BananagramsThe rules, start to finish
Updated September 4, 2026 · 2 min read
A game runs in real time with no turns, starting when someone calls Split, moving forward through calls of Peel and Dump, and ending when the bunch holds fewer tiles than there are players and someone calls Bananas.
- How to play in five minutes
- Split, Peel, Dump, Bananas
- All 144 tiles, letter by letter
- What counts as a word
- Playing with two
- Playing alone
- Playing with a crowd
- There is no score, and what people do instead
The short version
- Draw 21, 15, or 11 starting tiles based on your group size.
- Call Peel the instant your hand is empty so everyone draws 1 tile.
- Exchange 1 troublesome tile for 3 by calling Dump whenever needed.
- Inspect the final grid for disconnected letters or improper nouns after a call of Bananas.
Place all 144 letter tiles face down in the center of the table to form the bunch. Each person draws a starting hand face down: groups of 1 to 4 draw 21 each, groups of 5 to 6 take 15, and groups of 7 to 8 count out 11. Somebody calls Split, and everyone flips their letters simultaneously to build an individual crossword grid on the table.
SSplit
once, at the start
PPeel
whenever someone empties their hand
DDump
any time, as often as you like
BBananas
once, and it ends the game
| Players at the table | Tiles each on Split |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | 21 |
| 5–6 | 15 |
| 7–8 | 11 |
Grids must connect every letter into valid words reading left to right or top to bottom. You may freely rearrange your own layout at any point. When you fit your last loose tile into your layout, call Peel. Every person at the table immediately takes 1 fresh tile from the central pool, including you. If a letter does not fit, call Dump, return it face down to the bunch, and draw 3 replacements.
Play continues at full speed until the central pool holds fewer tiles than there are players. At that stage, the first person to incorporate all their tiles calls Bananas to halt the game. The table checks the winner's grid for illegal words, abbreviations, proper nouns, or disconnected letters. If the grid contains any invalid entry, that person becomes a rotten banana, their tiles return to the bunch, and the others resume.
The mistake to avoid
The mistake is to assume you must keep drawing until the bunch is completely cleared of tiles. Calling Peel becomes impossible the moment fewer tiles remain in the bunch than there are players in the game. When the table reaches that point, the first person to place every held letter calls Bananas to trigger the final check.
Questions that keep coming up
What words are forbidden in a player grid?
Proper nouns such as names, places, and brands are forbidden. Abbreviations and initialisms are also not allowed.
Can you exchange an unwanted letter during the game?
Yes. Call Dump, place 1 unwanted tile face down back into the bunch, and take 3 replacement tiles from the bunch into your hand.
What happens when an invalid word is found in the final grid?
That player is declared a rotten banana and is out of the game. All of their tiles go back face down into the bunch, and play continues.