By popular demand, a return to simpler days! Please read the instructions carefully as these are not quite the usual rules of the traditional game, but they seem to work better for an interactive on-line effort such as this. Hopefully everything is reasonably clear, but please do not hesitate to ask for help or clarification.

The rules

(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: it is entirely up to the setter. The setter should also consider giving a descriptive hint unless this is likely to make the game too easy.

(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 letter in the position(s) in which it occurs in the word/expression, meanwhile starting to add the hanged person to the gallows with one step for each incorrectly guessed letter. Five steps are needed to complete the victim (head, body, both legs, both arms, face).

(iv) Someone posts another two (or more) letters, and so on. There is nothing to prevent the same person posting consecutive sets of letters, or even hogging an entire game, but please have some consideration for other addicts!

(v) Ideally, you should probably wait for the setter to let you know whether a previous guess is correct before guessing again, but it seems to work okay if there are a couple of guesses oustanding at one time. However, tread carefully if only a couple of steps remain before the picture is complete!

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

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

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 as you go through the game and want to change the picture.

I have been using the position "non-floating image" and have not fully understand the difference between that and the varous "floating image" options. Feel free to experiment as it's just a bit of fun!

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, both legs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H4.gif

Step four, both arms
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H6.gif

Step five, the face of death
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/PandoraSD/Hangman/H10.gif

Your starter for five:


Q U I R K Y (one word 6 letters) an adjective - guessed by Curly after the sentence had been commuted

Wrongly guessed letters: PCWOFL
Number of wrong guesses left: -1


Your fate awaits you...

Only 6 letters! Methinks you're going to finally hang the man with this one.

I R

Good morning Jema!

Whilst I was hoping this might take a little solving, your first guess is disappointingly accurate...

It's too early to cry, Lex. It was a lucky guess. I still think you're going to hang the man this time.

P and C

Sorry (but not very!) Remi: no score.

W and O

Two more misses!

Descriptive hint added.

The rope's getting shorter, but (if necessary) I'll let this run until it's solved to see whether there's a case for increasing the number of guesses.

F L

No luck, Flo!

You were right Jema, the man is hanged, but as a matter of interest let's sse how many guesses are needed to crack it.

smirky or quirky??

Salut Lex.

Quirky it is - merci Remi!

As that was quite a tough one I'll keep it at five steps for now and see how we go.

Here's another:


S M O K E S T A _ K * L I G _ T N I N G (two words 10,9) music title

Wrongly guessed letters: RU
Wrong guesses remaining: 3



There's only one way out of here...

A, L

Hi MxM: both on target.

R E

Hi Flo: one good, one not.

M N O

Told ya!

BTW, Lex, thanks much for going back to this.

I U

All good save U, and you are more than welcome Jema!

(I am still slightly hankering after the format where identical letters have to be guessed more than once...)

G, S

Hi Sondi, correct on both counts: methinks you know the answer!

K and T

Two more in the bullseye, Haroula.

Smokestack Lightning

Correct: I thought everyone was avoiding completing the game for fear of being asked to set the next one...

Haroula, are you sufficiently tempted yet, or would you prefer me to post another one?

Also, apart from Jema does anyone else have strong feelings against the idea of making multiple occurrences of the same letter require multiple guesses (justifying more steps to complete the picture)?

Lex,no thanks

Here's another:

B R I D G E * O V E R * T R O U B L E D * W A T E R (four words 6,4,8,5) music title - guessed by ManxMan

Wrong guesses: N
Wrong guesses remaining: 4

The hangman cometh...

T, N

E R

Three out of four right, and all multiples!

Bridge Over Troubled Water

wow manxman

Lex, you're like a dog with a bone.

Pretty please with a cherry on top, leave the game as is.

Jema, how can I possibly refuse?
Mind you, this was a case in point: the multiples made it a very short game.

Manxman, are you up for having a go?

I'll give it my best shot.....

PYGMALION (9 letters)(play or movie title) Correctly answered by Jema

Incorrect guesses: ETWRS
Incorrect guesses remaining: 0 (keep trying tho)

Good for you!

E and T

W and R

Sorry boys, that's 4 incorrect guesses

Hint: Title of a Play

O and S?

L, N

Jema, 1 correct (O)
Sondi, 2 correct

Papillon

Pygmalion?

Sorry Niki
Good one Jema

all this hanging! Perhaps we need another step or two.

Of course, as you stumped us you get to go again MxM.

Ok Lex

M U T A N T * C H R O N I C L E S (6,10)Solved by Cue
lesser known movie title

Incorrect guesses:
Incorrect guesses remaining: 5

A and E

2 lucky guesses for Cue

R T

was George Raft in this movie

2 for 2 Niki No to George Raft tho

I N

2 more good ones Niki

I know what it is so I will keep quiet now

shhhhh Niki

L and O

Good ones Jema

S,U

Good Sondi
Someone will have to answer sooner or later

C and H

Mutant Chronicles

Congratulations Cue
2 good ones Lex

It was a toughie, manxman

Okay, here we go...

B R I G A D O O N (film) Guessed by Niki

Right Guesses: BNO
Wrong Guesses: T

T O

One good, one not so good

B & N

All I can say is

Right on both!

R, I, G

I loved that film when I was younger.

Brigadoon

You all are too good

You want a go Niki?

I see that you are all moving along nicely without my interference, but I have had another idea...! (Don't all groan at once)

I still think that multiple occurrences of the same letter are a big giveaway, so how about this: I bring back the letter bank, but only for duplicate letters. This means that if a word/expression has (say) 3 Ts and someone guesses T, only one goes into the outline straightaway, while the others go into the bank. That way everyone knows how many Ts there are, but not where they go.

Any thoughts?

someone else have a go please

Isn't that the same it was before?

You already know what I think.

But it is your puzzle, so do what you will.

It`s working fine as it is

Jema, do you want to set one or would you prefer me to?

Lex, I'll do one - while it's still all good.


M O U N T A I N * H I G H * V A L L E Y * L O W (4 words - 8, 4, 6, 3) - Song Title (Guessed by manxman)


Correct letter guesses: O U T N I H W L M
Wrong letter guesses: S
Wrong puzzle guesses:
Wrong guesses remaining: 4

O U

Double d*mn!!! Both correct. I think you already know it, Niki!

S and T

N, I

H, W

Haroula, T - yes, S- no

Et tu, manxman. Both good.

And yet another et tu, Sondi. Both good.


I thought this would be a little tougher than it's turning out to be.

I know it now Jema but will leave it to run

L M

Both good, manxman.

Mountain High Valley Low

manxman

Thank you Jema

G O D Z I L L A (one word--movie title)solved by Haroula

Correct letter guesses:AIGDOL
Incorrect letter guesses:
Incorrect puzzle guesses: 0
Incorrect guesses remaining: 5

A I

Toooooo good

Where is everybody?

D O

...at work in my case!

G and L.

I see that MxM is starting to feel the pace: A and I are shown as incorrect guesses.

Sorry Lex. Senior moment
All good guesses Anyone want to hazzard a wild guess

Z

Well done Haroula. By default you have guessed the correct answer. Will you do the honour of the next Hangman?

No thanks

I'll have another go...
G H O S T B U S T E R S (film) Guessed in one turn by Redz

Correct Guesses:HS
Wrong Guesses:
Wrong Guesses Remaining: 5

H & S

Do you have ESP, Joan?

Ghostbusters

Not too many one word movies of that length.
I run through the alphabet and it hits me...sometimes

a wild guess!

Nice, Joan. You made short work of that one.

Do you want to have a go? If not, someone else will have to take over.

I will graciously DECLINE

To keep it going until Lex is back on, I'll do one.


S C A R E C R O W * A N D * M R S * K I N G (4 words - 9, 3, 3, 4) TV series (Guessed by Cue)


Correct letter guesses: E R A M N D S
Wrong letter guesses: T P
Wrong puzzle guesses:
Wrong guesses remaining: 3

T, E

manxman, E - yes, T- no

R and A

M and P

Good efforts by all, for which thanks!

I'll join in again at the weekend when less distracted by that inconvenient thing called work...

Haroula, both good

Curly, M - yes, P - no

N, D, S

All good, manxman

Looks like "Scarecrow and Mrs King"

That's the one, Cue!

Over to you.

Thanks, Jema. I'd love to post another but I'll be going soon and won't be available for a while. Over to someone else....

I don't mind doing one....

Correct letter guesses:O U S E N
Wrong letter guesses: A I C
Wrong puzzle guesses:
Wrong guesses remaining: 2




G U N S M O K E (one word TV series)solved by Lex