Customer Reviews

Double Bananagrams Game Set - 288 tiles

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bananagrams is a blast. It's similar to Scrabble, but everyone works their own board, so that no one is preparing to use all their tiles to make an amazing word just to have someone else come along and mess it up with "za".

There is still plenty of competition, as everyone races to complete their own board before everyone else. There's the moment of triumph as you're the first one to finish and you yell "Bananas!", and then the crushing moment when someone looks over your board and realizes you misspelled a word.

The standard game is a lot of fun, but with several people we find it easier to play the "Banana Smoothie" version. There's also a version which allows for timed play and a solitaire version, and even a game to play in a restaurant while waiting for service. (It's a very portable banana, and all you need is a flat surface.)

We picked up a double banana because now we've got too many people to play with just one banana. (Wait, that doesn't sound quite right.) The double version has two sets of tiles, so you can take out one set if you've only got a few people. We've marked one of the two sets with nail polish so that when we play with both, we can split (no pun intended) them back up again when we're done.

We found out about bananagrams from a friend of ours. ever since that its been a big hit for our family. We bought the jumbo set, which is two bananas. When you combine the tiles it makes the pile bigger which creates a longer and more complex game. Its a little more challenging because you get twice the tiles and have to make a bigger crossword.

This is an interesting, nicely short game that is portable and can be played anywhere in a few minutes. It's a refreshing change for anyone who likes the concept of crossword puzzles and word games but doesn't have time or the inclination to sit for hours to play a game. Bananagrams can be played quickly and it's a great way to pass time. It doesn't have a thick manual of complicated rules so you can get right in and play. I recommend it for any age, from children learning to read on up to adults. It's educational and fun at the same time. The plastic tiles come in a sturdy cloth banana peel with a zipper.

The game is fun, but I'm confused by this offer. I ordered it, thinking I would receive a Jumbo game and a regular game, because the price of the "Double Bananagrams" is more than double the price of two regulars; the description didn't indicate the total number of tiles. However, I received two regular "bananas" in the "Double Banangrams" for $5.77 MORE than I would have paid had I ordered two singles.

I bought this so that I could give a Bananagrams game to two different people. The price varies, but at the time it was about the same as buying two individual Bananas.

A couple of things you should know: this item is two individual Bananagrams games, not a single and a double or two doubles. And while it's a great game for kids, the tiles are small (roughly the same size as Scrabble tiles,) so if you've got very young kids who like to put things in their mouths, this could be a choking hazard and it's not the game for them. Yet.

Now about the game itself. We bought a double Banana for our weekly game, because we've had so much fun with it that we've picked up too many people for one Banana. This is my review for Bananagrams Jumbo:

Bananagrams is a blast. It's similar to Scrabble, but everyone works their own board, so that no one is preparing to use all their tiles to make an amazing word just to have someone else come along and mess it up with "za".

There is still plenty of competition, as everyone races to complete their own board before everyone else. There's the moment of triumph as you're the first one to finish and you yell "Bananas!", and then the crushing moment when someone looks over your board and realizes you misspelled a word.

The standard game is a lot of fun, but with several people we find it easier to play the "Banana Smoothie" version. There's also a version which allows for timed play and a solitaire version, and even a game to play in a restaurant while waiting for service. (It's a very portable banana, and all you need is a flat surface.)

We picked up a jumbo banana because now we've got too many people to play with just one banana. (Wait, that doesn't sound quite right.) The double version has two sets of tiles, so you can take out one set if you've only got a few people. We've marked one of the two sets with nail polish so that when we play with both, we can split (no pun intended) them back up again when we're done.

I first saw this game at a game night and heard rave reviews from the players. I decided to asked for it for Christmas. I'm pleased to say it was one of the most popular gifts received. Our entire family enjoyed the game immensely! (The youngest child is 12 yrs old.) I am not very good at the game of Scrabble and I NEVER win when we play and thus I don't like to play it very often, however I will be willing to play Bananagrams again and again. A few of the things that make this game so much more fun than Scrabble or UpWords is that A) Everyone is working on their own letters and words at the same time therefore there is no waiting for someone else to take their turn, B)The game moves fast because you are always working on the game, C) It doesn't matter if you have a large or small vocabulary, it only matters that you use up all your letters, and D) All letters are created equal - no points attached to letters or a board to work with - just be the first to use up all your letters.

This is a very fun game. My daughter first played at school in her English class. She liked it so much she asked for it for her birthday. Everyone in our family enjoyed it. It's at least as much fun as Scrabble. We bought the double set so we can play either single or double. It will also be helpful if we play with the extended family.

For anyone who has played Scrabble and wanted to just take those tiles and rearrange them to form fun new words, this is the game! There's an element of competition with the other people playing, but mostly it is a competition with yourself. It is fun for every level -- even bad spellers. With younger players who may not spell as well, we give a lot of grace for spelling. That levels the field and makes it more fun for all.

I gave this game to my sister for Christmas (I bought the "regular size" version for our house). We played it Christmas night with groups as large as 8 people. The teenagers and adults all played, only the little kids (under 7 years old) didn't join in, though they "helped". There was laughter and word creativity. My suggestions are to agree on the dictionary ahead of time (in case you have more than one in your house), determine if words can be looked up during the game or if the game is "over" before looking words up, and play on a table large enough to allow folks room to have their own play space. We ended up adding TV trays around a small table to make it large enough for the 8 players.

When I came by to pick up dishes the next day from my sister's house -- they were playing it again. Great fun and highly recommended.

We liked the fact that although the rules of the game provide for a clear winner, the scoring is very simple and sensible. Playing rules are a little silly, but that's part of the fun.

Only small problem is that since each player requires his own "board" space, it takes quite a bit of table space.