Bananagrams

Here's the perfect game for all you wordsmiths. Maybe you are the Scrabble fanatic who busts that board out constantly and will challenge anyone who walks through the door. Maybe you love word games but don't like hunching over a board game. Or maybe you are often on the go and looking to kill time in an airport or hotel room. Either way, Bananagrams is a totally addictive game that you and your family will love. You can play according to the suggested rules below or even get creative and make up your own game.

To play by the rules, you simply place all 144 tiles (called the "bunch") face down on a table. After taking a group of tiles from the bunch (the number depends on how many are playing), someone announces "Split!" and each player turns over his or her tiles and starts creating interlocking words like you would in Scrabble. You can form these words horizontally or vertically, reading left to right or top to bottom - and keep rearranging them as often as you like. You'll love that there is no taking turns so you can keep playing throughout. When you run out of letters, you announce "Peel" and you and the other players all take a tile from the bunch. If you have a letter that doesn't seem to go anywhere, you can say "Dump" and return the letter to the pile - only then you will have to take 3 letters in its place. After you have used up all your letters and there are none left to take, you announce "Bananas!" and you have won the game.

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.