In And Out is an interesting variation on the standard "Hangman" word game. It is slightly more complex, and works well when using phrases instead of words.

This is a game which can be played as a one player game or a two player game. When played as a one player game, score can be kept. The one player version can be found online here: In And Out Word Game. In order to play you must create a membership account, but you are not required to pay in order to play.

In the two player version of the game, the "host" (a person who is not actually playing the game) thinks of a phrase. For example: SKIN OF HIS TEETH.

The host will mark an underscore on the page for each letter of the phrase. In the case of the example, it would be:

_ _ _ _ . _ _ . _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _

The host will also write down all the letters from A to Z.

The first player is then required to guess a letter which is in the phrase. If he guesses correctly, he gets to guess again. However, on his second guess he must guess a letter which is not in the phrase. Play continues, alternating between guessing letters that are in the word and letters that are not in the word, until the player guesses incorrectly.

At that point, play goes the the second player, who begins by guessing a letter in the phrase, then a letter which is not in the phrase.

Whenever a letter is guessed, the host crosses it off the list of available letters, and writes the letter in each blank space in which that letter occurs. Note: the host writes the letters in the phrase, even if the player was trying to guess a letter that was NOT in the phrase.

Play continues according to these rules until one player, during the course of his turn, is able to guess the phrase. This player is then the winner.

If you wish to play this as a one player game, you can keep score (deducting points for incorrect letters) or setting a limit for the number of guesses allowed.