Customer Reviews

BananaGrams! The Official Book

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Written by renowned puzzle master and Director of Clubs for the National Scrabble Association (NSA) Joe Edley and the creator of the Bananagrams word game Abe Nathanson, Bananagrams! The Official Book is a very clever puzzle book for the very clever Bananagrams word game. The puzzles are interesting and varied as they are designated by level from easy, one banana puzzles up to more difficult, four banana puzzles. Those of us familiar with Scrabble puzzle books will find helpful 'the two's', 'the three's', 'vowel dumps', 'no vowels' and the ever popular 'Q without U' word lists. Also included, is an answer key for all the puzzles included. I liked this book a lot and I appreciate Joe Edley trying to draw Scrabble players to this game as I think Bananagrams is a WONDERFUL gateway into the world of word games. My only gripe and the reason I gave it four stars is because, as an official book, I was hoping it might include some game variants beyond those printed in the directions of the game in addition to the word puzzles. Bananagrams seems wide open for creating variants and having an official source to go off of makes the game ultimately more enjoyable for those who like the game and prefer not to have to explain weird, homebrew variant ideas to the uninitiated. But all in all, I liked it and I look forward to More Bananagrams!.

Joe Edley and the creators of Banagrams need to sit down with the people at Workman Publishing and talk about the book binding. It is annoying to have the pages fall out of the book while you are sitting, say... in a doctor's waiting room or standing in a line...pages flying everywhere. Then you have to manage how to hold the collected loose sheets. If you want the pages to be easily removable, use micro-perforations. Otherwise, please use a better binding system. I will not buy another book of challenges until you fix the binding problem. Too bad because the word challenges are very good and the game itself is great.

Silly me, I thought this book was supposed to accompany the GAME Bananagrams, like it contained different ways to PLAY Bananagrams... but it does not. So, if you're thinking you HAVE to buy this book along with the game, you don't. But, it's still fun! Contains a bunch of word finding games. Would be fun for anybody that loves word finds, crosswords, etc. Became my families' favorite bathroom book! Ha!

I bought this for my mom who loves to play bananagrams on her own at home. This was perfect since she rides the train and waits in a lot of doctor offices to keep her busy, without all the letters from the actual bananagrams game to worry about losing. It's not as frustrating as crossword puzzles, but keeps her thinking and busy.

My husband are I are avid bananagrams fans. He is what I would refer to as a "wordy." When I saw this book, I knew it would be a great gift for him to take on the beach or plane. The puzzles range from easy to hard and they really make you think about words you could be using. It reminds me a little more of Scrabble than bananagrams, but that's ok. It's still a lot of fun.

I was concerned that this book would be too easy but found it to be challenging. The puzzles will keep you busy for hours. We find it helpful to have the banagram tiles to look at and arrange while working on the book.

Great substitute for riding in car or on airplane. It is also great for when traveling alone. If hubby is reading a book I can still play Banagrams. The book has such a great variety of games using the Banagrams concept.

This game is GREAT! We love to play games - and this one is challenging and fun for everyone. This book is ESSENTIAL to playing the game and getting the most out of it! Great learning game for your kids, too!

I thought I was ordering a dictionary type book with great words to be used in Scrabble, crossword puzzles and Bananas. Guess I didn't read the description well enough. If anyone knows of such a book, please let me know. However, it is a great puzzle book and I look forward to messing with it in doctor's offices, waiting to pick up grandchildren, etc.

This arrived within 2 weeks over the holidays but the binding was dry and loosened and as soon as I opened it the front 20 pages came loose. I did not send it back as it wasn't worth the trouble for the cost but I consider it damaged goods and should not have been sold. I've been using it and just tuck the pages in but I would have carried it around to work on if it was in better condition.
Maybe this is one of those you get what you pay for lessons but its condition should have been downgraded.