Greetings fellow addicts! This game is a slight twist on the old schooldays word guessing game to gently tickle your grey cells. Here, the guessers start off by building a nonsense anagram of the answer, because the setter will simply enter each correctly guessed letter (including any duplicates) into the first available space(s) in the outline, except for the first letter of each word which will be correctly placed. At some point, there will be enough letters to create scope for a guess at the answer by unscrambling them, or at least that is the general idea...

Rather than being limited to a single word the puzzle will often be a title or character, adding a flavour of the game of charades.

Please read the instructions carefully as these are not the usual rules of the traditional game. Hopefully everything is reasonably clear, but please do not hesitate to ask for help or clarification.

The rules

(i) The setter puts up the outline of a word or a short reasonably well-known expression in blank (so that all the other players know are the numbers of words and of letters in each word) together with an indication of the nature or category of the word/expression. An expression might be for example a book, play, film or music title or the name of a famous person or character, or perhaps a proverb or saying: it is entirely up to the setter, but please give enough of a hint to narrow the category.

(ii) Someone else posts at least two letters which he/she thinks might be in the word/expression.

(iii) The setter enters into the outline any correctly guessed letter, but only in its correct position if it is the first letter of a word: otherwise the letter and any repetition of it will simply be placed in the first available empty space (which might entirely coincidentally be its correct position). The space for the first letter of each word is therefore left blank until that letter is correctly guessed.

(iv) Meanwhile the setter also starts to add the hanged person to the gallows with one step for each incorrectly guessed letter or position of letter. Seven steps are needed to complete the victim (head, body, right leg, left leg, right arm, left arm, face). [If having to do this deters you from playing, feel free not to bother.]

(v) Someone posts another two (or more) letter guesses and/or a guess at the correct position in the outline of at least one of the already posted letters, and so on. There is nothing to prevent the same person from posting consecutive guesses, or even hogging an entire game; on the other hand, do not hesitate to steal a game from under someone else's nose!

(vi) The setter keeps score by posting a list of wrong guesses and the number of steps remaining.

(vii) Once only two steps remain, single letter guesses are permitted.

(viii) At any stage anyone can try to guess the whole word/expression or individual words of an expression consisting of more than one word, and each wrong word guess results in two steps towards the completion of the picture, but without any indication of whether any of the individual letters guessed (in a wrong word) are correct.

(ix) Any letter appearing in its correct position (whether coincidentally or as a result of a correct position guess, or because it is the first letter of a word) will be shown in bold italic.

(x) Apostrophes will not be shown, and any letter following an apostrophe will be counted as part of the word which it follows (so that for instance Wayne's World would be two words 6,5). Any other punctuation will usually be omitted (including hyphens).

(xi) The setter wins if the picture of the hanged person is completed: otherwise the person to correctly guess the word/expression is the winner, and hopefully then sets the next word/expression. Don't be afraid to have a go: there is plenty of help available if you have any difficulty, and you can always edit your way out of any errors.

Note for setters on creating the picture of the gallows and hanged person

The picture steps (kindly contributed by Pandora) are in a photobucket album on the internet which are accessed by using one of the urls (web addresses) below, and here's how you do it:

In the full reply screen one of the option buttons across the top is "enter an image" which then offers you a choice of various image positions to insert followed by a dialogue box for a url.

You just copy and paste the url you need, deleting and replacing (using the edit process) as you go through the game and want to change the picture.

[I have been using the position "non-floating image"]

The urls

The gallows, in place at the start of the game
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/G4.gif

Step one, the head of the condemned person
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H1.gif

Step two, the body
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H2.gif

Step three, the right leg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H3.gif

Step four, the left leg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H4.gif

Step five, the right arm
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H5.gif

Step six, the left arm
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H6.gif

Step seven, the head - game over!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H10.gif

An author of fiction, now deceased 5,5

N A A R I * M S _ _ _

Ngaio Marsh courtesy of MxM

Wrong guesses: TE
Steps remaining: 5

A,R

T, E

A and R but no T or E.

ouch

N, I

A good recovery with two hits.

M, S

And now you're on a roll!

Ngaio Marsh

Correct.

thanks Lex. TV show this time

M A N E I D * F L R M Y _ (6,6)

Modern Family solved by Lex, Linda and Google

incorrect guesses: T, S, G, C
steps remaining: 3

A and N.

both good

E and T.

E is good

I and S.

I is good

D and L.

both good

G and R.

R is good

C and M.

M is good

F and Y.

Modern Family - this was courtesy of Linda with some help from google!

Linda and google are correct

Another TV show 6,7:

! A R N N E * _ I M M _ _ _

Wrong guesses: OT
Steps left: 5

A, R

Two out of two.

N, O

N but not O.

E, T

E but not T.

I, M

Those two should nail it!

Indian Summers

That's the one: we have the first episode recorder but not yet watched.

Thanks Lex. One of my favourite actors this time. (9,4)

_ A A R E L I I N * _ H S _

Christian Bale solved by Lex

incorrect guesses:
steps remaining: 7

A and R.

both good

E and L.

two more good ones

I have an inkling: I and N.

Your inkling is looking good

Let's see whether anyone else steals it: H and S.

Yes, but be careful

Could it possibly be Christian Bale?

Right you are Lex. I think he is an interesting actor with some great roles.

Agreed.

This one is an interesting blues artist whom I have recently stumbled across 4,6:

O A O R * T L T Y S _

Wrong guesses: N
Steps left: 6

A, N

A but no N.

O, R

Good on both counts.

L, T

Well on the way with another two hits!

Y, S

Both correct.

I have just ordered one older CD and pre-ordered the one due out next week!

Otis Taylor

That's him!

Ok TV series... S A O F * O N * A N R S _ _ _ (4, 2, 7)

Sons of Anarchy solved by Lex

incorrect guesses: D, E
steps remaining: 5

A and O.

Excellent choices

F and N.

You're making short work of this one

No idea what comes next, but I'll try D and R.

R is good

E and S.

S is excellent

Not one I knew, but looks like Sons of Anarchy.

That's the one. Andrew and I started series one a few weeks ago and we are now on series four. We quite like it.

I'll give it a try.

This one is a series of books 3,4,9:

_ T E * _ A A A * M R R S S I I L _

Wrong guesses:
Steps remaining: 7

T, E

Both good.

so much for 'the'

A, R

Both too good!

M, S

Two more on the money.

I, L

And again.

His Dark Materials--have not heard about this

In theory these are children's books, but there is quite an adult following and I enjoyed them: one of the trilogy has been filmed, The Golden Compass.

I will have to look at these books

One word movie title...... O L U U _ _ (6)

Oculus solved by Lex

incorrect guesses: A, N, E
steps remaining: 4

A and N.

two misses

E and O.

O is a winner

L and U.

By jove, I think you've got it

Oculus.

Yes it is

This one is a TV show 3,9:

T H E * _ O N O I L L _ _

The Following unscrambled by Manxman

Wrong guesses: RS
Steps left: 5

T, E

A good start.

O, N

I think this one may have been too easy...

Good guessing R, S (no idea yet)
First word THE

Well, THE is correct...

I, L

Both good.

The Following

Indeed!

A Band name this time

C E T U U U _ * C _ _ _ (7,4)

Culture Club solved by Lex

incorrect guesses: A, O, N, I, Y
steps remaining: 2

A and E.

E is good

O and N.

a rare two misses

I and T.

T works

U and Y.

U works very well

C.

And that should end this one