Following on from my recent attempt at the traditional game, here is the first attempt at a revised version which may make it more interesting and/or better suited to interactive online playing. The rules are slightly different, so please read (especially ii)!

(i) The setter puts up a word or a short well-known expression in blank (so that all the players know is the number of letters in each word). The 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.

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

(iii) The setter enters any correctly guessed letters in the appropriate positions and starts to add the hanged person to the gallows with one stroke for each incorrectly guessed letter. 5 strokes complete the victim (head, body, both legs, both arms, face) .

(iv) Someone else posts another two (or more) letters, and so on. There is nothing to prevent the same person posting consecutive sets of letters.

(v) At any stage anyone can try to guess the word/expression, but a wrong word/expression guess results in two strokes towards the completion of the picture .

(vi) The setter wins if the gallows picture is completed: otherwise the person to correctly guess the word is the winner, and hopefully then sets the next word/expression.


T H E * E A S T E R * B U N N Y (three words 3,6,5) - guessed by Curly



Letters already wrongly guessed: IO

Maximum number of wrong guesses remaining: 3

good ole A

We now need a minimum of two letters for a valid entry please!

I will choose I for your second letter to keep things moving

E AND O

Thanks Niki.

This is a work in progress, and upon further reflection I see no reason why a player should not be free to post more than two letters at a time if he/she chooses. I have therefore amended the rules to allow that.

T and H

Merci - both on target!

S and R

My guess is The Easter Bunny??

Thanks to Bristol for two more good letters, and to Curly for the correct and topical answer!

Is it worth continuing, and if so do you you want to have a shot?

You may continue please. Merci.

Okay, here's another.


W U T H E R I N G * H E I G H T S (two words 9,7) - guessed by Niki



Letters already wrongly guessed: A

Maximum number of wrong guesses remaining: 4

A and G

one good, one not!

E N

Both good!

Lex what does the * denote please?

Niki, it's simply to mark the gap between words: for some reason nothing happens when I try to leave a larger blank space!

oh I see
how many letter guesses can a person have?

is there an I

T, R

No limit to the number of guesses Niki (so that one person can do the whole game if he/she wants), but there have to be at least two letters in each guess Niteowl (so I have ignored yours until/unless you add another letter).

Both good MxM

Wuthering Heights

please do another one Lex

Thanks Niki, and Cue belatedly!

Here we go again:


J U M P I N G * J A C K * F L A S H (three words 7,4,5) - guessed by Jema


Letters already wrongly guessed: ER
Maximum number of wrong guesses remaining: 3

The gibbet awaits the unwary...

A and M

T

we need at least two letters for a guess please Redz.

Good ones Curly.

E R

Aha, two wrong guesses...!

I, N

C H

Both good for MxM, and both good for Flo.

Jumping Jack Flash?

Sorry about that T and G

Nevermind... too late

Correct Jema, and thanks Redz.

Jema do you want to have a go (I can send you the gifs)?

Lex, please you do another.

Well, looks like I'm stuck with setting them for the moment!

Here goes:


F O R M I D A B L E (one word, 10 letters) - guessed by Cue



Letters already wrongly guessed: TUWH
Maximum number of wrong guesses remaining: 1

The noose is tightening... (just the face to add)

E and T

O U

One each good, one each bad!

Let's try L and R

I'll take a stab at it if I get it, Lex

Both good Cue!

Now I'm rooting for you to win...

W and H

No dice!

Tread carefully with the next guess...

carefully...A B

Two good letters - you live to guess another day!

Okay, all or nuttin'

FORMIDABLE

All - well guessed!

Are you still up for it and if so do you want Pandora's gifs? There are more, but five steps/strokes seem to work out about right (I had started with ten, then dropping to seven before settling on five).

Of course, if you or anyone else wants to suggest further refinements to the rules, you are more than welcome.

Yessss!

Sure, I'll give it a spin. Check your PM for my email address.

Excellent! Gifs sent.

When I played hangman as a wee lad, the setter identified a category that the clue was pulled from. I don't know what all of the categories were. If we go this route we could probably come up with our own.

This one is a movie title:

Gone In Sixty Seconds (4 words -> 4,2,5,7) Guessed by Redz

Wrong Guesses: AR

Same posting rules apply.

The gallows are ready

Very sporting of you to give us a category clue.

A and E

R T

I and O

I must be getting softer with age, Lex

Lex and Niki each get a hit and Koala gets a double!

Gone in Sixty Seconds

Good one, Joan

Off to you

What do you mean, "off to you" ? I can't do
this. Back to you, Cue.

What's with all these wimps who think that they cannot do it?

If Cue cannot palm it off on someone else after one or two more, I may have to take it back!

She's a bashful one.

Okay, no category clue this time...

D I C T I O N A R Y (one word - 10 letters) Guessed by Flo

WRONG GUESSES: EGP
RIGHT GUESSES: DNORT

O and G

One hit and one miss, Remi

E R

One good and one bad, Niki. I'm beginning to feel a tightness....

T N

Two good guesses, Flo!

D and P

Dictionary

No one has ever called ME bashful before.
Computer illiterate... YES

"dictionary" it is, Flo

Do you want to have a go?

Okay, Joan. Maybe "bashful" was pushing it a little.

If using the gifs (illustrations) is what bothers you, they can always be left out: all that is really needed is the setting of the puzzle and the monitoring of guesses.

Alternatively, instruction is available on use of the gifs if required (no more complicated than use of smilies).

If you want to continue with gifs, I'm game, just don't know anything about them.

If we don't need them, I'll give it a go without.

That's the spirit! Have a look at the PM that I sent to you. It explains how to use the gif's and gives you the link locations.

If you don't want the bother, then have at it without them!

Great, looks easy enough. Here we go folks.

Book and Author

BRAVE(5)NEW(3)WORLD(5):
ALDOUS(6) HUXLEY(6)

WRONG LETTERS: T P I
RIGHT LETTERS: A E O H R

Correctly answered by Redz

How can I make larger lines?

I guess I have it right now.

Good job, Flo

T & E

A and P

one right and one wrong Redz. Thanks

Same for you Curly.

Good for you Flo for having a go!

I and O

It has been mooted that perhaps the game should allow more guesses, and I am therefore wondering whether a correctly guessed letter should only be placed once (rather than in every place where it occurs), meaning that multiple guesses of the same letter might sometimes be required. Any thoughts? (don't worry, I am not about to change the rules in mid game).

Staying true to Hangman, a letter is placed where it appears. However, who says we need to stick by the rules. In my mind, it might confuse things. Maybe we just need to get longer words or more words. However, I think if we get more letters in there, we should have more than 5 errors before hanging.

Whoever is at the helm, they try their hardest to stump the panel. If they do so, they win a trophy.

BTW, Lex you also have one right and one wrong.

Thanks for the heads up.

H R

Good one Niki, both right.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Don't pass it to me, Flo

Could we start a new thread? 9 pages is a lot

Very Good Redz

Well done.

Redz, you know that you are dying to have a go, really!

Thanks for your thoughts Flo: this game is Hangman revisited, meaning that the rules are subject to whatever changes we want to make. I may work on it a bit more tomorrow, but I'm off to bed now!

Ok, let's wait for tomorrow and see what Lex comes up with.

Lex is going to do it in Greek

While we wait to see what Lex comes up with, I'll put one up...

P T E R O D A C T Y L (one word / 11 letters) Guessed by Flo

Good Guesses: ACELOTY
Bad Guesses: ISU

Good Morning, Cue!

U & T

Morning, Joan. One right and one wrong

S, E

One and one manxman

A, L

Lex,

I would like more incorrect guesses allowed (all 10 is my preference), and do keep putting correctly guessed letters in all places they occur in the word(s).

Jema,

I had started out with ten wrong guesses, then reducing to seven before dropping to five: the problem is that even with only five steps needed, no one has yet been hanged!

I am too busy at work to do anything with this now, but this evening (ie in about five hours) I will start a new revamped thread.

Meanwhile, feel free to carry on!

That's two hits, Jema

The setters haven't stumped anyone with the current rules so I guess it comes down to if we want to shoot for tougher puzzles with the possibility of victorious setters or easier puzzles with the probabilty of successful solves. The five clue limit does make you contemplate your guess a bit more, knowing that there aren't many attempts to squander. I would think that if we have a run of puzzles that aren't solvable we could increase the number of guesses at that point.

C I

I had thought if there were an "L", it would be the next to last letter, not the last.

Contemplating, Cue.

With Flo's guess of "I", that leaves only one vowel unaccounted for, so that vowel will be one of my guesses. Along with those 2 vowels, there's only one other letter I can think of that would fit between the "T" and "L", so that letter will be my other guess.

O, Y

PTERODACTYL

Well thought out choices. I knew that solving this one would depend on specific letters being guessed and they both were already. With those choices made, the answer is pretty obvious.

Good solve!

Do another Cue, starting a new thread.

That Flo is a bit of a bossy boots!

I am minded to try the idea of placing a guessed letter only once, so that multiple guesses of the same letter may be needed, but these could be part of a single guess (so that for instance you could guess I and I). I would meanwhile also increase the number of potential wrong guesses to nine (as good as any other ranging shot).

I will start a new thread along those lines shortly, and the fanbase can then let their feelings be known...

I'll post another puzzle but we'll give Lex the honors of starting a new thread.

CORRECT: TNEAI
WRONG: L

M I N N E S O T A * F A T S (2 words - 9,4) Guessed by Redz

T N

E A

Whoever wins this can go first on the new thread, or I will if you prefer.

I and L

Going with the previous rules...

Five hits and one miss! Wow! Good shootin'

R N

Minnesota Fats

Yes it is, Joan What a good collection of guesses on that one. So, are you taking over or are you passing to Lex?

what is Minnesota Fats?

He was a world champion pool player from the 1960's. One of the best matches in history was Minnesota Fats against Willie Mosconi.

Now, Cue, really? What do you think I want
to do?

Okay boys and girls, I will launch the new thread!

never heard of him but I am in the UK

I had to google, and found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Fats

I would have really struggled to guess that answer!