For instance, when my family plays, we don’t use the “Dump” option – in my opinion, allowing “dumping” of tiles encourages intellectual laziness, and more often than not it benefits the person dumping the tiles. Instead, we always try to play every tile drawn. This forces us to learn new words, and encourages new ways of thinking about the words already formed.

Here is a list of variations that I’ve used in varying combinations to spice up the game / make it more enjoyable.

1. Don’t allow the dumping of tiles. Instead, agree that each player will attempt to play all tiles played.
2. When dumping tiles, always do so face-up. This way the other players in the game are aware of the value of the tile and may choose to avoid it if necessary OR pick it up if so desired. This eliminates some of the advantage that the dumping player often gains.
3. Choose a theme for each game, and require that each player create at least one word related to that theme. For instance, if declare that the theme is “colors,” each player would have to form at least one color word. (ex: red, blue, yellow, green, puce.) When choosing a theme, it is important to declare a category broad enough that each person can create a related word regardless of tiles chosen, yet narrow enough that a creative mind cannot explain that nearly any word is related. For example, a theme of “names of family members” is likely too narrow, as most people have only a small handful of family members and may not choose the letters required to spell a single acceptable term. On the flip side, a category like “Terms related to the passing of the seasons” may be too broad, as a almost any word can be cast as being related. (Examples of stretched relationships: “red” is the color that leaves turn, “car” is related because many people drive their car when Spring comes around, “sign” is related because the passing of the seasons always involve various signs, etc.) Examples of good categories that I’ve used: colors, parts of an automobile, beverages, food items.)
4. Put restrictions of the length of words that can be formed. For instance, say “no words fewer than 4 letters,” or “no words greater than 6 letters.” This rule can be used to “even the playing field” in games between newer and veteran players – try applying various restrictions to all players, or to only veteran players.
5. Restrict the size of the playing grid. Bananagrams is a game played without a board. An interesting twist on the game is to use a board to limit the “sprawl” of the tiles. Try using a 10×10 grid, or even just a sheet of notepaper on which all words must be played. This forces a more “dense” playing area.
6. Make it into a crossword game. Play a normal game, but let everyone finish their board. Then have each player create clues for each of his words. When complete, have everyone pass the clue sheet and their (mixed up) tiles to the player on their right. The receiving player must then re-create the board using only the tiles he is given and the clue sheet.

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Bananagrams is a Scrabble-like word game in which each player uses his or her letter tiles to create words. It differs from Scrabble in that it’s not “turn-based” – instead, all players work to create words using his or her tiles at the same time. The game is so Scrabble-like that you can play without even purchasing the game – just use the tiles from a standard Scrabble set.

Basic game play goes something like this-

• Place all tiles face-down in the middle of the table. This grouping of face-down tiles is called the “Bunch.”
• Each player takes 21 tiles.
• All players turn their tiles over at the same time and begin forming words. Words should connect and intersect in a manner similar to the game Scrabble. Note that no board is used, and that tiles may be rearranged at any time.
• When a player uses up all of his letter tiles, he calls out the word “Peel” and ALL PLAYERS take another letter from the Bunch. The player then rearranges his letters to accommodate the newly drawn tile.
• Caveat – if a player becomes “stuck,” he may choose to return a letter to the Bunch and take another. This is called a “Dump.” The penalty for doing so is that the player must take 2 additional tiles as well. (That is, he returns one and takes three.) Note that only the player exchanging a tile should take tiles on a Dump.
• Game play continues in this way, with players calling out “Peel” and taking additional tiles, or “Dump” and exchanging tiles, until the tile Bunch is exhausted. The bunch is deemed exhausted when there are fewer tiles remaining in the bunch than there are players in the game. (That is, if you are playing with 4 players, the Bunch is exhausted when there are three or fewer tiles remaining.
• Winning: When the bunch is exhausted and a player has used all of his tiles, game play stops so that all players can inspect the winning board. If all of the words are deemed legal, that player wins the game. However, if that player has an illegal word on the board, the player is declared a “rotten banana” and his tiles are returned to the bunch. Game play resumes, but the player is disqualified.

The game is truly an “all-ages” game, and a lot of fun for the whole family. It’s addicting, fast-paced, and best of all, educational. Also, since the object of the game is to simply use all of one’s tiles, and not to build large/complex/obscure words, each player with knowledge of the English language has a somewhat even playing field.

That said, there are certain strategies one can use to improve his game play. Many are the same strategies employed by seasoned Scrabble players, including learning the 101 legal 2-letter words.

The game is also flexible in that the rules can be easily modified. When my family plays, for instance, we don’t allow the “Dumping” of tiles for two reasons. First, we feel that the extra 2 tile “penalty” is often an advantage, not a disability. Second, we think it’s better to force yourself to use all of the tiles that you’ve drawn. Sure, it may be hard to work in a Q, Z or X, but if you weren’t forced to do so, how would you ever learn that “ZA,” “QI,” and “XI” are all legal scrabble words?

Strategies for improving game play.

Variations to the game.

Purchasing Bananagrams:

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