How To Solve Puzzles

How to Solve Hangman Riddles

by Bruce Leban

A hangman riddle consists of a trivia clue, with all the letters blanked out, plus boxes for the answer to the clue. Solve by guessing the letters in the blanks, then solving the clue. Each letter you guess will help you in your subsequent guesses until you can deduce what the clue says and determine the answer. Your goal is to reveal as few letters as possible in the trivia clue, with as few wrong guesses as possible, in order to get the correct answer.

Here’s a sample:

If you guessed the circled letters on the left, the clue would gradually become more readable:

Until you could fill in the answer:

In these puzzles, you get to pick the letters you want revealed by tapping on the 26 A to Z buttons in the middle. When you tap one of the buttons, that letter will be filled in everywhere it appears in the clue. If a letter does not appear in the clue, a red strikeout mark will be superimposed on the button.

Fill in the answer at the bottom using the keyboard or TouchWrite as soon as you have guessed enough letters in the clue to figure it out. If you’re not quite sure what the clue says, guess more letters or see if the length of the answer helps you narrow your choices down. Once you fill in the correct answer, the rest of the clue will be revealed.

Hints

If you get stuck, don’t forget you can get hints by tapping on the icon. Hints only apply to the answer, not the clue. It’s not cheating to ask for a hint — the goal is to have fun, so if asking for a hint increases your enjoyment, feel free.