SpellingCity Games: Where to Play Them (Free Equivalents)
HangMouse, Word Unscramble, Missing Letter - the classic games went behind a paywall. Here's the free equivalent of each one.
STSpellingJoy Team
•Last Updated: July 2, 2026
The classic SpellingCity games didn't vanish - they moved behind a paywall. HangMouse, Word Unscramble, Missing Letter and the rest of the 35+ activity arcade now live inside Vocabulary A-Z, the rebranded SpellingCity, which requires a classroom license around $108/year. If you just want to play them (or the closest free thing to them) today, this page maps each beloved activity to its best free equivalent.
One framing tip before the list: SpellingCity's games came in two flavors. Some were list-powered - the game used your words for the week. Others were really just good word games. Replacing each flavor takes a different kind of site.
Where Each Classic Game Went (and Its Free Stand-In)
HangMouse: the hangman-with-a-mouse favorite is now paid-only inside Vocabulary A-Z. Free stand-ins: hangman-style spelling games on ABCya and Turtle Diary
Word Unscramble: continues behind the license. Free stand-ins: word scramble games on Turtle Diary and ABCya, sorted by grade
Missing Letter: the fill-in-the-blank-letter drill lives on in paid form; free missing-letter games exist on Turtle Diary, and SpellingJoy's hear-it-type-it practice trains the same exact-letters recall on your own list
Test Me / practice tests: the most-used "game" of all was really the audio practice test - and that one is fully free now in SpellingJoy, with text-to-speech reading each word and auto-grading at the end
The Part That Actually Mattered: Your Own Word List
Kids remember HangMouse; teachers remember what made it work - every game pulled from the week's assigned list, so play time was practice time. Generic game arcades can't do that: their word banks are fixed. So the honest free recipe has two ingredients. Use SpellingJoy (free, no student limits) for everything list-driven: enter or pick from 170+ ready-made lists, practice with audio, auto-grade, track progress. Then add ABCya or Turtle Diary as the reward arcade for game-style variety. Together they cover both flavors of what SpellingCity's games delivered - without the $108 license. The full rankings below break down each option.
SpellingJoy is a 100% free spelling practice platform for K-6 students. Unlimited spelling games, unlimited tests, 134+ word lists, custom list creation, and progress tracking - all completely free with no subscriptions and no hidden costs.
Best for:Practice built around your actual weekly list, with audio and auto-grading, freePrice:100% FreeGrades:K-6Platforms:Web
Pros
100% free - unlimited games, tests, and lists
No subscription or hidden costs ever
K-6 curriculum with 134+ word lists
Cons
Web-only (no native mobile apps yet)
Classroom features coming soon
2
ABCya
Best free game arcade
ABCya offers educational games for Pre-K through 6th grade across all subjects. Free with ads, or pay for ad-free premium access.
Best for:Hangman-style and word-game variety that feels closest to the old arcadePrice:$70/yr (ad-free)Grades:Pre-K-6Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
Large game library
Free tier with ads
Covers all subjects
Cons
Free version has ads
Games vary in educational value
Not a structured curriculum
3
Turtle Diary
Best game breadth by grade
Turtle Diary offers free educational games and worksheets across reading, math, and other subjects. Ad-supported but completely free to use.
Best for:Free spelling and word games organized by grade levelPrice:FreeGrades:Pre-K-5Platforms:Web
Pros
Completely free
Large library of games
Printable worksheets included
Cons
Contains ads
Quality varies by game
Dated interface
4
Spelling Shed
Best competitive play
Spelling Shed is a UK-based spelling app with gamification features including competitive leagues and rewards. Home subscription $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr for up to 5 students.
Best for:Leagues and class-vs-class competition, at a budget pricePrice:$29.99/yr (home)Grades:Ages 5-11Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
Strong gamification features
Competitive leagues
Cross-platform
Cons
UK curriculum focus
British accent audio
Original app phased out for subscription model
5
Starfall
Best for younger players
Starfall teaches reading through systematic phonics with engaging activities for Pre-K through 5th grade.
Best for:Phonics-driven word play for Pre-K through 2nd gradePrice:$35/yrGrades:Pre-K-5Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
Affordable
Good for early readers
Systematic phonics approach
Cons
Limited for older students
Dated interface
Frequently asked questions
Is HangMouse still available?
HangMouse lives on inside Vocabulary A-Z, the rebranded SpellingCity, which requires a paid classroom license (around $108/year). There is no free public version anymore. For a free fix, hangman-style spelling games on ABCya and Turtle Diary scratch the same itch, and SpellingJoy covers the practice value of it - working through your own word list - with audio prompts and instant grading.
Where can I play SpellingCity games for free?
The original games themselves are behind the Vocabulary A-Z paywall now. Free equivalents split across two kinds of sites: SpellingJoy for list-based practice with text-to-speech and auto-grading, and free game arcades like ABCya and Turtle Diary for hangman, word scramble, and missing-letter style play.
What replaced Word Unscramble?
Word Unscramble continues inside the paid Vocabulary A-Z platform. Outside it, word scramble and unscramble games are a staple of free sites like Turtle Diary and ABCya. If the goal is practicing this week’s list rather than playing with random words, SpellingJoy lets kids drill their own list with hear-and-type practice.
Are there free spelling games like SpellingCity had?
Yes, though scattered rather than in one arcade. ABCya and Turtle Diary carry free hangman-style, scramble, and missing-letter games. Starfall covers playful phonics for younger kids. What made SpellingCity special was games powered by your own list - that part is best replicated free with SpellingJoy’s custom-list practice.
Do any apps have Missing Letter style games?
Missing-letter activities (fill in the blank letter of a word) appear across free game sites like Turtle Diary, typically organized by grade. The same skill - recalling the exact letters in a word - is what SpellingJoy’s type-what-you-hear practice trains, using your own weekly words instead of a generic list.
Are SpellingCity games still free to play?
No. In the old SpellingCity era, several activities were playable free with premium features behind a ~$35/year subscription. After the rebrand to Vocabulary A-Z, the games sit behind a classroom license commonly cited at $108-125/year. That is why searches for the old free games now dead-end.
Our Verdict
You can't play the original SpellingCity games free anymore - HangMouse and friends now live behind the Vocabulary A-Z license. But every job those games did is still doable at $0.
The winning combo: SpellingJoy for list-powered practice (your words, audio prompts, auto-grading, progress tracking) plus ABCya or Turtle Diary for arcade-style word games. If your class thrives on competition, Spelling Shed's leagues are the best paid upgrade at a fraction of Vocabulary A-Z pricing.
Remember: the games were the sugar; the word list was the medicine. Get the list practice free first, then sprinkle games on top.
ST
About the Author
SpellingJoy Team
The SpellingJoy team is dedicated to creating free, high-quality spelling resources for K-6 students and their families. We test every app we review and provide honest assessments to help parents make informed decisions.
