This animals hangman game for kids has 25 hidden animals words to guess one letter at a time, with six balloons in place of a gallows. Tap letters or type them: right letters fill in the word, and each wrong letter pops a balloon. The words run from 3 to 9 letters, including elephant, giraffe and penguin and owl, and every word in this set is animals, so the category is your first clue. It is a free animals word game that needs no sign-up, works on phones and tablets, and comes with a printable word list with clues.
Animals hangman game: see how it plays
The game below starts a new animals word as soon as the page opens, and a round ends when you find the word or lose all six balloons. The printable animals hangman word list has all 25 words with a clue and empty letter boxes, and the pictures show the game at the start, in the middle of a round and after a win.
How the animals hangman game works
- Guess a letter: tap a letter on the keyboard below the word, or type it on a computer. You can only try each letter once.
- Right letters appear: every place the letter is used in the word fills in.
- Wrong letters pop a balloon: you have six balloons, so six wrong guesses ends the round, and the game shows the word.
- Keep a streak: each word you find adds one to your streak, and your best streak is saved on this device only.
- Change the category: use the buttons above the game to switch to animals, fruits and vegetables, space, countries, the human body, sports, weather or spelling words.
It plays like hangman, the classic pencil-and-paper word guessing game described in Wikipedia’s hangman article, but a basket of balloons replaces the hanging picture, so it suits younger children and classrooms.
Animals word game: all 25 words with clues
The list is the same every time, so you can study it before you play or use the clues as riddles. The table gives the number of letters, a clue and the animal group for each word.
| No. | Word | Letters | Clue | Animal group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | elephant | 8 | The largest land animal, with a long trunk and big ears | Mammal |
| 2 | giraffe | 7 | The tallest animal in the world, with a very long neck | Mammal |
| 3 | penguin | 7 | A bird that cannot fly but swims well, and lives in cold places | Bird |
| 4 | kangaroo | 8 | An Australian animal that hops and carries its baby in a pouch | Mammal |
| 5 | dolphin | 7 | A smart sea mammal that clicks and whistles | Mammal |
| 6 | octopus | 7 | A sea animal with eight arms | Sea invertebrate |
| 7 | zebra | 5 | An African animal with black and white stripes | Mammal |
| 8 | rabbit | 6 | A small furry animal with long ears that hops | Mammal |
| 9 | tiger | 5 | The biggest wild cat, with orange fur and black stripes | Mammal |
| 10 | turtle | 6 | A reptile with a hard shell on its back | Reptile |
| 11 | monkey | 6 | A clever animal that climbs trees and eats bananas | Mammal |
| 12 | parrot | 6 | A colorful bird that can copy human words | Bird |
| 13 | hamster | 7 | A small pet that stores food in its cheeks and runs on a wheel | Mammal |
| 14 | squirrel | 8 | A small animal with a bushy tail that hides nuts | Mammal |
| 15 | crocodile | 9 | A large reptile with a long snout and sharp teeth that lives in rivers | Reptile |
| 16 | butterfly | 9 | An insect with colorful wings that starts life as a caterpillar | Insect |
| 17 | jellyfish | 9 | A see-through sea animal with tentacles and no bones | Sea invertebrate |
| 18 | hedgehog | 8 | A small animal covered in spines that rolls into a ball | Mammal |
| 19 | panda | 5 | A black and white bear that eats bamboo | Mammal |
| 20 | camel | 5 | A desert animal with humps on its back | Mammal |
| 21 | flamingo | 8 | A tall pink bird that often stands on one leg | Bird |
| 22 | cheetah | 7 | The fastest land animal | Mammal |
| 23 | gorilla | 7 | The largest ape, living in the forests of Africa | Mammal |
| 24 | lobster | 7 | A sea animal with big claws that turns red when cooked | Sea invertebrate |
| 25 | owl | 3 | A bird that hunts at night and says hoot | Bird |
Animals by group: mammals, birds, reptiles and more
| Animal group | Words | Which ones |
|---|---|---|
| Mammal | 15 | elephant, giraffe, kangaroo, dolphin, zebra, rabbit, tiger, monkey, hamster, squirrel, hedgehog, panda, camel, cheetah and gorilla |
| Bird | 4 | penguin, parrot, flamingo and owl |
| Sea invertebrate | 3 | octopus, jellyfish and lobster |
| Reptile | 2 | turtle and crocodile |
| Insect | 1 | butterfly |
Most of the animals in the list are mammals, which Wikipedia’s mammal article describes: warm-blooded animals that feed their babies milk.
Word guess game strategy for animals hangman: the best letters
Good hangman players guess the letters that appear in the most words. In this list, 62 of the 170 letters in the list are vowels (36%). These letters are used in the greatest number of the 25 words:
| Letter | Words that contain it | Times used altogether |
|---|---|---|
| E | 16 of 25 | 19 |
| R | 13 of 25 | 15 |
| L | 12 of 25 | 14 |
| A | 12 of 25 | 14 |
| O | 11 of 25 | 14 |
| T | 10 of 25 | 12 |
| I | 10 of 25 | 10 |
| N | 7 of 25 | 8 |
- Use the animal groups to guess. If the word has nine letters, it could be crocodile, butterfly or jellyfish, so a letter such as J, B or C settles it at once.
- Many animal names end in a vowel or in -er, -ey or -in: tiger, monkey, penguin, hamster and lobster.
Double letters are a clue too. In this list, giraffe, kangaroo, rabbit, parrot, squirrel, butterfly, jellyfish, cheetah and gorilla all have a letter used twice in a row.
The length gives you a head start too. The words are 3 to 9 letters long, and the longest are crocodile, butterfly and jellyfish. The shortest is owl. Here is how many words there are of each length:
| Length | Words | The words |
|---|---|---|
| 3 letters | 1 | owl |
| 5 letters | 4 | zebra, tiger, panda, camel |
| 6 letters | 4 | rabbit, turtle, monkey, parrot |
| 7 letters | 8 | giraffe, penguin, dolphin, octopus, hamster, cheetah, gorilla, lobster |
| 8 letters | 5 | elephant, kangaroo, squirrel, hedgehog, flamingo |
| 9 letters | 3 | crocodile, butterfly, jellyfish |
Hangman for kids: learning ideas
- Habitat sort: after a round, ask whether the animal lives on land, in the sea or in the air.
- Animal sounds: make the sound of each animal you guess, or act it out.
- Diet detectives: sort the 25 animals into plant eaters (elephant, giraffe, panda) and meat eaters (tiger, crocodile, owl).
- Draw it: draw the animal you just guessed, with three facts written underneath.
The animals hangman game also builds spelling, because children must think about which letters go in which order. The Common Core grade 3 language standards expect children to use spelling patterns, and a word game is a friendly way to practice them. For spelling lists to match, try the spelling worksheet maker.
Animals word game riddles
Turn the clues from the animals hangman word list into riddles for a group. Read the clue, let children guess, then check against the game:
- The largest land animal, with a long trunk and big ears. What am I? Answer: elephant.
- The tallest animal in the world, with a very long neck. What am I? Answer: giraffe.
- A bird that cannot fly but swims well, and lives in cold places. What am I? Answer: penguin.
- An Australian animal that hops and carries its baby in a pouch. What am I? Answer: kangaroo.
- A smart sea mammal that clicks and whistles. What am I? Answer: dolphin.
Short, frequent rounds of animals hangman work better than one long session, because each new word is a small success. Play a few rounds, check the word list, and see how long your streak can grow.
Animals hangman game: frequently asked questions
Which animals are in the animals hangman game?
There are 25: elephant, giraffe, penguin, kangaroo, dolphin, octopus, zebra, rabbit, tiger, turtle, monkey, parrot, hamster, squirrel, crocodile, butterfly, jellyfish, hedgehog, panda, camel, flamingo, cheetah, gorilla, lobster and owl.
How many balloons do you get in the animals hangman game?
Six. Each wrong letter pops one balloon, and when all six are gone the round ends and the word is shown.
Can I choose another category in the animals hangman game?
Yes. Use the buttons above the game to switch between animals, fruits and vegetables, space, countries, the human body, sports, weather and spelling words.
Is the animals hangman game free, and do kids need an account?
Yes, it is free, and no account is needed. Best scores are saved only in the browser on this device.
Does the animals hangman game work on phones and tablets?
Yes. The game is built for touch first and also works with a mouse or keyboard on a computer.
What is a good first letter to guess?
Guess E, R and L first. They appear in the most words in this list, so they give you the most information.