BananagramsFrom the people who fill the pouch
Bananagrams reference and rules
This site is the official reference for Bananagrams and eleven other games we make. You will find rules, tile distributions, variants, and guides for classrooms.
The four calls of the racing game
Players say exactly four words out loud during the classic racing game. Nobody speaks other words during play, because there are no turns and everyone races at once. These four names govern the flow from start to finish.
SSplit
once, at the start
Everyone takes their tiles face down and turns them over together. Nobody peeks early.
PPeel
whenever someone empties their hand
The player who has used every tile says it out loud, and then every player takes one fresh tile from the bunch. Yes, including the player who just got clear.
DDump
any time, as often as you like
Put one tile you cannot use back in the bunch face down and take three in its place. Your hand grows by two, which is the whole cost of the move.
BBananas
once, and it ends the game
When the bunch holds fewer tiles than there are players, the next player to use every tile calls it and wins, provided the grid survives being checked.
Games on our shelf
The twelve boxes below make up our family of games. Eight are speed races, four run in turns around the table, and four count items at the end to settle the winner. Pick a game card to see its specific rules.
Inside the reference library
Explore exact rules, word lists, advice drawn from the tile numbers, official variants, and game comparisons. Sections also cover classroom ideas and play with children across our twelve games.
Find the right game for your table
Answer three short questions about who plays, their ages, and your table time to match one of our twelve games.
How the game was made
Abraham Nathanson grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where his father sold fruit. In 2005, at age 76, he set out to build a word game with the speed put back in. His former wife designed the banana pouch.
Where to begin
Start with the racing rules if you own the yellow pouch. Select the game picker above if you are deciding what to play next, or check our comparison guides to see how the tile counts stack up.