Hangman

• Type: Game (Muggle)
• Owners: Played by Ron Weasley and Harry Potter
• Maker: Unknown (traditional Muggle game)

Hangman is a word-guessing game typically played with paper and a writing instrument, or in the wizarding world, a quill and parchment. The game involves one player drawing a gallows and a series of dashes representing the letters of a secret word. As the other player makes incorrect guesses, a stick figure of a man is drawn on the gallows, piece by piece. This drawing serves as a visual timer, with the game ending when the man is fully drawn.

The game of Hangman possesses no magical properties; it is a common Muggle pastime introduced into the wizarding world. The objective and rules, as explained by Ron Weasley, are as follows:

1. One player thinks of a word and draws a row of dashes, one for each letter.
2. The second player guesses letters they believe might be in the word.
3. If a guessed letter is correct, the first player writes it on the corresponding dash(es).
4. If a guessed letter is incorrect, the first player draws one part of the gallows and the hanging man.
5. The game is won by the second player if they guess the word before the drawing is completed. The game is lost if the figure of the man is fully drawn before the word is solved.

The game's sole appearance in the narrative occurs during the 1992-1993 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ron Weasley introduces the game to Harry Potter, indicating that he is familiar with this Muggle activity. This is likely a result of the influence of his father, Arthur Weasley, whose profession at the Ministry of Magic and personal hobby involves the study of Muggles and their artifacts.

Hangman is featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Following a Quidditch match where his arm was broken and subsequently de-boned by a faulty spell from Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, Harry Potter is confined to the Hospital Wing. He is undergoing the painful process of regrowing his arm bones with Skele-Gro. To pass the time and distract Harry from his discomfort, Ron Weasley suggests a game of Hangman. The moment highlights their friendship and provides a brief instance of normal teenage activity amidst magical peril. Harry, drowsy and in pain, is not a very effective player, guessing the letter 'A' for a word that Ron later reveals contained only 'E's. The game is abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of Dobby the house-elf, who has come to warn Harry about the danger of the reopened Chamber of Secrets.

• Hangman is a well-known, real-world guessing game.
• The scene where Harry and Ron play Hangman in the Hospital Wing was not included in the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film). In the film, Dobby's visit to Harry in the hospital wing occurs without the preceding game.