The Bottom Line
This game is a new addition to the Bananagram family and is a great game for kids. Younger children who are just learning the alphabet will find the game entertaining and challenging, but so can the older children. The soft pear-shaped pouch that holds the alphabet tiles makes the game portable, so kids can take it with them anywhere.
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Pros
- Challenging and entertaining
- Encourages alphabet and word-building skills
Cons
- Can be frustrating due to limited number of vowel tiles.
Description
- Game consists of 104 plastic alphabet tiles are stored in a soft green "pear" pouch.
- The 104 tiles consist of four full sets of an alphabet, each one in a different "style": outline, dots, lines, and solid.
- More than one variation of game play is possible.
- Game is for two to four players, ages five and up. Gifted kids as young as three might enjoy the game.
Guide Review - Pairs in Pears Game
There are several variations of game play. In one variation, each player gets one of the alphabet sets. The game is then played by players creating intersecting word pairs. For example, a player could have tiles going vertically spelling "cat" and tiles going horizontally spelling "map," with both words sharing the letter "a" tile. The words must be at least three letters long and the vertical and horizontal words must share one letter, either a vowel or a consonant. The shared letter can appear anywhere in either word - front, middle, or end.
The winner is the first player who makes a certain number of points.
In another variation of the game, players are able to use tiles from other sets. Points are assigned to the words depending on whether the letters are from the same set or from mixed sets.
One potential problem with the game is that, unlike Scrabble, there are a limited number of vowels and commonly used consonant. However, gifted kids, particularly, the older ones, can find that to be challenging, and we know gifted kids love a challenge! I can also imagine kids creating their own game variations, creating even more game play.
Kids can also play with the tiles on their own. Verbally gifted kids will no doubt enjoy using the tiles to create as many words as they can.
Whether playing alone or with others, kids can learn consonants and vowels and alphabetical order. They can also learn or practice word building and vocabulary skills.
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