This space hangman game for kids has 25 hidden space 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 4 to 9 letters, including planet, rocket and comet and nebula, and every word in this set is about space, so the category is your first clue. It is a free space word game that needs no sign-up, works on phones and tablets, and comes with a printable word list with clues.
Space hangman game: see how it plays
The game below starts a new space word as soon as the page opens, and a round ends when you find the word or lose all six balloons. The printable space 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 space 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.
Space 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 kind of thing for each word.
| No. | Word | Letters | Clue | Kind of thing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | planet | 6 | A large world that travels around a star | Space term |
| 2 | rocket | 6 | A vehicle that burns fuel to reach space | Machine or tool |
| 3 | comet | 5 | A ball of ice and dust with a glowing tail | Space object |
| 4 | galaxy | 6 | A huge group of stars, gas and dust; ours is the Milky Way | Space object |
| 5 | meteor | 6 | A streak of light made by a space rock burning up in the air | Space object |
| 6 | orbit | 5 | The path an object takes around a planet or a star | Space term |
| 7 | astronaut | 9 | A person trained to travel and work in space | Person |
| 8 | telescope | 9 | A tool that makes faraway objects look bigger | Machine or tool |
| 9 | mercury | 7 | The smallest planet and the closest to the Sun | Planet |
| 10 | venus | 5 | The hottest planet, wrapped in thick clouds | Planet |
| 11 | earth | 5 | The planet we live on | Planet |
| 12 | mars | 4 | The red planet | Planet |
| 13 | jupiter | 7 | The biggest planet, with a giant red storm | Planet |
| 14 | saturn | 6 | The planet with bright rings | Planet |
| 15 | uranus | 6 | A cold blue-green planet that spins on its side | Planet |
| 16 | neptune | 7 | The farthest planet from the Sun, blue and windy | Planet |
| 17 | asteroid | 8 | A rocky object that orbits the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter | Space object |
| 18 | crater | 6 | A bowl-shaped hole made when a space rock hits a surface | Space term |
| 19 | eclipse | 7 | When one space object moves in front of another and hides its light | Space term |
| 20 | gravity | 7 | The force that pulls objects toward each other | Space term |
| 21 | moon | 4 | The natural object that orbits the Earth | Space object |
| 22 | star | 4 | A ball of hot gas that makes light, like the Sun | Space object |
| 23 | satellite | 9 | An object that orbits a planet, either natural or built by people | Machine or tool |
| 24 | universe | 8 | Everything that exists: all space, stars and planets | Space object |
| 25 | nebula | 6 | A giant cloud of gas and dust in space where stars can form | Space object |
Space words by kind: planets, objects, machines and terms
| Kind of thing | Words | Which ones |
|---|---|---|
| Space object | 8 | comet, galaxy, meteor, asteroid, moon, star, universe and nebula |
| Planet | 8 | mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune |
| Space term | 5 | planet, orbit, crater, eclipse and gravity |
| Machine or tool | 3 | rocket, telescope and satellite |
| Person | 1 | astronaut |
Wikipedia’s planet article explains what makes a world a planet and why there are eight in our solar system.
Word guess game strategy for space hangman: the best letters
Good hangman players guess the letters that appear in the most words. In this list, 64 of the 158 letters in the list are vowels (41%). These letters are used in the greatest number of the 25 words:
| Letter | Words that contain it | Times used altogether |
|---|---|---|
| E | 16 of 25 | 23 |
| T | 16 of 25 | 18 |
| R | 15 of 25 | 17 |
| A | 13 of 25 | 15 |
| S | 11 of 25 | 11 |
| N | 9 of 25 | 10 |
| U | 9 of 25 | 10 |
| O | 8 of 25 | 9 |
- Eight of the 25 words are the planets (mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune), so if you are stuck, think of the planet names and their letters.
- Short words are quick to fill: moon, star, mars, orbit, comet and earth have only four or five letters.
- U is in many of the longer words (astronaut, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, crater and universe), so it is worth a try once you know the word is long.
Double letters are a clue too. In this list, moon and satellite both have a letter used twice in a row.
The length gives you a head start too. The words are 4 to 9 letters long, and the longest are astronaut, telescope and satellite. The shortest are mars, moon and star. Here is how many words there are of each length:
| Length | Words | The words |
|---|---|---|
| 4 letters | 3 | mars, moon, star |
| 5 letters | 4 | comet, orbit, venus, earth |
| 6 letters | 8 | planet, rocket, galaxy, meteor, saturn, uranus, crater, nebula |
| 7 letters | 5 | mercury, jupiter, neptune, eclipse, gravity |
| 8 letters | 2 | asteroid, universe |
| 9 letters | 3 | astronaut, telescope, satellite |
Hangman for kids: learning ideas
- Planet order: write the eight planet words in order from the Sun and invent a sentence with the same first letters: M, V, E, M, J, S, U, N.
- Moon watch: look at the Moon each evening for a week and draw its shape.
- Eclipse model: use a torch, a ball and a smaller ball to show how one object hides the light from another.
- Gravity test: drop a ball and a coin from the same height at the same time and listen for the two landings.
The space 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.
Space word game riddles
Turn the clues from the space hangman word list into riddles for a group. Read the clue, let children guess, then check against the game:
- A large world that travels around a star. Which one is it? Answer: planet.
- A vehicle that burns fuel to reach space. Which one is it? Answer: rocket.
- A ball of ice and dust with a glowing tail. Which one is it? Answer: comet.
- A huge group of stars, gas and dust; ours is the Milky Way. Which one is it? Answer: galaxy.
- A streak of light made by a space rock burning up in the air. Which one is it? Answer: meteor.
Short, frequent rounds of space 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.
Space hangman game: frequently asked questions
Which words are in the space hangman game?
There are 25: planet, rocket, comet, galaxy, meteor, orbit, astronaut, telescope, mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, asteroid, crater, eclipse, gravity, moon, star, satellite, universe and nebula.
How many balloons do you get in the space 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 space 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 space 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 space 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, T and R first. They appear in the most words in this list, so they give you the most information.