The seniors have gone bananas for the board-less board game Bananagrams. Seen being played in the Senior lounge, in the lobby, and in the library, Bananagrams is an intense game that has the seniors playing it any chance they get.
Each student receives 11-21 tiles that are placed face down with a pool of tiles sitting at the center of the table. Then the students create their own crosswords. When a player uses up all their letters they shout ‘peel’ and all the players take one tile from the pool. They keep playing until the pool dwindles down the nothing. The first player to use up their tiles wins.
Senior Thomas Wong introduced the game to bored Townsend Harris seniors because he thought it would be a fun way to pass the free bands. He likes Bananagrams because “It’s easy to play and fun for everyone.” He thinks that the game is appealing to Townsend Harris students because “People have a craving here for intellectual stimulation. Bananagrams satiates their seemingly insatiable desire for it in a simple, easy to play package.”
This deceptively innocent game often has seniors have their heads bent in quiet concentration broken only by the shouting of ‘peel!’ Senior Joanna Huo is often caught up in the competitive nature of the game “unlike games like monopoly and Uno which are based on chance Bananagrams is a game that requires skill, bringing out my competitive side.”
“It’s fun yet competitive,” agrees Senior Howard Tai, he adds on saying, “I think everyone has been playing it because it’s relatively quick and simple to learn, doesn’t take much time, and everyone is pretty much on a level playing field. Tai notes the competitive aspect of Bananagrams also adds to its appeal, “The fast-paced nature makes you feel like you’re in a race with someone and it’s really easy to lose an advantage. Even if you successfully pull out a string of peels, if you get hit with a Q or V it’s really easy for other people to catch up while you’re stuck there.”
Bananagrams is a great way not only to pass the time, but to learn that much needed SAT vocabulary, a perfect match for any Townsend Harris student.
