Bananagrams
Tile matching, no spelling at all
Gurms
Pre-readers reach for this square box instead of the lettered tiles because picture matching puts everyone on even ground.
$18.97
Rated 4.2 out of 5 by 16 players
Letters stay out of this box entirely. Instead of building words, players take turns laying square tiles on the bare table to piece together little cartoon creatures in four colors.
A full creature forms as the right colors and symbols meet. Watching the table fill with these funny bodies makes for a quiet, steady contest of spotting parts.
| Players | 2–4 |
| Ages | 6 and up |
| A game runs | About 20 minutes |
| In the box | Picture tiles and four pawns |
| You also need | A table. No reading required, which is the point. |
| The feel | Matching, no spelling needed |
How a game unfolds
Take a pawn once
Each player picks one of four pawns and takes a color.
Place a tile each turn
Turns pass around the table and each player lays one tile at a time.
Match to score repeats
Every character carries its own color and symbol. Line them up and the points follow.
Finish the picture ends it
Complete as many gurms as you can. Most completed wins.
What makes it its own game
- Turns pass around the table as each player places one tile down at a time.
- Four creature pawns on clear feet mark the color each player claims for the game.
- Points follow when both the color and the symbol line up on adjacent creature parts.
- Completing the most creatures by the close of the tile layout wins the game outright.
Worth knowing before you open the box
It is the one box here that a pre-reader can win outright against an adult, because nothing in it rewards a bigger vocabulary.
Who it suits
Children who cannot read yet sit down as equals with adults here. No turn demands a vocabulary, so younger players spot matching colors and symbols without help. Fast readers gain no advantage from spelling speed. It will feel slow to older kids who want a frantic word race.
Before your first game
Set up one complete creature on the table before dealing out the pawns. Show how the matching symbols and colors join up to form the finished body. Once everyone sees what a completed figure looks like, sweep the tiles back into the pile and start.
Elsewhere on the shelf
Still reading? That is usually a yes.
No spelling at all. Place tiles, complete the little creatures, and score when color and symbol line up.
$18.97