Bananagrams Rules

ages 7+
1-8 players

1. Place all 144 tiles face down in the center of the table. These tiles are referred to as the BUNCH. For games of 2-4 people, each player takes 21 tiles from the BUNCh; 5-6 players, 15 tiles, 7-8 players, 11 tiles. Keep your tiles face down.

2. NOW THE GAME BEGINS! Any one player calls out SPLIT! All players turn their own tiles face up and proceed to form their own connecting and intersecting word grid. Words may be horizontal or vertical, reading left to right or top to bottom. Each player may rearrange their own words. Players DO NOT take turns, but play independently of each other and at the same time.

3. When a player has none of their original tiles left, that player calls out PEEL and takes a tile from the BUNCH. At this point, ALL OF THE OTHER PLAYERS MUST ALSO TAKE A TILE FROM THE BUNCH and add it to their collection of tiles.

4. At any time and as often as desired during play, any player may return a diffictult-to-use letter back to the center of the BUNCH, face down, but MUST TAKE THREE TILES IN RETURN. The player must declare this action to the others by calling out DUMP. This exchange does not affect the other players.

5. Play continues until there are fewer tiles in the BUNCH than there are players. The first player with no remaining tiles calls out BANANAS! and is the WINNER. The other players may now check the winning hand for misspelled or incorrect words. Proper nouns are NOT acceptable. Any available dictionary may be used. If all words are acceptable, that player is the WINNER. If any word in the grid is found to be unacceptable, that player becomes the ROTTEN BANANA and is OUT OF THAT HAND. They must return all of their tiles face down to the BUNCH and the game resumes with the remaining players.

ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR PLAYING BANANAGRAMS(r)

"BEST OF.."
A hand can take as little as 5 minutes, so players, if desired, could play for the "best of five" or "Best of ten".

BANANA SMOOTHIE (for those who want to play a less hectic game)

All tiles are placed face down on the table. The tiles are divided equally among players, remaining face down. Players then play the regular BANANAGRAMS game but there is NO PEELING or DUMPING. The first player to use all of their tiles calls out BANANAS! and is the WINNER. If the game ends in a stalemate, the player with the fewest remaining tiles is the WINNER.

BANANA CAFE (Play in restaurants while waiting for service)

The BANANAGRAMS pouch is placed on the table. Each player takes 21 tiles from the pouch. Players then proceed to play the regular game with DUMPING but NO PEELING. The first player to use all their tiles calls out BANANAS! and is the WINNER.

BANANA SOLITAIRE (One player)
Place all tiles down in the enter of table. Take 21 tiles and proceed to play the game. Only PEEL when needed. Try to beat your own best time in using all 144 tiles, or try making as few words to use all 144 tiles. This can be a relaxing way of honing your BANANAGRAMS skills.

Advanced players can create their own game!

BANANAGRAMS letter breakdown
A=13 B=3 C=3 D=6 E=18 F=3 G=4 H=3 I=12 J=2 K=2 L=5 M=3 N=8 O=11 P=3 Q=2 R=9 S=6 T=9 U=6 V=3 W=3 X=2 Y=3 Z=2-4

Bananagrams Rules

ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR PLAYING BANANAGRAMS(r)

Credits