word = ["h","e","l","l","o"]
len1 = len(word)
blanks = ["_","_","_","_","_"]
print ''.join(word)
print ' '.join(blanks)
def lb():
guess = raw_input("Choose a letter. ")
count1 = 0
correct = 0
while count1 <= len1:
if guess == word[count1]:
blanks[count1] = guess
correct = 1
count1 = count1 + 1
lb()
if correct == 1: lb()
else: print "You lose"
print ''.join(word)
print ' '.join(blanks)

alright i wrote that to see if somethings would work the way i wanted them to. they didn't. when i run it i get an error. this is what it looks like.

hello
_ _ _ _ _
Choose a letter. h

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\python2.4\hangman1.py", line 15, in -toplevel-
lb()
File "C:\python2.4\hangman1.py", line 11, in lb
if guess == word[count1]:
IndexError: list index out of range

it says the list index is out of range on line 11. that part should work. i've tested it outside of that program and it works. guess should equal h. count1 should equal 0. it should check to see if the first index in word is h. don't know whats wrong. i might just rewrite it using a for statement.