BananagramsBest of five
Updated September 4, 2026 · 2 min read
Best of five is a match format rather than a rule variant. You play standard games in sequence and track wins until one person takes three games, keeping every standard rule, deal count and call intact.
The short version
- Play standard hands back to back until one person wins three games.
- Deal opening tiles based on the table size: 21, 15, or 11 per person.
- Keep every standard call: Split to begin, Peel for a draw, Dump to swap, and Bananas to finish.
- Check the winner's grid at the close of every hand before marking a win.
A single hand takes about five minutes. Because each game moves so quickly, playing a series gives everyone at the table several chances to win rather than stopping after one quick finish. The format tracks only individual game victories across the set.
| Best of five | |
|---|---|
| Players | any |
| The idea | A hand takes about five minutes, so the table plays a set instead of one game and counts wins. |
Nothing about the gameplay changes for this format. You still start by calling Split, draw a new tile after any player calls Peel, trade an awkward letter by calling Dump, and finish each hand when the bunch holds fewer tiles than there are players and someone calls Bananas.
The starting deal depends entirely on your player count for every hand in the set. Tables with 1 to 4 players deal 21 tiles per person, groups of 5 to 6 take 15 tiles each, and groups of 7 to 8 deal 11 tiles each.
The mistake to avoid
The mistake is to alter the standard rules, invent special scoring, or change the calls for this format. Every hand uses standard rules, the usual starting deals, and normal calls.
Questions that keep coming up
Does Best of five change any game rules?
No. The rules, calls, and starting tile counts are identical to the standard game. Only the number of hands played changes.
How many tiles do players take at the start of each hand?
Deal counts stay standard: 21 tiles each for 1 to 4 players, 15 each for 5 to 6 players, and 11 each for 7 to 8 players.
When does each individual hand end?
A hand ends when too few tiles remain for another Peel, and a player who uses every tile calls Bananas and passes the grid inspection.