Word Rescue: how to play

The classic hangman word game, made friendly. Mogi floats away under a bunch of balloons, and you bring Mogi down safely by guessing the word one letter at a time. Every wrong letter pops a balloon. The words come from twelve themes, from space and food to music and sport, with three words to rescue in every level.

How to play

• Guess a letter with your keyboard or the letter buttons under the game. Every place that letter appears in the word lights up.
• A wrong letter pops one balloon. Guess the whole word before the last balloon pops.
• Lose every balloon and Mogi bumps down to the ground, unhurt: that costs one of your three hearts and you get a new word.
• The theme shows above the word as a clue (except in the Robot Factory).
• Rescue three words to clear a level. Right letters in a row build a combo (up to ×10); rescuing a word with one balloon left is a close call.
• M is a letter in this game, so press Esc (or the SOUND button) to turn the sound off or on.

The five levels

1. Neon City: short words, eight balloons
2. Rooftops: wind: from here on, a gust takes a balloon now and then
3. Sewer: longer words, six to eight letters
4. Robot Factory: no clue: the theme is a secret, and seven balloons
5. Glitch Zone: the letter buttons shuffle after every guess

Clear the Glitch Zone and the levels loop again with one balloon fewer and windier gusts. You have three hearts for the whole run, and the game is the same for everyone each day, so you can compare scores. Press Esc to turn the sound off or on.

Tips

• Start with common letters: E, A, R, I, O, T, N and S turn up in most words.
• Use the theme. Once you know it's SPACE or FOOD, the word list gets much shorter.
• Guess quickly when it's windy: gusts take a balloon every 25 seconds (faster on the next lap), but never the last one.

Questions

Is Word Rescue the same as hangman?

It's the same guess-the-word game, without the gallows: Mogi hangs from balloons instead, and a wrong guess pops one.

Where do the words come from?

From the same twelve themes as Mogi's Word Search: space, ocean, arcade, food, weather, music, sports, animals, city, tech, nature and party.

How do I turn the sound off?

Press Esc or the SOUND button. M is a letter in this game.

Is it free?

Yes. Word Rescue is free in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, with no download.