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Hangman by JamSoft for iPhone

What is it?

We know the game. We know the name. Hangman is exactly what you thought it was - players try and correctly guess letters to spell out words. If you guess wrong, a morbid piece of a stickman’s death machine or body will be drawn to mark your mistake. If the picture is completed, the player loses.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

People who like to win (this version of Hangman is much easier than the paid versions available on the app store). People looking for a free, mild vocabulary exercise that have some time to burn. People sitting in the backseat of a long car ride that need some other silly games to pass the time. People who like Hangman, but don’t want to pay $.99 for a superior version.

Summary

Thankfully, JamSoft’s take on the classic Hangman game is not the only version available on iPhone. This one is, however, free, which could be enough to make it worth keeping for some users, but not for us. In terms of being a polished or slick application, it’s clearly not trying to be and that’s not our gripe with the game. Our main problem with this version of Hangman, despite the Microsoft Paint-like graphics, is the fact that it’s just entirely too easy. With 11 guesses until your stick person reaches his death, it’s almost impossible to lose, which might be ok with some of us who like a little English language confidence boost, but we found it much too easy and simple for our liking.

Keep it or Delete it?

Delete it.

Despite being one of the app store’s most popular free applications, there’s really not a whole lot to say about JamSoft’s Hangman offering, except that it’s really simple and REALLY easy. With 11 “wrongs” until your Hangman falls to his death, it’s nearly impossible to lose while sober.

It’s one thing if you have a simple application, but it’s another when the ads on your application feel like the most compelling things on the screen. Since implementing advertisements, more than a few iPhone users have found the advertisements annoying during their gaming experience. We didn’t necessarily find it to be that bad, but a quick look at this screenshot pretty much tells the story.

For the actual game, you’re able to choose words from the following categories: Adjectives, animals, colors, countries, Disney movie titles, chemical elements, musical instruments, generic mix, nouns, and verbs before randomly guessing away. If you start with the Wheel of Fortune RSTLNE and enter a couple vowels, you’ll be in good shape and on your way to victory in no time.

Other than the fact that we find the game itself to be entirely too easy and underwhelming, there is something that we like on the game: the Two Player mode, which allows players to create words for their friends to try and guess. Because the regular game is so easy, having a two player mode that involves the back and forth passing of one’s phone so that inside jokes and more difficult proper noun-like words can be guessed, gives the game a little bit more life.

Overall, Hangman is just too easy and too simple, but we do acknowledge that it’s still a free offering. Regardless, we think that some of the fun in having a game is the challenge behind it and there’ unfortunately very little challenge with this one.