We received this gift of Bananagrams for Christmas. So far, we have left it set out on the table although the bag is very cute! It is somewhat like Scrabble but easier to play.
Each player takes 21 tiles from the 144 in the game and works independently and at the same time as (or concurrently with- since we are talking about vocabulary!) the other players to create his own "crossword", using all of his letters. Difficult letters can be exchanged from the big pile by substituting one tile for three more. A player can constantly rearrange his own puzzle if desired. The object is to keep taking more letters from the main pile until they are all gone.
I like this game because it is quick and easy to play with no real set-up involved. It is easy for good spellers and good practice for the "spelling-challenged." What it doesn't offer that Scrabble does however, is the reward in scoring high points for using challenging letters like "q" and "x" in big words. Bananagrams doesn't differentiate between long and short words or easy and hard letters. That may be the simple beauty of it- each player can do the best they can with their letters at whatever level they are able to.
