Two children may derive a great deal of amusement from this simple pastime. At the top of a piece of paper write all the letters of the alphabet. Underneath, the child who has thought of a word or short sentence puts a dash down for every letter contained in the word thought of.

Suppose the words thought of were "Gamebook," it would be written thus: --------

The other player asks if the word contains "a," and the other puts it in its proper place, crossing the letter off of the alphabet above. The other guesses different letters at random, every right one being put in its place, while for every wrong one a line is drawn to help construct a gallows for the "hang-man." If there are many wrong guesses, the "hang-man" may be completed and then the word is told the other player. The players take turns in giving out and guessing the words.

The gallows is made thus for every wrong guess: