BananagramsRunning out of vowels
Updated September 4, 2026 · 2 min read
A hand full of consonants happens because vowels make up only 41.7 percent of the 144 tiles in the bunch. To fix an unplayable hand, use the Dump call to put one unwanted consonant back into the bunch and take three fresh tiles in its place.
The short version
- Dump an unplayable consonant back into the bunch and draw three replacements.
- Play difficult letters early while your hand is small to avoid late trades.
- Expect consonant-heavy draws since vowels make up only 5 of every 12 tiles in the bunch.
- Remember that each Dump increases the total size of your hand by two tiles.
The bunch holds 60 vowels across A, E, I, O and U, leaving 84 consonants. That works out to 5 vowels for every 12 tiles in the total supply. Because consonants outnumber vowels in the bunch, drawing blind naturally creates consonant-heavy hands. The set contains no blank tiles to bridge the gap.
| Vowel | Tiles in the pouch | Share of all tiles |
|---|---|---|
| A | 13 | 9% |
| E | 18 | 12.5% |
| I | 12 | 8.3% |
| O | 11 | 7.6% |
| U | 6 | 4.2% |
Together the vowels make up 60 of 144 tiles.
Calling Dump is the direct remedy when you cannot form words. You place one difficult letter face down back into the bunch and take three new tiles. This action increases your hand size by two tiles on the spot, but it gives you three fresh chances to pull the vowels you need.
Use awkward letters as early as you can, so they are out of the way while your hand is small. Calling Dump late in the game adds two extra tiles to a hand you are actively trying to empty before someone calls Bananas.
The mistake to avoid
The mistake is to wait for another player to call Peel when your hand has stalled out with consonants. Peel gives every player only one single tile, whereas calling Dump trades away the dead letter immediately and brings in three new tiles.
Questions that keep coming up
How many vowels are in the bunch?
The bunch holds 60 vowels: 18 E, 13 A, 12 I, 11 O and 6 U tiles.
What does Dump cost?
You return 1 tile face down to the bunch and take 3 fresh tiles, which increases your total hand by 2 tiles.
Are there blank tiles in the set?
No, the bunch holds 144 letter tiles and has no blank tiles at all.