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) 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).

(ix) 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, but without any indication of whether any of the individual letters or words guessed are correct.

(x) 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.

(xi) 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).

(xii) 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

The next puzzle will appear shortly...

And here we go..... a TV Series (5,8)

P A N E E * B S R I L D _ _

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

A and N.

both good

E and S.

Two more good ones

You're early!

T and R.

Couldn't sleep last night
R is good

I and L.

both good

C and D.

D is good

G and H.

two misses

B and P.

That should do it

Not one I've watched, but it must be Peaky Blinders.

Yes Lex. It's about gangs in Manchester early 1900. We enjoyed it
Peaky blinders comes from the fact that they would put razor blades in their caps and then hit people with their caps in a fight.

That series is only just about to start in UK.

This one is another TV show 5,8:

_ E E A N * D N R D L _ _ _

Penny Dreadful solved by MxM

Wrong guesses: ST
Steps remaining: 5

E and S

T, A

E and A but no S or T.

N, R

Both good.

L, D

And again.

Penny Dreadful
Jonathan and I enjoyed watching this series.

That's the one: over to you.

Hi from Leyland. Don't know how to copy and paste on my iPad so here goes.

Newer tv series. 8 letters: _ I I O O N N _

Dominion ... Guessed by shroeder

Incorrect guesses:E, A, T, L, S

Steps remaining: 2

E and A.

Hope you are having a good trip!

Two misses
Yes, meeting lots of new relatives for the first time

Better try I and O.

Good choices

N and T.

N is good

L and S.

Two misses

I haven't seen it but is it Dominion?

Yes it is Shroeder. your turn.

OK - Here goes (I hope I get the rules right as I fill things in!)

This one is a movie (6):

_ O _ _ _ _



Wrong guesses: A E I N T U
Steps remaining: 1

Welcome to this thread!

I'll try MxM's favourite letters E and T.

Hi Lex. Thanks for that

Sorry, but (as Denis might say) Nope & Nope

A and I.

Oops, sorry, neither of those either!

N, O before Lex gets hung

Yes to the "O" only

Got to be another vowel in there, but time to tread carefully...U?

Nope

Well, is everyone too scared to be the one to get hanged?

Maybe a clue is in order then (I hope that's OK Lex?)

Over to you if you want to look or not (I won't ask)

That's a BIG hint....
Psycho

Well done Manxman

Your turn

A hint was a good idea at that stage shroeder, and well solved MxM!

My next guess was going to be S or Y, but I could not decide which one...

Thanks shroeder and Lex
Let's try a singer this time (3, 6)

T A R * M I M _ _ _

Tim McGraw solved by Lex

incorrect guesses: D, E, O
steps remaining: 4

A & R

both good

D and E.

Just got hooked on a fairly new Canadian Band, the Bro(ther)s Landreth: http://www.thebroslandreth.com

Two misses
Haven't heard of the group. Just checked out their sound and I like it. Thanks Lex.

O and T

T is good

I and M.

both good

Tim McGraw.

Yes.

This one is a well known pop music album title 6,4:

R E O R B B * S L _ _

Rubber Soul, solved by MxM

Steps remaining: 5
Wrong guesses: TA

T, E

E but not T.

O and R

Spot on X 2!

A and S

B, L

S, B and L, but no A.

Rubber Soul

Certainly is.

Over to you.

Thanks Lex. Let's continue with another album title (6,4)

_ E A I R _ * R _ _ _

Purple Rain guesses by Lex

incorrect guesses: T, O, S, Y
steps remaining: 3

E and T

E is good

O and S

two misses

A and I.

both good

R and Y

R is good

I'm going for broke: Purple Rain.

That's the one Lex

Keeping the theme running, another album title 6,7:

S T E S N I * _ I R G_ _ _

Sticky Fingers solved by MxM

Wrong guesses: A
Steps remaining: 6

T, E

Both good.

S, A

S but no A.

N, I

Both good.

R, G

Sticky Fingers

Over to you!

Personal Request - Can we not do an album next time - I know of Purple Rain (never listened to it) but never even heard of the other two! (Musical Heathen obviously )

Ok shroeder. A movie title this time.

R E E S A N * D W _ _ (6,4)

Rescue Dawn guessed by Shroeder

incorrect guesses: T, O, Y
steps remaining: 4

Thanks

E, T

E is good

R, O

R is good

S, A

both good

D, Y

D is good

I suspect I know but better check first

N, W

your suspicions are correct

Then I'm going with Rescue Dawn

Good one

WooHoo

What I might do is let Lex start a new thread and then we can go again - This one is getting a bit long!

I'd figured it might be Dawn, but the title is not one I knew. Well done shroeder!

I will set up a new thread and then let you set the first puzzle : is that okay?

BTW, Rubber Soul was a vintage album from the Beatles and Sticky Fingers was one by the Rolling Stones.