What is Timed guesses?
Timed guesses play Hangman with a clock. The word picker sets the word as usual, and from then on the guesser has a fixed time for each letter: 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds, chosen in the table setup (the preset uses 30). The clock starts again after every guess, so a quick right answer saves nothing for later, and a slow one costs nothing as long as it comes in time.
If the clock runs out, the guess is lost. No letter is added, the turn counts as a miss and the figure gains a part, exactly as for a wrong letter. Running out of time on the last life loses the game. Everything else is the standard game: the same word list, the same lives and the same win when every letter of the word is shown.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Hangman | Timed guesses |
|---|---|---|
| Time for a guess | Standard HangmanNo limit: the guesser may think as long as they like. | Timed guesses10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds for each letter, chosen in the setup. |
| When the time runs out | Standard HangmanDoes not arise. | Timed guessesThe guess is lost: no letter is added and it costs a life, like a wrong letter. On the last life it ends the game. |
| The clock between guesses | Standard HangmanDoes not arise. | Timed guessesEach guess has its own full time; unused seconds do not carry over. |
| Other options | Standard Hangman6 lives, any word length, words from the general list. | Timed guessesThe other options can be set alongside the clock: 8 or 10 lives, short, medium or long words, a word category and evil hangman. |
History
Hangman is a pencil and paper game with no official rule book, and the classic game has no clock: the guesser thinks for as long as the players are willing to wait. Time limits came with quiz shows, classroom games and computer versions, where a clock keeps the game moving and adds pressure to every letter.
There is no single published standard for a timed game. Some versions time the whole word, others each guess. This site times each guess and counts a guess not made in time as a miss, so the clock and the drawing share one count of lives.