A Scrabbling We Will Go!
Strip Scrabble
Originally uploaded by Mr X25. This morning I leave for Dayton, Ohio to play Scrabble with over 450 other word nerds.
I'll be rooming with my friend Tim Anglin, a retired high school teacher and Pakorn Nemitrmansuk, a young architect from Thailand. Pakorn doesn't speak much English, but he's one of the top Scrabble players, placing third at last year's U.S. Scrabble Open.
We're each in different divisions. I'm in division three and Tim's in division two. So theoretically, we could all come in first place. Wouldn't that be grand!
We're competing for prizes as much 12 grand (USD). I'm up against 106 others in my division with a top prize of $1,650. We each play 31 games over five days. It's as much as a marathon of mental endurance as anything else.
This is the annual nerd-fest for competitive Scrabble players. Wish me lots of blanks and bingos. I'll be checking in here over the course of the tourney, posting updates when time allows. Follow along at home starting Saturday morning for the live coverage.
- Word!