What is Extra lives?
Extra lives change only how many wrong letters the guesser may make. In the standard game the figure has six parts, a head, a body, two arms and two legs, so the sixth wrong letter loses. With extra lives the drawing has more to it and the guesser may make 8 or 10 wrong guesses, chosen in the table setup (the preset uses 10).
Everything else is unchanged: the picker sets the word, the guesser guesses one letter at a time and wins by showing every letter before the last life is gone. More lives make long or unusual words fairer to guess and suit younger players. They also make a word picker's choice matter more, because a word with rare letters may still be found.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Hangman | Extra lives |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong guesses allowed | Standard Hangman6: a head, a body, two arms and two legs. | Extra lives8 or 10, chosen in the setup; the board counts every one. |
| When the guesser loses | Standard HangmanOn the sixth wrong letter. | Extra livesOn the eighth or the tenth wrong letter. |
| Other options | Standard HangmanAny word length, words from the general list and no clock. | Extra livesThe other options can be set alongside it: short, medium or long words, a word category, evil hangman and a clock for each guess. |
History
Hangman has no official rules, and the number of wrong guesses has always depended on how much the players agree to draw. The six-part figure of head, body, arms and legs is the most common count. Many players draw the gallows itself one stroke at a time as part of the misses, or add details to the figure such as a face, hands or feet, which gives the guesser more chances.
This site offers 8 and 10 as the longer counts, next to the standard 6.