Playing with Fruits, It’s Good for the Mind – Award-Winning Games Giveaway

Last year, my kids’ school incorporated a “Let the games begin!” theme into every class – which I thought was brilliant.  3 times a week, kids in every classroom would spend about 15-20 minutes playing fun (but educational) games.  I thought it was a great way to get kids stimulated in an engaging manner.  In our electronic age, many kids miss out on the opportunity to play games that require other human interaction.  The strategies you learn and skills you develop are very different by nature for table-top games vs. electronic ones.

I am personally addicted to word games. Quite honestly, the only reason why I joined Facebook (years ago!) was because my brother and sister lured me in with a competitive game of Lexulous (very similar to Scrabble).  I still religiously play with my sister!

 

Bananagrams recently approached me with the opportunity to feature their award-winning games.  When I learned more about what type of games they were, I couldn’t turn them down – not only because I love word games but also because I’m a big proponent of children playing brain-stimulating games.  Also, they have the most irresistible packaging!  The games are travel-ready, convenient, containable (a huge plus in a parent’s mind!) and just delicious!  Keep reading below for more information about each of these games.  Bananagrams wanted you to judge how awesome these games are yourself, so they are generously offering one lucky reader a chance to win a set of their games – not just one but all 5!

GIVEAWAY

To win a complete set of the 5 Bananagrams games (Bananagrams, Appletters, Pairs in Pears, Zip-It and Fruitominoes), please simply leave a comment below sharing which of the Bananagrams games you’d like to add to your family game night!  (This is a mandatory entry-this must be completed before any additional entries count).

Additional Entries (leave a separate comment for each option below indicating you’ve completed the step; all entries will be verified for eligibility):

– Subscribe to my blog via the “Sign me up!” button on the right (one entry)

– Like Bananagrams on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall sharing which Bananagrams game you’d love to make a part of your family game night – your comment must include a link to this giveaway:  http://wp.me/p18LlF-Pe (three entries; must leave 3 separate comments below with a link to your wall post-each comment counts as an entry)

– Follow @mommylok and @Bananagrams on Twitter and tweet about your favorite Bananagrams game!  Your tweet must mention @mommylok and @Bananagrams and include the link to this giveaway:  http://wp.me/p18LlF-Pe (once a day; must leave a comment below with a link to your tweet)

This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents 18 years and older.  Giveaway will end on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 12:00pm EST  – comments submitted after that will not count.  One lucky winner will be selected randomly by random.org and be notified via e-mail; winner must respond within 48 hours or a new one will be selected.  Good luck!

ABOUT THE GAMES

BANANAGRAMS® (SRP: $14.95) named Toy Fair 2009’s “Game of the Year’,” is a fast and fun anagram game that drives players bananas!  Requiring no pencil, paper or board, Bananagrams comes in a small portable banana shaped pouch and is perfect fun for kids from 7 – 97 years-old, at home or on the go.  Created by a word game-obsessed family of three generations (National Geographic Kids – A Family Goes Bananas and Creates Their Own Game!), Bananagrams is a labor of love that that has quickly become an international phenomenon.  Bananagrams is available online as a free Facebook Application and on the iPad™, iPhone™ and iTouch™ as well as in a series of books. Bananagrams recently launched in Spanish, Hebrew, French, Italian, Norwegian and German as well as in a larger version – DOUBLE Bananagrams, the big banana for the larger bunch (for 16+ players)!

PAIRSinPEARS® (SRP: $16.95) is a word construction game for ages six and up where players race to make pairs of connecting words in matching patterns.  PAIRSinPEARS comes in a pear-shaped cloth pouch, containing four full alphabet sets in four distinct designs.  The game provides a great way for children to develop memory and cognitive skills while learning the alphabet, pattern recognition, vowels, vocabulary, rhyming and more.

Appletters® (SRP: $16.95) was originally designed with younger players in mind and features three levels of play to amuse children and challenge adults.  The game comes in an apple-shaped cloth pouch containing 110 ivory-like tiles.  In addition to the version for a younger audience, the game also includes instructions for more adult play – APPLE TURNOVER™ for an extra challenge and APPLESCORE™ for word lovers who like to have fun with palindromes and semi-palindromes.

ZIP-IT® (SRP: $ 14.95) is a two-player crossword race that can be played anytime, anywhere in as little as 20 seconds.  For players ages seven and up, Zip-It features 24 high-quality letter cubes packaged in a unique cloth pouch with scoring zippers.  The ability to play compactly on an airplane or train tray make ZIP-IT the ultimate travel game.  Jumbo ZIP-IT was recently named one of the 2012 “Best in Play” toys from this year’s NY’s American International Toy Fair by Parenting.

Fruitominoes® (SRP: $12.95), for players ages five and up, features 28 beautifully crafted dominoes in a compact pouch.  It’s a fresh, fruity and colorful twist to the classic game of dominoes.

For more information about these games (including instructions), how Bananagrams got started or to see all the awards Bananagrams has won, please visit www.bananagrams.com.

Disclosure:  I received samples of games for review.  No other compensation was received for this post/giveaway.   All opinions expressed are my own.