Bananagrams
Encyclopedia
Bananagrams is a word game
invented by Abraham Nathanson
of Narragansett
, Rhode Island
, wherein lettered tiles are used to spell words.
Nathanson conceived and developed the idea for the game with the help of his family. The name is derived from the founding family's claim that it's the "anagram game that will drive you bananas!" Beginning as a family innovation, Bananagrams was made available to the public in January 2006 at the London Toy Fair. The game is similar to the older Scrabble
variant Take Two.
Game play involves arranging one's tiles into a grid of connected words faster than one's opponents. The object of the game is to be the first to complete a word grid after the pool of tiles has been exhausted. The tiles come in a fabric, banana-shaped package. Bananagrams is listed as a must-have and one of the top ten best travel games, and it has been listed as a best-seller among toy and gift retailers.
s, as one must often rearrange the words one has already formed in order to allow newly-drawn tiles to be placed into one's grid.
If at any time during play, one has a letter or letters that s/he does not wish to fit into her word arrangement, s/he can announce "Dump!" and exchange any letter for three tiles from the "bunch".
Play continues with players announcing "Peel!" when they again fit all their tiles into their crossword-style word arrangements until there are not enough remaining tiles in the "bunch" for all players to take one; at this point, the first player to have placed all of her tiles into her word grid calls out "Bananas!" and is declared the winner if all of his or her words are valid upon inspection.
The letter distribution is as follows:
and Scrabble
. It is similar to Boggle in the sense that game play is simultaneous, yet players build interlocking puzzles similar to those in Scrabble. Some people use Scrabble tiles in lieu of purchasing Bananagrams.
Because Bananagrams can be played by players at any (English) reading level, the game is useful for children who are learning to spell, and has been touted as both educational and popular among consumers. An independent psychologist reviewed Bananagrams and expressed her recommendation of Bananagrams as a positive example of creativity stimulation because, perhaps unlike Scrabble, the goal is to play all of one's tiles, which generates a need to configure and reconfigure one's word grid to accept all of the letters.
. Online Bananagrams is available on Facebook
, Bebo
, and MySpace
.
The online version adheres to the same protocol as the tabletop edition, but includes features to simulate a real-life game experience. Certain game play adjustments and social features are also available.
There are several play options. Players can send challenges to friends or play live games. Live games include features that allow players to chat via text, and view their opponents’ ‘trees’, or groups of words created with the letter tiles in a crossword-style formation. Also offered is the option of solo play. This includes solitaire games (long or short) and Banana Café, where the objective is to beat one’s own best time.
game version offers players the opportunity to customize the game with Banana Chips (credits). Banana Chips are earned by playing games and by issuing and winning challenges. They can be used in the virtual store to purchase new tiles and playing boards. Multi-tier achievements are also awarded to players in recognition of outstanding skill. Finally, a leaderboard (located at the bottom of the game screen) contains information pertaining to other players.
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
invented by Abraham Nathanson
Abraham Nathanson
Abraham Nathanson was an American graphic designer. He created the game Bananagrams, a game that uses letter tiles similar to Scrabble with the addition of the element of speed....
of Narragansett
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 15,868 at the 2010 census, but there is a greater population in the summer. The nickname for the town is "Gansett". The town of Narragansett occupies a narrow strip of land running along the eastern bank...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, wherein lettered tiles are used to spell words.
Nathanson conceived and developed the idea for the game with the help of his family. The name is derived from the founding family's claim that it's the "anagram game that will drive you bananas!" Beginning as a family innovation, Bananagrams was made available to the public in January 2006 at the London Toy Fair. The game is similar to the older Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
variant Take Two.
Game play involves arranging one's tiles into a grid of connected words faster than one's opponents. The object of the game is to be the first to complete a word grid after the pool of tiles has been exhausted. The tiles come in a fabric, banana-shaped package. Bananagrams is listed as a must-have and one of the top ten best travel games, and it has been listed as a best-seller among toy and gift retailers.
Game play
The game consists of 144 lettered tiles that are placed face down on the playing surface. The same number of tiles are drawn by each player, and at any player's call of "Split!", all players turn over their tiles to reveal the lettered sides. Each player begins arranging the letters to form words, which must be connected in intersecting or interlocking manner (i.e. word-tiles are not isolated, at least not before the first "Peel!"). When a player uses up all of his tiles, s/he calls out "Peel!," and each player must draw a new tile from the pool of remaining tiles, called the "bunch." The name "Bananagrams" is a play on the word anagramAnagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
s, as one must often rearrange the words one has already formed in order to allow newly-drawn tiles to be placed into one's grid.
If at any time during play, one has a letter or letters that s/he does not wish to fit into her word arrangement, s/he can announce "Dump!" and exchange any letter for three tiles from the "bunch".
Play continues with players announcing "Peel!" when they again fit all their tiles into their crossword-style word arrangements until there are not enough remaining tiles in the "bunch" for all players to take one; at this point, the first player to have placed all of her tiles into her word grid calls out "Bananas!" and is declared the winner if all of his or her words are valid upon inspection.
The letter distribution is as follows:
- 2: J, K, Q, X, Z
- 3: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y
- 4: G
- 5: L
- 6: D, S, U
- 8: N
- 9: T, R
- 11: O
- 12: I
- 13: A
- 18: E
Comparison with other games
Bananagrams uses elements of both BoggleBoggle
Boggle is a word game designed by Allan Turoff and trademarked by Parker Brothers, a division of Hasbro. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players attempt to find words in sequences of adjacent letters.-Rules:...
and Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
. It is similar to Boggle in the sense that game play is simultaneous, yet players build interlocking puzzles similar to those in Scrabble. Some people use Scrabble tiles in lieu of purchasing Bananagrams.
Because Bananagrams can be played by players at any (English) reading level, the game is useful for children who are learning to spell, and has been touted as both educational and popular among consumers. An independent psychologist reviewed Bananagrams and expressed her recommendation of Bananagrams as a positive example of creativity stimulation because, perhaps unlike Scrabble, the goal is to play all of one's tiles, which generates a need to configure and reconfigure one's word grid to accept all of the letters.
Awards
Bananagrams has won numerous awards for its innovation, popularity among consumers, and educational value:- Game of the Year 2009 by TOTY Awards
- Gold Award, Good Toy Guide (UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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
Online gameplay
The online version of Bananagrams was developed by Large Animal Games, in partnership with Majesco EntertainmentMajesco Entertainment
Majesco Entertainment is a video game publisher founded in 1986.-History:Majesco first made a name as a reissuer of old titles that had been abandoned by their original publisher. By cutting the prices dramatically and, eventually, arranging the rights to self-manufacture games for both Nintendo...
. Online Bananagrams is available on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
, and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
.
The online version adheres to the same protocol as the tabletop edition, but includes features to simulate a real-life game experience. Certain game play adjustments and social features are also available.
There are several play options. Players can send challenges to friends or play live games. Live games include features that allow players to chat via text, and view their opponents’ ‘trees’, or groups of words created with the letter tiles in a crossword-style formation. Also offered is the option of solo play. This includes solitaire games (long or short) and Banana Café, where the objective is to beat one’s own best time.
Banana chips, achievements, and social features
The onlineONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
game version offers players the opportunity to customize the game with Banana Chips (credits). Banana Chips are earned by playing games and by issuing and winning challenges. They can be used in the virtual store to purchase new tiles and playing boards. Multi-tier achievements are also awarded to players in recognition of outstanding skill. Finally, a leaderboard (located at the bottom of the game screen) contains information pertaining to other players.