Design Educational Games
Game Metadata
The game name is Bananagrams. The game was developed by Rena Nathanson, CEO of the company Bananagrams, and her family. It is a physical board game that consists of a pouch and 144 lettered tiles. Bananagrams’ high-level instructional goal is to help players improve their language, with a focus on vocabulary and spelling skills.
Learning Objectives
Bananagrams is a board game that pits players against each other in terms of English vocabulary and spelling skills. The prerequisite knowledge is knowing how to speak, read, and write English, as the ability to spell words comes from having a basic foundation of the English language. While it is helpful to be more fluent in English and have a larger vocabulary, it is not necessary to play the game. However, I believe having a larger vocabulary will make it easier to win against opponents and thus enhance the player experience for some.
By playing Bananagrams, players can learn to expand their vocabulary and quickly think of new words when given different letters. Bananagrams also improves players’ spelling skills because misspelled words actively prevent players from winning. Bananagrams teaches players to become more comfortable with the English language overall, with an emphasis on vocabulary and spelling.
Game Elements
As stated in Game Metadata, Bananagrams is a physical board game that consists of a banana-shaped pouch and 144 lettered tiles. Among the 144 tiles, there are different numbers of each letter tile. The complete letter distribution can be seen below:
Players start by placing all the tiles face down in the center of a table or surface. Players take a certain number of starting tiles (still face down) that differs based on how many of them there are. The recommended number of players is 2–8.
When everyone has their tiles and is ready, any player can call out “SPLIT!” Everyone may immediately overturn their tiles and begin arranging individual letters into words in a crossword, grid-like formation. The words must be arranged such that they can be read from left to right, or top to bottom. They may intersect, like in a crossword puzzle. Players may continuously arrange or rearrange their grid at any time.
When a player has used all of their faceup tiles in their word grid, they can call out “PEEL!” Every player (including the player saying “PEEL”) must then take another facedown tile from the center and use it in their grid. When a person uses every one of their tiles in a valid word grid AND there are fewer tiles than there are players in the center, that person can call out “BANANAS” and be declared the winner! If players look over the winner’s grid and find that it is invalid, that person is out of the game and gameplay resumes with the person’s tiles being returned to the center (facedown). A valid grid does not contain any misspelled words, proper nouns, abbreviations, or fake words.
Throughout the game, players may sometimes get stuck with the tiles in their hand. If this happens, they have an option to call out “DUMP” and swap one tile from their hand with three random tiles from the center. There is no limit to how many times this can be done.
Overall, the main objective of the game is to use every tile that you draw to create a valid word grid. Bananagrams is essentially a racing game but for English words and spelling. Interesting gameplay dynamics may include the competitiveness between players and how players choose to build their word grids. There may be players who know many more short, concise words, as well as players who know many longer, complex words. Different players with different vocabularies would be able to build word grids that contained a diverse selection of words. As a result, there would be both interesting gameplay and the opportunity for everyone to learn new words from each other.
Players experience emotions such as excitement, anxiety, joy, pride, sadness, triumph, and persistence while playing. During gameplay players experience excitement and anxiety. The rush of racking your brain for words while hearing others move tiles around you can make your heart beat quickly. You may find yourself thinking “I need to hurry, I need to hurry!” Winning the round results in triumph, joy, and pride, while losing may result in sadness and a resolve to win next time. Either way, Bananagrams can be addicting and players will usually find themselves declaring “one more round!”
Bananagrams is also so widely known and played because there are many different versions. In this critique we are reflecting on the classic version, but below is a list of some alternate options that exist:
Learning Principles
Three key learning principles that Bananagrams emphasized were variability, coherence, and segmenting.
Variability: In Bananagrams, players are constantly given different letter tiles to form a wide range of words. The choice of words formed depends on which letters are drawn from the center, as well as a player’s current word grid (where another word might fit and share a letter within the grid). With the different numbers of available letter tiles and the number of tiles that players are required to draw, the combinations of unique letters and words are endless. Thus, the game causes players to practice with continuous variability and varied resources.
Coherence: Bananagrams is an inherently “simple” game, as it offers only one type of resource that can be manipulated in many ways. Players work solely with letter tiles to form words. The game structure is straight to the point, as there are no excessive pictures, sounds, or other factors to take into consideration. The simplicity and coherence of Bananagrams makes it more accessible and appealing to a wider audience. Bananagrams’ coherence also makes it easier for players to focus on the main objective without getting sidetracked.
Segmenting: Bananagrams includes segmenting in two ways — each time a player “peels” and all players must take a tile from the center, and each game is short enough to be thought of as a round (such that multiple games, or rounds, may usually be played at a time). The first way introduces something of a mini-round because a new tile is being added to a player’s hand, leading to new possibilities for words on the grid. The second way is the game’s main method of employing the segmenting learning principle. Because each game is short and should not last longer than 20 minutes on average, time is allowed in between games for players to digest what they have learned. Additionally, this does not make the game overwhelming for players. They have time in between games to learn new words or strategies for forming words.
Overall Critique
In my opinion, Bananagrams succeeds as both a game and a learning experience. It is an effective learning experience because it has a highly engaging game experience that leaves players wanting more. Additionally, Bananagrams encourages social interaction and mutual learning of English language and vocabulary. The game rules help players explore English in a creative and competitive manner. In fact, the entire game is all about players expanding their vocabulary and improving their spelling skills. Finally, Bananagrams is a very accessible game. It can be played with 2–8 players, and can also be played by people of different age ranges. Children and adults can play Bananagrams to improve their language skills. Fluent adults also may play to learn new, interesting words or have fun with friends. The beauty of a vocabulary game like Bananagrams is that no one knows every English word in existence, so there is always something new to discover.
