BANANOVA

Welcome to a laboratory where a professor and a team of monkey assistants are trying to invent “Bananova”, a mysterious new energy source made from bananas. Each round, players predict how many tricks they will take, then play eight tricks and earn a bonus if the prediction was right. The money you earn buys research cards that strengthen your hand and your abilities. BANANOVA is a new trick-taking game from Smart Ape Games that combines bidding with deck building.

Your hand is made of two kinds of cards: basic research cards dealt each round (three colors, numbers 1–7 and 9, plus the “colorful 8” everyone has) and special research cards drawn from your own deck. You start with only two special research cards, but you draw more as the game goes on.

Starting with the start player, everyone declares how many tricks they will take this round, from 1 to 5+, and shows it with a die. Later players get to see the earlier declarations before deciding. Tricks are must-follow: if you have the color led, you must play it, and the highest number of that color takes one trick token. When the eight tokens in the middle are gone, the tricks are over.

Each trick token is worth one point. If your prediction was exactly right, you get a bonus (+2 points at first) and a research note token. Whoever is last in points at that moment gives everyone a banana ticket. Then you may buy up to two research cards from the five supply boards (one per deck) with the money you have. Buying a card moves your token along that board’s track, and from then on you can use the ability on that space. Money does not carry over between rounds.

Bought cards go into your deck. After five rounds, you score a bonus equal to your bid die multiplied by your number of research notes. The highest total wins.

Crowdfunding runs on Bodofun from November 27 to December 25, 2026, with shipping planned for April 2027.