Common Sense Media Review
By Jonathan H. Liu
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Hangman meets Scrabble, against online opponents.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Hanging With Friends
What's It About?
Players build a word for their opponent to guess using a set of 12 letter tiles, which earn them points depending on the placement of bonus spots (double letter, triple word, etc.). The points earn players gold coins, which they can use to buy avatars, backgrounds, and other extras. To guess a word, players choose letters until the word is revealed; they only get a certain number of strikes (wrong guesses) before they lose the round and one of their avatar's five balloons pops. When one player loses all five balloons, the game is over.
Is It Any Good?
HANGING WITH FRIENDS is a cross between hangman and Scrabble (or Words With Friends): You create words for your opponent to guess, and then guess the words they've created. Each time you guess you get a few mistakes before you've missed the word, and then one of your five balloons pop. Run out of balloons, and you lose the game. Meanwhile, you get a set of 12 random letter tiles to create words, and there are bonuses for double- and triple-word or letter scores. Get enough points, and you're rewarded with coins that can be used for lifelines that give you a hint or remove a mistake.
There does seem to be an interface issue where the letter tiles do not always display properly. Still, the game is quite fun to play and adds a twist to the traditional hangman game.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Encourage your kids to play with people they know in real life -- including you! If your kids play against random opponents, make sure they know to keep personal information private, and to resign from any game where a random opponent behaves inappropriately.
Encourage your kids to look up the meanings of unfamiliar words.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire
- Subjects : Language & Reading : spelling , vocabulary
- Skills : Tech Skills : social media , Thinking & Reasoning : deduction , solving puzzles
- Pricing structure :
- Release date : June 9, 2011
- Genre : Word Games
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.0 or later; Android 2.1 and up
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate