Bananagrams facts for kids
Bananagrams game bag and word tiles
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| Designer(s) | Abraham Nathanson, Rena Nathanson |
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| Publication date | 2006 |
| Players | 2–8 |
| Setup time | 1–2 minutes |
| Random chance | Low (tile drawing) |
| Skill(s) required | Spelling Anagramming |
Bananagrams is a super fun word game where you use letter tiles to spell words. It was created by Abraham Nathanson and Rena Nathanson from Cranston, Rhode Island. The name comes from their family saying it's the "anagram game that will drive you bananas!"
Bananagrams started as a family idea and was first shown to the public in January 2006 at the London Toy Fair. The game is a bit like other word games such as Scrabble. In Bananagrams, you try to arrange your letter tiles into a grid of connected words faster than your friends. The main goal is to be the first player to use all your tiles to complete your word grid. All the letter tiles come in a cool fabric bag shaped like a banana!
Contents
How to Play Bananagrams
The game uses 144 letter tiles. First, you place all the tiles face down on the playing surface. This pile of tiles is called the 'Bunch'. Each player then draws a certain number of tiles. The number depends on how many people are playing, usually between 11 and 21 tiles for 1 to 8 players.
Starting the Game
Once everyone has their tiles, one player shouts "Split!" At that moment, all players quickly turn over their tiles to see the letters. Everyone then races to create their own word grids. You do this by arranging your letters to form words that connect to each other, like in a crossword puzzle. Your words should not be separate from one another.
Rearranging Your Words
You can rearrange your word grid as many times as you need to. The name "Bananagrams" is a play on the word anagrams. This means you often have to move words you've already made to fit new tiles into your grid.
Peel and Dump Moves
When a player uses up all their tiles, they shout "Peel!" When this happens, every player, including the one who called "Peel!", must draw a new tile from the 'Bunch'. This keeps the game moving!
If you ever get stuck with a tricky letter that you can't use, you can announce "Dump!" You can then exchange that one difficult letter for three new tiles from the 'Bunch'.
Winning the Game
The game continues with players calling "Peel!" until there are fewer tiles left in the 'Bunch' than there are players. At this point, the first person to use up all their letters shouts "Bananas!" and wins the round. If all their words are spelled correctly, they become the "Top Banana!"
Letter Distribution
Here's how many of each letter tile are in the game:
- 2 tiles: J, K, Q, X, Z
- 3 tiles: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y
- 4 tiles: G
- 5 tiles: L
- 6 tiles: D, S, U
- 8 tiles: N
- 9 tiles: T, R
- 11 tiles: O
- 12 tiles: I
- 13 tiles: A
- 18 tiles: E
How Bananagrams Compares to Other Games
Bananagrams combines parts of other popular word games like Boggle and Scrabble. It's similar to Boggle because everyone plays at the same time. However, players build interlocking word puzzles, which is more like Scrabble.
Bananagrams is great for kids who are learning to spell because players of all reading levels can enjoy it. Many people say it's both educational and fun. Unlike some other word games, the main goal in Bananagrams is to use all your tiles. This encourages you to be creative and constantly rearrange your word grid to fit new letters.
Other word games that don't use a board include Anagrams, Dabble, Perquackey, and Quiddler.
Awards Bananagrams Has Won
Bananagrams has received many awards for being new, popular, and good for learning:
- Game of the Year 2009 by TOTY Awards
- Gold Award, Good Toy Guide (UK 2006)
- Best Toy Bronze Award, Right Start Magazine (UK 2006)
- Top Toy of the Year Award, Creative Child Magazine 2007
- NAPPA Honors Award, Parenthood.com
Playing Bananagrams Online
An online version of Bananagrams was created by Large Animal Games and Majesco Entertainment. It was available to play from 2008 to 2012.
The online game followed the same rules as the physical game. However, it also had some extra features. Players could play live games against others or send challenges to their friends. You could even share your completed games with friends. The online version also had single-player modes, like "Banana Café," where you tried to beat your own best time.
In the online game, players could customize their game using "Banana Chip" credits. You earned these chips by playing games and winning challenges. You could spend them in a virtual store to buy new tile designs or playing boards. You could also buy hints or bonuses to help you in games. The online game also gave players multi-level achievements for showing great skill, and there was a leaderboard to see how you ranked against other players.
Images for kids
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A bunch of bananas, like the game's theme.
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