Melissa & Doug Flip to Win Hangman

Sure you could use a paper and pencil to play hangman, but this board is just more fun to play the game on. It's very durable and solid and the pieces (except the pen) are connected to the board with elastic bands, so you don't have to worry about missing parts.

The pen slips into the two loops located on the right side of the board (why not a snap-on?) and the writing area is on the bottom. Because the tiles are connected by the elastic, the players simply flip the tiles over as the game is played.

At the beginning of the game, all the letters are face up and all the hangman pieces are face down. The first player draws the dashes, representing each letter of a word, on the bottom portion of the board.

As the letters are called, they are flipped over and, if they are part of the mystery word, the dashes are filled in. If they are not part of the word, a hangman tile is flipped over.

The game continues until the word is guessed or until the hangman is completely visible.

I like how sturdy the board is and how easy it is to see the letters that you have guessed and the amount of time you have to get the word right. It definitely makes it easier to teach a youngster how to play this game since they can see everything in front of them.

At first, I thought that the board was too big to take in restaurants and such but, as my 5 year old son was playing it, I realized that the size made it easier for him to see the shape and form of the letters so it's sort of a good thing.

I don't like how difficult it is to flip the letters over but I suspect that time will ease it a bit.... The biggest con was that the ink in the pen is completely dried out so we have to use another dry-erase marker to do the job and a tissue to erase the board when the game is over.

Other than that, this board is perfect and I highly recommend it! Read more ›

A friend's child had this and I had to get it for my nephew. It's durable, easy to use, and teaches simple spelling. I should have bought one for my own children. Makes a great gift!

This is a lot of fun for families who enjoy playing Hangman. My 8 year old and I play this whenever we are stuck somewhere waiting. We love it!
The only thing negative I have to say about it is that the tiles are hard to turn over initially. However, once you use it a few times, it's fine.

I just wanted to add my review for those with a child or children with dyslexia.

When I initially purchased this game I thought it might be a waste of money. And for some, it may be. But for my two kids with dyslexia, it has been great. They both prefer to use it over using paper and pencil. They love flipping the letters and 'man' pieces and they love using the dry erase pen. All the letters are already there in plain sight and after a letter has been chosen, it is flipped over and 'disappears' so it's not accidentally chosen again.

I use words from their current spelling lists.

I also teach my kids strategies.

If the word has only one syllable, there will only be one vowel. So guess the vowels first. If one fits, don't guess any more vowels.

If there's a blend at the beginning of a word, the second letter has a strong likelihood of being an L or an R.

After several unsuccessful guesses, give a clue as to the word's meaning. If the clue doesn't work, you can give a big clue by giving a word that rhymes.

This is a fun travel game that consists of only two pieces: The board (with letters and pieces permanently attached) and the dry-erase pen, which can store by clipping onto the side. This is a great feature for busy families who tend to lose their toys. The game is traditional "Hangman" -- one person writes out blanks, the other person guesses letters until they make a word. It's one of our family's all-time favorites to play on paper. The firm board means it can travel anywhere and be played on any surface. The letters flip over with a satisfying snap. Our youngest child loves this game because it allows her to create (or guess) words with the help of having letters "in place" for reference. A fun toy!

When my husband saw this game he said, "I know our granddaughter, and she is going to love this game." We got it along with several gifts for her 8th birthday, and this was her favorite. As soon as gifts were unwrapped, she wanted to know how to play it. It is so easy, she was playing after one example of how it is done. That was two days ago, and we are told that she is still playing it every chance she gets. At least two people have to play. (One person chooses the word to guess, and any other players call out possible letters.)

One really nice feature about the game is that it is designed so there are no loose pieces, aside from the erasable marker, and even that has its own storage spot where it attaches to the side of the game. All tiles containing the letters and the parts of the "man" are on strong elastics that permit the pieces to be flipped over and back as needed, and cannot be removed (or lost) from the board.

Children will develop not only spelling skills, but will become familiar with other aspects of grammer as well. And they won't even realize they are learning because they are having so much fun. Our granddaughter already knows to look for a vowel in the words - and what the vowels are. A hint to the person who is guessing also might include whether the word is a noun, verb, etc. Of course this game can still be played the old-fashioned way (i.e. with paper and pen), but there is something about putting it on a board that gives it fresh appeal.