Hangman (video game)

The game was programmed by Alan Miller, who later cofounded Activision,[2] with cover art by Susan Jaekel.[3] The game was coded in assembly code.[4]

Gameplay screenshot

As in the traditional game of Hangman, the player must guess the letter of a hidden word, with each wrong guess resulting in a piece being added to a gallows, with the game ending either when the gallows is completed or when the word has been fully guessed. The player can select from a range of four difficulty levels from first grade to high school. The words have a maximum length of six characters.[1] Instead of the traditional man to be hanged being shown in the picture, a monkey is shown hanging from the gallows by its arm. Hangman contains 510 words divided into four difficulty levels.[2] A timed mode where the player has to guess before a time limit expires is also available.[3]

The game may be played in single-player mode, or in a two-player mode where the players play together.[1] In one-player mode the player has 11 attempts at guessing before the gallows is constructed. In two-player mode, guessing may go on until one player wins.[2]

Contemporary reviewers were unimpressed with the game. UK-based TV Gamer described it as "poor value for money" as it differed little from the pen-and-paper version of the game.[5] A review in the 1983 Book of Atari Software described it as a "nice implementation of the classic game" but also criticised the graphics, and gave the game a rating of "B" overall.[4]

In a retrospective review in Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide, Brett Weiss described it as "a passable rendition of a classic game.[1]

• List of Atari 2600 games

• Hangman at Atari Mania