YARMOUTH, Maine — A 9-year-old word game whiz kid has his eyes set on a big prize.
Sebastien Martinez, a fourth-grader at Yarmouth Elementary School, is preparing for a Bananagrams tournament against 11 of the other best players in New England.
“I definitely need to practice because there’s going to be sixth-graders there,” Martinez said.
In honor of the game’s 10th anniversary, the company held the inaugural U.S. Bananagrams Challenge. After beating 31 other fourth-graders at his school, Martinez beat out 10,000 other students in the online portion to earn his spot in the finals Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island.
“I think it’s really good having something to spice up February, January,” said fourth-grade teacher Rosie Lenehan, who organized the Bananagrams tournament at Yarmouth Elementary.
The word game is similar to Scrabble, except the players build their own grid of words instead of working off their competitors words.
“It’s just so fun to compete against other people and try to show off your vocabulary,” Martinez said.
To prepare, Martinez said he is learning as many two-letter words as possible and playing against some tough competition.
“I play against my parents. I sometimes win, but it’s all up to the letters.”
There’s a little bit of chance involved in Bananagrams, and Martinez said he’s ready for surprises — because he’s full of them himself.
“My favorite subject is math,” he said.
“He’s a strong student, I think all around,” Lenehan said. “Even though this is a word game, there’s some mathematical thinking and problem solving. It suits him.”
If Martinez wins, he’ll get $1,000 for his school.