Jumbo Bananagrams features 144 waterproof, three-inch square tiles packaged in a funky giant yellow banana-shaped tote bag. Requiring no pencil, paper or board, Jumbo Bananagrams is addictive fun and educational play for kids age five to 105. Players race against each other to build giant crossword grids and use all their letter tiles. Launch date: Summer 2012.
Fruitominoes, is a domino game for players aged 5 and up featuring fruit connections rather than dots. "With Fruitominoes, we put our fruity new spin on a classic!" said Rena Nathanson, CEO of Bananagrams. The game comes in a portable pouch so that it can be played at home or on the go.
ZIP-IT! includes 24 ivory-like letter cubes packaged in a cloth pouch with unique self-scoring zippers, so everything you need is in the bag. No pencil, paper or board needed. Each player takes 12 cubes and races to form their own crossword grid using any side of the cubes. The first player to use all their own cubes calls "ZIP!" and scores a point by moving their own zip up the pouch. The first person to score 10 points shouts "ZIPIT!!!" and wins the game. One hand can be played in as little as than 20 seconds.The game was designed to be easily portable. Also includes complimentary WEORDS Dictionary, a list of weird words that can help win word games.
This game for two to six players pairs the concept of four suits with the letters of the alphabet, challenging each player to create one or more words using all of his cards. A hand can require from 1 to 10 minutes.
In this two-player game, each participant starts with 12 cubes and proceeds to make a crossword. The first to finish with no cubes remaining yells "Zip!" and, on the bag that holds the pieces, moves his zipper to indicate a point. Players exchange six cubes at the end of each round, to keep their letter hands unpredictable. It can be played in as little as 20 seconds and is designed for take-along play on a plane. The game comes with the Weords mini dictionary. Launch date: spring/summer 2010.
This apple-shaped pouched with a soft, zip-closed top includes 110 tiles with red capital letters that may be used to play three different games. In Appleletters, for two to six players ages 5 and up, players alternately add tiles to the first or last letter of a word in the middle of the table, creating a continuous "snake" of new words. Apple Turnover, for two to four players ages 7 and up, is similar to Appleletters. However, each player begins with 21 tiles instead of nine, and may actually replace an opponent's word with a longer word. The goal is to be the first player to get rid of tiles. In Applescore, for two to four players ages 7 and up, players build words as long as possible in crossword-like fashion and get bonus points for length, palindromes and going out first. Launch date: 2009.
Complete with capital letter tiles featuring various designs (dots, lines, blank and solid), this game comes packaged in a zip-open, pear-shaped pouch with a hanging rope (stem) at the top. It is designed to help kids work on cognitive skills and memory, as well as the order of the alphabet, vocabulary and rhyming as they practice forming words. Launch date: February 2009.
The fast-moving word game consists of 144 ivory-like letter tiles in a zippered banana pouch. Players place the tiles face down on the table and randomly select 21 tiles. They turn their letters right-side up simultaneously and proceed to form as many intersecting and interconnecting words as possible, rearranging their own letters as many times as desired throughout the game. Awards:TDmonthly Top Seller 2007; 2009 TOTY Game of the YEAR, 2006 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal; 2007 iParenting; 2007 Parents' Choice Recommended; 2007 Dr. Toy Best Products. (Read Review) — This product has been making the TDmonthlyBest-sellers lists since 2007. — As of 05/13/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 456 reviews on Amazon.com. — Eight of 66 retailers vouched for its best-selling status in May 2008; seven of 63 did in Sept. 2008. Shani Watmough of Planet Toys in Rockland, Maine, said her store sells 60 per month. Fifteen of 38 named it a top-selling game in Feb. 2010. — As of April 5, 2010, Bananagrams had spent 570 days in the top-100 best-selling toys and games on Amazon.com. — According to owner Brett Sommer of Figpickels Toy Emporium in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, “It was the 2009 game of the year. The brilliant packaging definitely helps this product."
