Canny Minds Blog

Bananagrams (playable with Scrabble tiles)

Posted on 07. Sep, 2009 by Jenny in General

1. Step 1
Take all of the 144 tiles out of the Bananagrams/Scrabble bag and flip them face down on the table. This pile of tiles is called the “BUNCH”.
2. Step 2
Depending on the number of players, each player takes a certain amount of letters from the bunch.
2-4 players: 21 letters
5-6 players: 16 letters
6 players plus: 11 letters
3. Step 3
Once all players have their tiles, one player says “SPLIT”. All players turn their tiles face up and start to create their own words. The words must connect and intersect the way they do in a crossword puzzle or Scrabble. The words must be read from left to right or top to bottom.
4. Step 4
Players play independently / on their own and at the same time, creating their own group of words. They can arrange and rearrange their words as often as they like.
5. Step 5
When a player has used all of his/her tiles, he/she calls “PEEL” and everyone has to take another tile from the bunch.
6. Step 6
If a player decides that a letter is impossible to play, he/she can put it back to the bunch but in return has to pick three new tiles. He/she has to announce that action by saying “DUMP”.
7. Step 7
The play ends when there are less tiles in the bunch then players in the game. The first player to use all of his/her remaining tiles calls “BANANAS” and is declared the preliminary winner of the game or “hand”. The other players can then double check whether the word combination of the winning hand are correct by using a dictionary. If all words are correct and acceptable, the player is declared the “WINNER OF THE HAND”.
8. Step 8
If there are spelling mistakes or words are considered unacceptable (e.g. proper nouns), the player is declared a “ROTTEN BANANA” and is “OUT OF THE HAND”. His/her tiles are then returned to the bunch and the Bananagrams game resumes.

To buy this Scrabble game click here

Photo courtesy of  Leo Reynolds

Tags: 6-12 and 13-18, Exercise your brain, Female, Word Games