Bananagrams (social game)
Encyclopedia
Bananagrams, an online social game
developed by Large Animal Games in partnership with Majesco Entertainment
, made its network debut on Facebook
on November 17, 2008. Success of the Bananagrams tile game
developed by the Nathanson family prompted Bananagrams International to extend the brand online. Bananagrams has since been released on Bebo
and MySpace
.
Bananagrams was featured as a top ten addicting game on Facebook
by industry insiders on May 6, 2009.
On February 18, 2009, Bananagrams received an honorable mention by Bebo
as a top five out of over 20,000 applications on the social network in its B.E.S.T developer competition.
version. Players are issued tiles which are then used to create interlocking words. If a player has difficulty placing a tile, that player may dump the tile into the bunch and take three more. Depending on game mode, a player may also peel or take one letter at a time once all of their displayed tiles have been used. Upon complete use of a player’s allotted tiles, they declare Bananas. If all words are legal, the player wins; if not, the player is given Rotten Bananas and is out of the game.
For example, proper nouns and foreign words are not considered legal words. Players with non-legal words in solo games will receive a time penalty.
The play modes include Solitaire (both long and shorts games), Banana Café, Live Games, and Challenges.
Charms include:
The goal of the online Bananagrams is to closely replicate the tabletop experience. Live games provide the opportunity for to play with up to twenty-five other social network members who are logged in and have the application. A chat feature is included for better communication between gamers. In the Challenge gameplay variant players can asynchronously compete for the fastest completion time.
Due to network API variation, interactive features differ across networks. For instance, the invitation mechanism on MySpace
allows direct inviting from the game page, while Facebook
requires a separate dialog window.
Social gaming
Social gaming commonly refers to playing games as a way of social interaction, as opposed to playing games in solitude, like some card games and the single-player mode of many video games...
developed by Large Animal Games in partnership with Majesco Entertainment
Majesco 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...
, made its network debut 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...
on November 17, 2008. Success of the Bananagrams tile game
Bananagrams
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...
developed by the Nathanson family prompted Bananagrams International to extend the brand online. Bananagrams has since been released on 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....
.
Bananagrams was featured as a top ten addicting game 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...
by industry insiders on May 6, 2009.
On February 18, 2009, Bananagrams received an honorable mention by 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....
as a top five out of over 20,000 applications on the social network in its B.E.S.T developer competition.
Gameplay
The play goals and game experience of the Internet version resemble the board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
version. Players are issued tiles which are then used to create interlocking words. If a player has difficulty placing a tile, that player may dump the tile into the bunch and take three more. Depending on game mode, a player may also peel or take one letter at a time once all of their displayed tiles have been used. Upon complete use of a player’s allotted tiles, they declare Bananas. If all words are legal, the player wins; if not, the player is given Rotten Bananas and is out of the game.
For example, proper nouns and foreign words are not considered legal words. Players with non-legal words in solo games will receive a time penalty.
The play modes include Solitaire (both long and shorts games), Banana Café, Live Games, and Challenges.
Charms
The internet version includes the use of Charms, non-traditional playing aids. While they deviate from the traditional rule set, charms add variation to the online version. To facilitate traditional rules players can disable charms when making multiplayer games.Charms include:
- Word Check - ensure all words are legal prior to declaring Bananas
- Smart Dump and Smart Peel - place Dumped and Peeled tiles automatically to form a word, if the opportunity exists
- Mini Dump - only one tile is dumped, as opposed to three.
Multiplayer
Gameplay mechanics are primarily the same from solo to multiplayer games. The major difference is that players will be disqualified if declaring Bananas with misspelled or non-legal words, (Rotten Bananas).The goal of the online Bananagrams is to closely replicate the tabletop experience. Live games provide the opportunity for to play with up to twenty-five other social network members who are logged in and have the application. A chat feature is included for better communication between gamers. In the Challenge gameplay variant players can asynchronously compete for the fastest completion time.
Technology
All instances of Bananagrams online are the same and operate independently of platform using Large Animal Games' TOGA framework. This allows players to compete across social networks. The high score board shows a social network indicator as a small icon to differentiate various networks. Users can add friends across networks as well.Due to network API variation, interactive features differ across networks. For instance, the invitation mechanism on 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....
allows direct inviting from the game page, while 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...
requires a separate dialog window.