A slightly new twist on the old schooldays word guessing game of Hangman to torture you all: in this version the guessers start off by creating 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. 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... ...go on, give it a try!

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 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.

(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 not necessarily in its correct position: the letter and any repetition of it will simply be placed in the first available empty space (which might of course entirely coincidentally be its correct position).

(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).

(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 correctly guessed letters, and so on. There is nothing to prevent the same person from posting consecutive guesses, or even hogging an entire game, but please have some consideration for other addicts!

(vi) Players are allowed to try to guess individual words of an answer consisting of more than one word. However, such a guess will be treated as separate letter or position guesses for each blank space in the word (which could therefore prove expensive if the guess is wrong).

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

(viii) Any letter appearing in its correct position (whether coincidentally or as a result of a correct position guess) will be shown in bold italic.

(ix) 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 (take your pick: I have been using the position "non-floating image") followed by a dialogue box for the 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.

If the thought of using the urls scares you, you will probably be forgiven for leaving the picture out altogether.

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


Are you feeling lucky...?

Thanks Lex

R E E E S S * O Y Z _ (2-word Character 6,4)

Incorrect Guesses:I,T,L,D,N,G,H,C,B,P,V,F
Steps Left: 0

R E

I & T.

both for Niki
none for Lex

S and L

S is good

How about D and N?

Sorry Lex, neither is good

Hmmm...getting tight. How 'bout O and G

O is good

Someone is going to have to risk the next move: I notice that we have almost all of the letters of Eeyore, but as far as I know he has no surname...

I am also wondering about the second name being Ross or Rose, but am then stuck for a first name...

In the end, therefore still plucking up the courage/inspiration for an actual guess of some kind!

I think that in future we may need to refine the label of "character" to (say) "cartoon character" or "literary character" or "dramatic character." Otherwise it is perhaps too wide. What do you think?

I agree, in the last post I said that this category was difficult. We need to narrow it down further like you say.

This character is in a movie and people wondered who he was until near the end of the movie.

I don't have a clue but don't mind jumping off the cliff either.

H C

Very brave of you Cue However neither one is good

I was considering those!

From the grave, how about B or P?

That's another 2 under

V or Y??

Y is good

Still clueless and wondering whether I will be kicking myself when I know the answer or never have heard of this character...F or Z?

Okay, the Z is good

Keyser Soze in the usual suspects - saw the film but no recollection of the character - googling around Jersey/Kersey and Roze/Soze eventually got me there...

Great film with twist at the end. Recommend you watch it

Would you like to do the honours for the next?

I think that I may have watched it on a plane or with some other distraction, as I recall enjoying it and quite an impressive cast, but not much else...you really buried us with that one!

Here is another (hopefully a little easier) character from a film - three words 5,3,4:


A A _ _ _ * _ _ _ * _ _ _ _


Wrong guesses: N
Steps left: 6

A, N Good morning Lex

A good but not N.

E, T

Both good.

H, O

H but not O.

R, second word THE

No R, but THE is correct.

J, B

Both good: may the Force be with you!

Jabba the Hutt

Correct of course, and over to you!

Thank you Lex.

DUMA KEY guessed by Lex (with my apologies)

wrong guesses: T,S,R,N,L,G,B
steps left:

E and T.

We might have to rename this "HangManx!"

Hi Lex, where've you been

E is good

A and S.

Been a bit distracted by other stuff (not to mention overrun by bikers...!)

Of course. TT races.

A is good

R N

Sorry Cue, neither is good

L and G

I've been lurking here...just been clueless so not joining in.

Welcome back BobH. Unfortunately neither is good.

B and Y.

Sorry
Think Stephen King

That was a toughie, manxman. I didn't have a clue so I looked it up. Never would have got that.

Me too. That is not one I remember hearing of. Sadly for as good an author as he is, I'm not a fan of the genre so have only read a few of his sort of cross-over works.

So what was the answer?

I have read and enjoyed a few of his books, and am familiar with some others which have become films (probably without always realising that they were based on his books).

Googling his bibliography, I come up with Duma Key as a possibility based on word length, but that would involve Y.

I suggest that we try adding a couple more steps (as in one of the earlier versions) but also that we aim to keep the answers a bit more well-known: of course this raises the problem that what appears well known to one person may be off the radar for someone else...!

So, shall we make it 9 steps and see how that goes?

I'm so sorry. It was Duma Key and I completely missed the Y
Would you take the honours Lex and do the next one.

Leaving the number of steps unchanged at 7 for the moment, the title of a film from a book in two words 8,8:

E N N I I O L L * S _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Wrong guesses: TRDG
Steps remaining: 3

E, T

E but not T.

R, N

N but not R.

D, I good morning Lex

Greetings - I but not D.

O, G still scrambling for hits

O but not G.

L, S

Both correct: now you're homing in...

Lots of letters, but still no ideas

B, M