Simple, yet so clever
This most macabre word deduction masterpiece, has been interpreted in so many “packaged” variants — board games, shuffle decks, magnetic sets, online versions, none really much better than the good old paper-and-pen sessions, that are an essential part of growing up, and falling in love with word games! And then suddenly at a modest `399, is HangMan Head-2-Head from (MB Games), Hasbro. A spectacular rendition that brings the game alive, all over again!
The Hangman unit is a delightful self-standing and self-contained innovation, that integrates the gallows, the wretched fellow who will repeatedly be condemned to a sorry end, an eight letter word rack, a tray that comfortably accommodates 70 letter tiles, and a sand clock.
The “swivel and turn” eleven elements of the gallows-through-body parts, is such a clever device. The removable word rack on which you construct your word, and then attach it on top of the unit, is inspired. The vivid blue and yellow rounded faces of every swivel feature, add sensory dimensions well beyond the pale of the most canny online versions of Hangman. The way in which each of the letters in the word rack turn to reveal a correct deduction, is perfectly executed – weighted to a nicety!
It’s not every day that a simple game is so cleverly put together. Your opponent and you face off, sitting on either side of the vertical game unit. Eleven turns to nail the word.
Call a letter right, and everywhere it appears in the word, stands revealed immediately! Words that end with ‘ing’ are cracked open relatively quickly. Much like coming up with an online password of reasonable strength, use more complex words, that won’t be immediately revealed once a few letters stand exposed.
Hangman makes for surprisingly good and boisterous team play. I’m overcome with nostalgia and times when I put in serious time scribbling the infamous gallows on paper.
Memories flood back of intense sessions of competition. Post-game debate on what sorts of words posed the greatest challenge. My appetite was insatiable, and I was fortunate for the company of like-minded gluttons. Re-discover life and love at play!
—The author may be contacted at arup_kavan@yahoo.com
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