# A game that's like anagrams

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [May 12, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614 "2011-05-12T03:32:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614/1 "2011-05-12T03:32:44Z")

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I just got back from the bar where a guy was telling us about a game he and his girlfriend play which is like anagrams, but each person has their own board and you play simultaneously. It sounded like they are having enough fun that it would be worth following up on it and buying the game, but it was too loud and I was to unfocused to get the exact name.

Any ideas on what he was talking about?

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**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614/2 "2011-05-12T05:40:21Z")

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Tamale Ask Eight?  
Agile Skate Math?  
Meat Hall Gasket?

Do you have any more details on how the game i splayed?

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**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614/3 "2011-05-12T12:38:48Z")

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Bananagrams?

> **[Bananagrams: Our Family of Games](https://bananagrams.com/)**
>
> Welcome to the BANANAGRAMS® website. From exciting new releases, to free mini games - there's a whole bunch of content to enjoy.

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614/4 "2011-05-12T19:14:30Z")

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[Jotto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotto) is a fun, challenging game which requires only paper and pencils (and perhaps a Dictionary to settle disputes!) Instead of the non-positional version described at Wiki, you may prefer a positional version (exactly the same as Mastermind except that secret and clues must all be valid 5-letter words).

It doesn’t mention this at the Wiki page, but if you play non-positional Jotto, you should adopt a rule like  
score = min(K5, K4 + 3)  
where Kx is the number of guesses when you first get ‘x’ as response. Without such an adjustment, a word of the form RASE\* will be chosen and in the endgame you’ll need to tediously choose from among Sears, Bears, Razes, Erase, Raves, Rears, etc.

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**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-game-thats-like-anagrams/581614/5 "2011-05-13T01:15:26Z")

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> [@unwashed\_brain](#):
>
> Bananagrams?  
> [http://www.bananagrams.com/](http://www.bananagrams.com/)

Yeah, that’s it! I couldn’t remember the name at all, but seeing it, I’m sure that’s what he said.

Thanks