One Christmas, my three grown boys were home, along with eight cousins ranging from 14 to 29, their aunts and uncles, and their grandmother. My oldest son had previously introduced us to a fast, competitive word game called Anagrams. We played again and again until I was rearranging letters in my sleep. I had not felt that kind of puzzle loop since college, when I lay in bed, turning Tetris blocks that were falling from the sky.

In addition to being word game lovers, my sons and I are developers, and we started talking about how to keep the game going once everyone went home. Those conversations turned into Gramma Ana — named in part because it's a play on the word ANAGRAM, and in part for my mom, Anne, who passed along a love for word games (Scrabble) and fast games (Pounce, now often knows as Nerts).

Gramma Ana blends those two loves into a blazing-fast, competitive word game. I added solo play for slow practice, and a bot mode against Gramma Ana for competitive practice. I was surprised by how much fun it is to play against her. She knows every word, but she always plays the first one she sees, so she does not always find the best move. She is tough to beat, but beatable.

Gramma Ana also serves as a judge. She uses AI to check whether a new word shares the same root as the word you are trying to steal. If it does (like TEST and TESTING), she rejects it. If it does not (like TEST and DETEST), she allows it.

I built this mostly to keep playing with my family, but if you enjoy it too, that will make me extra happy. Have fun — and if you have suggestions, email gramma@grammaana.com.