Hangman Game in Python

Hangman is a word-guessing game where a player tries to guess a word by suggesting letters. For each incorrect guess, a part of the hangman is drawn. The game ends when the player correctly guesses the word or the hangman is complete.

Python Code to Create Hangman Game

Let's start with a basic structure for our Hangman game −

import random

def get_word(word_list):

   # Function to randomly select a word from the list word = random.choice(word_list)
   return word.upper()

def display_hangman(tries):

   # Function to display the hangman based on the number of tries 
   stages = [ '''

      ------
      |	  |

      |

      |

      |
 
      |

      =========''',

      '''

      ------

      |	   |

      |	   O

      |

      |

      |

      =========''',

      '''

      --------

      |	   |

      |	   O

      |	   |

      |

      |

      =========''',

      '''

      -------

      |	   |

      |	   O
 
      |	  /|

      |

      |

      =========''',

      '''

      -------

      |	   |

      |	   O

      |	  /|\\

      |

      |

      =========''',

      '''

      --------

      |	   |

      |	   O

      |	  /|\\

      |	   |

      |

      =========''',

      '''

      ------
 
      |	  |

      |	  O

      |	 /|\\

      |	  |

      |	  /

      =========''',

      '''

      --------

      |	   |

      |	   O

      |	  /|\\

      |	   |

      |	  / \\

      ========='''

   ]

   return stages[tries]

def play_hangman():

   word_list = ["PYTHON", "HANGMAN", "GUESS", "CODE"]

   word = get_word(word_list)

   word_letters = set(word) # Letters in the word alphabet = set('ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPRSTUVWXYZ')
 
   used_letters = set() # What user has guessed


lives = 6


# Getting user input

while len(word_letters) > 0 and lives > 0: 
   print(display_hangman(lives))
   word_list_display = [letter if letter in used_letters else '_' for letter in word]
   print('Current word: ', ' '.join(word_list_display))
   user_letter = input('Guess a letter: ').upper()

   if len(user_letter) != 1:

      print("\nPlease enter a single letter.") 
   elif user_letter in alphabet - used_letters:
      used_letters.add(user_letter) 
      if user_letter in word_letters:
         word_letters.remove(user_letter) 
      else:
         lives -= 1

         print('\nLetter is not in the word.') 
   elif user_letter in used_letters:
      print('\nYou have already guessed that letter.')
 
   else:

      print('\nInvalid character.')


# Game over 
if lives == 0:
   print(display_hangman(lives)) 
   print('You died. The word was', word)
else:

   print('You guessed the word!')

play_hangman() 

Output

|	|
|	O
|	/|\
|	|
|	/
=========
Current word: _ _ _ _
Guess a letter: a


Letter is not in the word.

Output

|	|
|	O
|	/|\
|	|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ _ _
Guess a letter: s


Letter is not in the word.




|	|
|	O
|	/|\
|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ _ _
Guess a letter: a


You have already guessed that letter.




|	|
 
|	O
|	/|\
|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ _ _
Guess a letter: e




|	|
|	O
|	/|\
|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ _ E Guess a letter: n

Letter is not in the word.




|	|
|	O
|	/|
|
|
 
=========
Current word: _ _ _ E Guess a letter: w

Letter is not in the word.




|	|
|	O
|	|
|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ _ E Guess a letter: d




|	|
|	O
|	|
|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ D E Guess a letter: m
 
Letter is not in the word.




|	|
|	O
|
|
|
=========
Current word: _ _ D E Guess a letter: p

Letter is not in the word.




|	|
|
|
|
|
=========
You died. The word was CODE

Code Explanation

• Import random Imports the random module for selecting a random
• get_word function Selects a random word from the provided word list and returns it in
• display_hangman function Displays the hangman based on the number of incorrect
• play_hangman function
  • Creates a word list, selects a random word, and initializes sets for word letters, alphabet, and used
  • Sets the number of lives to
  • The game loop continues until all letters are guessed or lives reach
  • Displays the hangman, current word, and prompts for user
  • Checks if the guessed letter is correct, incorrect, or already
  • Updates lives and displays messages accordingly.

After the game ends, displays the final result.