The Gallows

The Basics

A hidden word is displayed as a row of blank spaces. Guess one letter at a time. If the letter is in the word, it fills in all matching positions. If not, a body part is added to the gallows.

You get 6 wrong guesses before it's game over. Choose wisely.

Word Categories

Choose from 17 curated word categories including Animals, Food, Nature, Science, Mythology, SAT words, grade-level words, and more. Each category draws from a carefully selected word list, so the difficulty matches your expectations.

• Tap letters on the keyboard to guess (touch devices)
• Type on a physical keyboard to guess (desktop)
• Tap the category button to choose a different word list
• Tap "New Trial" to start a new word

• Start with common vowels. E, A, I, and O appear in the vast majority of English words. Begin there to reveal the word's structure.
• Follow with frequent consonants. T, N, S, R, and L are the most common consonants. These five letters alone will crack open most words.
• Use the category as context. The category selector tells you what kind of word to expect. If you're in Animals, think species. If you're in Mythology, think gods and heroes.
• Beware harder categories. SAT and Developer categories feature longer, less common words. Adjust your guessing strategy and lean more heavily on structural clues.