Tuesday, September 9, 2008

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I'm back at my parents after several days of running all over Michigan. My dad and I may run up to the bookstore this afternoon (after we check out car parts, fun) but other than that I don't have much planned.

Since Friday I've seen several cousins, their children, my aunt & uncle, a couple more cousins, my gramma, sister, brother-in-law, a niece and nephew, and a long-lost friend. I haven't talked this much in months!

My family is big on playing word games - surprise - and my mom introduced a new one: Bananagrams. It's like Scrabble except there isn't a board and players only build on their own tiles. You start with a set number, then pick more from the pile as you complete words. It's fun because you can rearrange the words you've already built; you aren't locked into what's already been played like in Scrabble. Plus you're racing against the other players, and who doesn't love speed spelling? And the kicker - it comes in a cute little banana bag.

Do you have a favorite game I should know about?

19 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

That sounds like such a fun game! And knowing how you stomp everyone to pieces in games like Scramble, you're probably rockin' at this one, too. :P

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Ha, it's funny you say that because it's actually that Scramble game that helps me. I can see more words with a random jumble of letters. :)

Spy Scribbler said...

I love that game where you have that stack of wood blocks, and you pull one at a time from it? I think it starts with a T, and the object is to pull a piece out without the whole thing falling over.

Fun!

Allen said...

All I ever hear is "PEEL!" then you hear me "%#$@" and then, "Bananas"

I usually haven't even gotten my tiles all flipped over. I must be doing something wrong...

WendyCinNYC said...

I have a very, very Southern belle-ish friend who, every time we go out, wants to play games back in someone's apartment until the wee hours of the morning. After a few drinks, she is certain to say, "Ya'll wanna go back and play some Balderdash?"

It's actually kind of fun.

Anonymous said...

That game sounds like a hoot. I may buy it as a gift for my sister. I'm going to check it out on Amazon.

I like reg. scrabble and pictionary.

Travis Erwin said...

Sounds like a cool game. I still miss scrabulous on facebook.

Anonymous said...

I am a fan of strategy games. My favorite is Hide and Seek. The kids hide, and I do some writing. ;)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

You guys are cracking me up!

Spy, that's Jenga, I believe. I also love that game & we've played it with Ibis' family. That's one where language doesn't matter.

Allen, OMG! That's hilarious. My mom and I played several games where we waited for each other, then drew a tile. The first game we played for reel I spent half the game screaming, hee hee.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Wendy, I think I picked up my love for late-night games while at college in Virginia.

AC, let me know what you think of it. Or your sister.

Travis, do you mean you haven't found WordScraper? It replaced Scrabulous and has quadruple word scores! I've had several games with scores above 600.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, I'm filing that game away for the future. Wonderful idea!

colbymarshall said...

There's this thing called Brain Warp...oh, if you get one, you'll never be rid of it, I tell you!

Robin said...

I love pictionary with friends. I'm also a fan of Trivial Pursuit, but my husband always cheats! It's always so obvious, though. There's no way he knows a damn thing about old movies!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Colby, I think I've heard of that one. No one plays games with me in Mexico though. :(

Robin, I especially love Trivial Pursuit! lol @ the old movies.

Zoe Winters said...

LMAO @ Speed spelling. My favorite cames are the NC-17 kind. haha.

Zoe Winters said...

*games.

(clearly I cannot speed spell)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Zoe, lol. You can do categories so we could adjust the age qualifier for you. ;)

Anonymous said...

I usually like to play scene it or Trivial Pursuit. You can never go wrong with Scrabble either.

Zoe Winters said...

hahahahahaha