the game. [7]
Brazil also had a show in the 1960s and again from 2012–2013 called 'Let's Play Hangman', hosted by Silvio Santos. Brazil would later get its own version of Wheel of Fortune, running from 1980 to 1993, again from 2003 to 2012 (during which the new Let's Play Hangman aired), and again since 2013 to the present. These shows were also hosted by Santos.
In July 2017, the BBC introduced a game show of its own called Letterbox , which is also based on hangman. [8] [ unreliable source? ]
Word games are spoken, board, card or video games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.
Pictionary is a charades-inspired word-guessing game invented by Robert Angel with graphic design by Gary Everson and first published in 1985 by Angel Games Inc. Angel Games licensed Pictionary to Western Publishing. Hasbro purchased the rights in 1994 after acquiring the games business of Western Publishing. Mattel acquired ownership of Pictionary in 2001. The game is played in teams with players trying to identify specific words from their teammates.
Jotto is a code-breaking pen and paper word game for two players. Each player picks and writes down a secret word and attempts to guess the other's word first during their turn.
Scrabble is an American television game show based upon the board game Scrabble. Contestants competed in a series of rounds to fill in words within a crossword puzzle for cash and prizes. Muriel Green of Exposure Unlimited developed the idea for a television game show based upon the board game concept. During 1983, Green convinced Selchow and Righter, who at that time owned the Scrabble board game, to license Exposure Unlimited to produce the game show. Exposure Unlimited co-produced the show with Reg Grundy Productions, and licensed the show to NBC. Scrabble aired on NBC from July 2, 1984, to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18 to June 11, 1993. Chuck Woolery hosted the program. Jay Stewart was the announcer for the first year. Charlie Tuna replaced him in the mid-1985 and remained through the original run and the entirety of the 1993 revival.
Lingo is an American television game show with multiple international adaptations. In it, contestants compete to decode five-letter words given the first letter, similarly to Jotto, with each correctly guessed word earning number draws to attempt filling in a Bingo card.
Des chiffres et des lettres is a French television programme. It was created by Armand Jammot and tests the numeracy skills and vocabulary of two contestants. It is one of the longest-running game shows in the world, and the inspiration for Countdown on Britain's Channel 4.
Chain Reaction is an American television game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.
Headline Chasers is an American game show that ran daily in syndication from September 9, 1985, to May 23, 1986, with reruns airing until September 5. The series was hosted by Wink Martindale, who also created the series and was its executive producer, with Johnny Gilbert serving as announcer. It was produced by Wink Martindale Enterprises and Merv Griffin Enterprises with King World Productions, Griffin's partner for his other syndicated game show offerings, as distributor. Headline Chasers was recorded at TAV Celebrity Theater in Hollywood, the same studio which housed The Merv Griffin Show.
Bulls and cows is a code-breaking mind or paper and pencil game for two or more players. The game is played in turns by two opponents who aim to decipher the other's secret code by trial and error.
Pole Chudes is a Soviet, later Russian adaptation of the U.S. game show Wheel of Fortune produced by VID, provided with elements of Russian culture and hosted by Leonid Yakubovich. The current rating of the show suggests it is intended for ages 16 and above, unlike the American version which is suitable for all age groups.
Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show based on the American show of the same name created by Merv Griffin. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that contestants spin throughout the course of the game to determine their cash and/or prizes.
Probe is a parlor game or board game introduced in the 1960s by Parker Brothers. It is reminiscent of the simple two-person game Hangman, whose object is to guess a word chosen by another player by revealing specific letters. Probe extends the number of players to a maximum of four and introduces additional game elements that increase the levels of both skill and chance. Like Hangman, each player has a secret chosen word. But unlike Hangman, the game ends when the last word, not the first word, is revealed. All players remain in the game until the end. It was created by Ted Leavitt and licensed by him to Parker Brothers.
TV Slagalica or simply Slagalica is a Serbian quiz show produced by RTS and airs on RTS1. It is based on Des chiffres et des lettres, a French game show. It first aired on 22 November 1993. at 7 pm. It consists of seven simple mind games. Contestants play for a spot in the quarter-finals, semi finals and then the finals. Contestants win prizes as they progress. It has four female hosts: Marija Veljković, Kristina Radenković, Milica Gacin and Jelena Simić. After the end of each 10th series, winners of each of the previous 10 series', with the addition of 6 runners-up, play in the superfinal using the same system as a regular series. In the superfinal, there is also an additional game played.
KHangMan is an educational computer game designed for young children based on the classic Hangman game. It is part of the KDE Software Compilation, specifically, in the kdeedu package.
La ruota della fortuna is the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune. The show has run nonstop since 1988 on Canale 5 and Rete 4, and switched from a trilon to an electronic board in the mid-1990s, like the U.S. version. Previously hosted by Mike Bongiorno, the show was hosted by Enrico Papi on Italia 1, and featured Victoria Silvstedt from the French version of the show, La Roue de la Fortune. The Italian version of Wheel will return on the air in late 2023 on Canale 5 and will be hosted by Gerry Scotti.
Beagle Bag is a collection of video games for the Apple II family of computers published in 1982 by Beagle Bros Software. In common with their other titles, the Beagle Bag software was released in unlocked and unprotected form, and is now in the public domain.
Wordplay is a game show presented by Jenny Powell and sometimes Jenni Falconer. It aired live weekdays from 23 March to 31 July 2009 on Channel 5 and was axed after only one series.
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. It features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983. It stars Pat Sajak and Vanna White as hosts, who have hosted the nighttime version since its inception. The original version of Wheel was a network daytime series that ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, and subsequently aired on CBS from July 17, 1989, to January 11, 1991; it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was cancelled that year, ending on September 20, 1991.
Wordle is a web-based word game created and developed by Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle. Players have six attempts to guess a five-letter word, with feedback given for each guess in the form of colored tiles indicating when letters match or occupy the correct position. The mechanics are similar to the 1955 pen-and-paper game Jotto and the television game show franchise Lingo. Wordle has a single daily solution, with all players attempting to guess the same word.
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