The Hangman Game in Excel: Build It + Play It
- Admin
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Ever wanted a “wow, Excel can do that?” moment? This Hangman game is 100% formula-based (no VBA), uses simple data validation dropdowns, and updates live as you type guesses.
Below is how the workbook works based on the file you shared (Game, Words, HowTo sheets), plus a step-by-step guide to recreate it from scratch and customize it.
PRACTICE MATERIAL OR GAME ON REQUEST!
How the game works
What you see on the Game sheet
A Hint (pulled from the word list)
The hidden word (stored in the background) and a masked display like
A Guess input area (one letter per row)
A Wrong letters counter (counts only unique wrong guesses)
A Status message: keep going / won / lost
A text-based Hangman drawing that progresses as you make mistakes
Image placeholder (use your screenshot): Caption (italic, 12px): Hangman game sheet with Seed, Mode dropdown, guess inputs, wrong letters counter, and the Hangman drawing.Alt text: Excel Hangman game dashboard with seed, mode selection, guessed letters, wrong count, and status.
Step-by-step: Create the Hangman workbook
1) Create the word bank (Words sheet)
Make a table with:
Word (UPPERCASE)
Hint
Example (like your file):
Word | Hint |
EXCEL | Spreadsheet tool |
POWER BI | Data visualization |
PIVOT TABLE | Summarize data quickly |
Add “Modes” for the dropdown
On the right side (like column D in your file), list:
Random
Choose
Create Named Ranges (important for dropdowns)
Create:
WordsList → your word column (e.g., Words!$A$2:$A$15)
ModeList → your mode list (e.g., Words!$D$2:$D$3)
Excel steps: Formulas → Name Manager → New.
2) Build the controls (Game sheet)
Create three input cells (yellow in your design):
Seed (change to new game): numeric input (e.g., 0, 1, 2…)
Mode: dropdown from ModeList
Choose word: dropdown from WordsList
Data Validation
Mode cell → List → =ModeList
Choose word cell → List → =WordsList
Guess inputs (your guess column) → Text length = 1
3) Pick a random word using the Seed
In your file, the random “Pick #” is calculated with a seeded formula (in H4):
=MOD(ABS($F$3*1103515245+12345),COUNTA(Words!$A$2:$A$100))+1$F$3 = Seed
COUNTA(...) = how many words exist
Result = row index to pick from
This is the trick that makes the word change when you change Seed (or press F9).
4) Return the hidden word + hint
Hidden Word (your workbook uses B4)
Logic:
If Mode = Choose → use selected word (or fallback to random pick)
If Mode = Random → always pick randomly
=IF($F$4="Choose",IF($F$5<>"",$F$5,INDEX(Words!$A$2:$A$100,$H$4)),INDEX(Words!$A$2:$A$100,$H$4))Hint (your workbook uses B3)
=IF($F$4="Choose",IF($F$5="",INDEX(Words!$B$2:$B$100,$H$4),IFERROR(VLOOKUP($F$5,Words!$A$2:$B$100,2,FALSE),"")),INDEX(Words!$B$2:$B$100,$H$4))✅ This means: if you choose a word manually, the hint is fetched via VLOOKUP.
5) Create the guess input logic
Your file uses guesses in C10:C35.
“Correct?” column (e.g., D10)
Checks if the input is 1 character and exists in the hidden word:
=IF($C10="","",IF(LEN($C10)<>1,"",ISNUMBER(SEARCH(UPPER($C10),$L$3))))(In your workbook $L$3 mirrors the hidden word.)
“Wrong unique?” column (e.g., E10)
Counts wrong guesses only once (duplicates don’t add penalties):
=IF($C10="","",IF(LEN($C10)<>1,"",IF(COUNTIF($C$10:$C10,$C10)>1,0,IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(UPPER($C10),$L$3)),0,1))))6) Mask and reveal the word
Your workbook shows each character in separate cells (B8:S8), using MID().
Example for the 1st letter cell (your B8):
=IF(MID($L$3,1,1)="","",IF(MID($L$3,1,1)=" "," ",IF(MID($L$3,1,1)="-","-",IF(COUNTIF($C$10:$C$35,MID($L$3,1,1))>0,MID($L$3,1,1),"_"))))Then you join it into a readable “Word:” line (your B7 concatenates B8:S8 with spaces).
7) Count mistakes + show Win/Loss status
Wrong letters count (your J4)
=MIN(6,SUM($E$10:$E$35))Status (your K4)
=IF($J$4>=6,"💀 You lost!",IF(COUNTIF($B$8:$S$8,"_")=0,"🏆 You won!","🙂 Keep going"))8) Draw the Hangman (pure formula)
Your workbook uses a CHOOSE() based on wrong count + line breaks (CHAR(10)). Formula (your J7) conceptually:
=CHOOSE($J$4+1, ".....", "+---+ ...", "+---+ O ...", ... )Important: enable Wrap Text in that cell so the ASCII art stacks properly.
How to play (quick)
Change Seed (or press F9) to start a new word
Type one letter per row in the yellow input cells
You have 6 unique wrong letters
Switch Mode to Choose if you want to pick a specific word