How to Play Haunted Words, the Halloween Hangman

Haunted Words is Hangman for Halloween. The hidden word comes from a Halloween word bank (things like ghost, cauldron, graveyard and scarecrow), and instead of drawing a gallows, the game gives you seven candles. Each wrong letter snuffs one out, and a ghost fades in as the light goes. Lose the last candle and the ghost wins.

The rules

• The host sets up the round and everyone else guesses together. It's co-op, so you win or lose as a room.
• Players take turns guessing one letter at a time.
• A correct letter fills in every place it appears. A wrong one costs a candle.
• You win by revealing the whole word. You lose when the seventh candle goes out.
• If the host is the only person in the room, they guess too, so you can play alone.

Tips for finding the word

• Start with vowels. E, A and O turn up in most of the words, and a vowel pattern narrows things down fast.
• Think Halloween. Every word is something you'd find at the season, so a few letters usually point to a short list.
• Try common endings. If there are three blanks at the end, 'ing' or 'ed' is a good bet, as in howling, haunted and cursed.
• Discuss before you guess. With one letter per turn, the room only gets seven mistakes between you.

It's a good first game of the night while people arrive, because it takes a few minutes and anyone can join in. Create a room to try it, or see the year-round version, Hangman.