Attention everybody here it is — the thing no one was waiting for because they are perfectly happy with the thing they got already. Rhode Island game and toy colossus, Hasbro, is launching its answer to Scrabulous — Scrabble at Club Pogo. I’m not big on this online stuff. I prefer the click of the tile bag and the knowledge that if my tiles suck it’s the universe conspiring against me and not some computer algorithm. I suppose it will take a little while for people to try it out and see how it compares. But what if no one bothers to try it out? I certainly want this to work. With our state economy tanking, who isn’t cheering on Hasbro ( My Little Pony notwithstanding)?

Above is a sample screen-shot and right away I have a problem. I’m picturing all these people naked. And clammy? Why is he clammy?

Rhode Island toymaker Hasbro Inc. will be launching its own online Scrabble game later this month in the hopes of scooping up all those Scrabulous players (according to today’s ProJo that’s nearly 3 million registered users). It is unclear what they have to offer that will tempt these people away. According to the Chicago Tribune,

Hasbro’s initial response to Scrabulous was to ask Facebook to take down the game. Hasbro and Mattel, which own the international rights to Scrabble, also reportedly made the same request of Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, the creators of Scrabulous. News of the game’s possible demise stirred protests from avid players, with a “Save Scrabulous” group on Facebook attracting more than 45,500 members.

Inertia is not the only obstacle…

Hasbro faces several challenges in converting Scrabulous fans to the official version. Thousands of Facebook users are already comfortable with Scrabulous and are running multiple games with friends. Also, since Electronic Arts and Hasbro control the rights to Scrabble only in the U.S. and Canada, users based in those countries can’t play with people elsewhere in the world. RealNetworks created the international Facebook version of Scrabble for Mattel, and that game has about 5,600 daily active users.

As to the legal status of Hasbro v. Agarwallawallawallawallabro?*

The controversy over Scrabulous isn’t over … Hasbro is still considering its legal options and insists that the unofficial version infringes on the company’s intellectual property.

*(I made that up. Paul Grimaldi, writing in today’s Providence Journal, states that “Hasbro has not filed a lawsuit in this matter.” But I’ll bet there was a strongly worded letter.)

It’s best to know a little bit about a lot of things if you want to finish in the money (and by money I mean t-shirts and glasses) at the famous Wild Colonial Pub Quiz. Come tonight and test your broad-but-superficial knowledge against other savants and know-it-alls. Yup, despite the holiday, it’s on. And if your mom don’t like it, tell her you hope to win her a real nice present (it helps if she’s a size XXXXL and likes Jose Cuervo). Form a team of one to four people who have a wide range of interests — good friends who will forgive you when you confidently talk them out of the correct answer. There will be several categories such as; current events, maybe sports, music (audible), maybe history or movies, and perhaps… tonight… mothers!

Starts at 8PM/The Wild Colonial Tavern/250 South Water Street/621-5644

Ian has a scrabble scoop, via the Projo.

The National School Scrabble Championship kicks off today at the Rhode Island Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and continues tomorrow from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

The championship will be filmed for broadcast later this year on ESPN.

Yup, it’s already two weeks later.  Tonight is the Pub Quiz at the Wild Colonial.  The quiz-masters will ask 6 questions in each of a variety of categories like current events, maybe history, maybe sports… or maybe a completely idiosyncratic made-up crazy topic.  There is always a visual hand-out and the final music category will consist of 12 audio bites.  Teams are up to four people, and it’s explained as you go along.  Except for the occasional stray dart it’s a real good time.  Cool prizes, good beer on tap, and there is a mirror in the ladies’ room.

8:00PM/Wild Colonial/250 South Water Street/621-5644/plenty of parking 

Slate just turned me on to Crayon Physics Deluxe:

A front page story in today’s New York Times examines the weird legal jousting between the creators of Scrabulous, the Agarwalla brothers (may I suggest they shorten it to Agarbro?) and the owners of Hasbro, the Hassenfeld Brothers. It’s a squirrely sort of problem given the tension between protecting the property rights and some significant profits on the one hand and finessing the public relations issue on the other. (Why did I just picture Mr. Burns rubbing his fingers together?) I’ll bet it’s driving them crazy over there.

I am not an online Scrabble player because I want to know where your hands are at all times. It turns out there exists an “online ‘helper’ program, which generates a list of possible words based on the letters a user has.” Oh great, I was already picturing some creepy naked guy rubbing himself… now he’s cheating at Scrabble.

I got a scary loop-de-loop of Kansas RI connectivity this morning when I opened a Roz Chast greeting card sent by my mother only to find two promotional postcards for Kansas-RI-Kansas transplant and recent RISD grad John Sebelius. Sebelius, in addition to being our silver-haired governor’s son, is also a clothing and game designer. He sells his prison-themed, Monopoly-style board game and retooled vintage dress shirts with dreaded Black men screened across their lapels from his website and at my former stomping grounds, Hobbs Inc.

It is really boring to make the same old comments on this type of weirdo Mark Ecko shit, so I won’t. But I’m curious to know if any dose readers know Sebelius’ work from RISD days and what might have contributed to his fascination with incarcerated people of color. To fuel the hype more, check this article from my hometown’s better-than-the-Projo local rag.

For someone with a BA in international relations:

Monopoly, the iconic game of capitalism, has been drawn into the dispute over Jerusalem.

Hasbro Inc. issued an apology Thursday after an employee, responding to complaints from pro-Palestinian groups, eliminated the word “Israel” after the city in an online contest to select names for a new Monopoly board game: Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition.

The company also pulled all country names from other cities on the site when even more people, including the Israeli government, complained because Jerusalem was listed as the only city without a country.

Sure hope a pillow fight doesn’t break out:

RISD kids are having an epic Capture the Flag game tomorrow at Roger Williams Park at 2:00. Anybody is welcome to come and play — rain or shine! The more people the better! And best of all, it’s freeeee!!!

But wait, silly RISD kids — anybody want to tell use whereabouts, exactly? There are two Roger Williams Parks, and one of them is real big.

[UPDATE: The Roger Williams Park in question is the Roger Williams Memorial Park at N Main St.]

Win, place and show all take something home!

Starts at 8:00PM — the Wild Colonial on South Water Street. Copious parking, wheelchair accessible, marine biologists welcome. Bring friends and form your own team (1 - 4 people per) or just show up and see what you can scare up at the bar.  Prizes, honor, nachos.

• Monday, as always, Scrabble at Julian’s. 7pm. Two to a board if you wanna be taken seriously
• Tuesdays at 8, Tucker Peck and his Pub Quiz hold it down at Trinity Brewhouse. You can win real stuff. Per Rhode Island law, Growlers must be consumed OFF-premises.
• Wednesdays at 8:30, Tucker’s at Union Station

Also — I urge you to click here for the first link that shows up in a Google photo search for Scrabble. (NSFW).

Sunday, January 6th will be the first Pub Quiz of the new year at the Wild Colonial on South Water Street. If you have never participated, here’s the poop. First, it now starts at 8:00 PM.

No prior registration required, just walk in. Teams can have no more than four members but fewer is also fine. The rules are explained before the start and as you go along. Teams make points by correctly answering questions in assorted 6-question categories such as current events, sports, and marine biology. There is also a visual category. And the quiz always ends with the audio category (12 snippets of music).

There are fabulous prizes, usually scavenged from Mo’s bottomless closet of alcohol-related promotional items (size XXXXL is favored). These vary in quality and desirability, but it must be said that the folks at Narragansett Beer have been stepping up lately and their stuff is very cool. And the much coveted third-place Wild Colonial pint glasses can create some interesting jockeying toward the end. It’s very hard to try to come in third. But in reality… it’s not about the stuff… it’s the prestige.

Scrabble, tonight and just about every Monday at Julian’s, 318 B’way, 7pm

And Tucker keeps on tearing up the Trivia scene:

Hello Providence-area friends, I’m writing with the exciting news that I am now hosting team trivia games four — count ‘em, four! — times a week in Providence. Team trivia is free to play, lasts about two hours, and can earn you prizes. If you’re interested, you can find me:

*Sundays at 9 PM at Mirabar, a near PPAC

*Mondays at 8 PM at Z Bar, a bar / restaurant on Wickenden

*Tuesdays at 8 PM at Trinity Brewhouse, a brewery / restaurant on Fountain near Empire

*Wednesdays at 8:30 PM, Union Station Brewery, just off Memorial Blvd., by Capital Grille and RiRa

Teams can be up to six players, so make sure to bring your friends! You do not need to be 21 to play, so feel free to bring your young friends (or perhaps your young self). Come a few minutes early, especially for Trinity, where seating can be scare.

Wondering why they call it “trivia” when it’s so damn important,
Tucker

It’s nice to see that soap box racing finally seems to have recovered from its Watergate-era nadir: the infamous Jimmy Gronen scandal of 1973. That’s when 14 year-old Jimmy and his uncle were caught having stuck a magnet in the front of Jimmy’s car — The metallic starting gate would pull the car forward when it opened, yielding a quick start and consistent 30-foot victories. (It was an electromagnet, in fact, whose circuit was completed when the car’s hatch was shut, making it unlikely to be detected.)

Suspicions were raised, the car was ripped apart, the magnet was discovered, new rules were instituted, Boulder was banned as host city FOREVER. And Generation Y had the perfect excuse for its refusal to believe in anything, before it was even conceived.

If there’s a place on this planet that’s gonna produce somebody who’ll out-shyster Jimmy Gronen and his uncle, it’s the town we call home. And we’ll have our chance this weekend, when that Red Bull soap box thing comes to town:

Not to be confused with the youth soapbox derby, Red Bull Soapbox Race is a national race for amateur drivers, which is fueled by creativity and competitive fun - not to mention the need for speed. This unique non-motorized racing event challenges both experienced racers and amateurs alike to design and build outrageous, human-powered soapbox dream machines and compete against the clock in a downhill race.

I still can’t tell if this thing matters or not, but here are some details:

(more…)

In other psycho-geek news, I was excited to learn last week that Stern’s new Spider-man pinball machine will soon have a home in Providence. (Not sure where it’s landing yet.) Here’s an insanely in-depth review.

The game has a smooth, classic, elegant feel, with simple rules — and it ranks right up there with Theater of Magic, Medieval Madness, and Monster Bash as one of the best of the last decade. Family Guy, another good new table, is on its way too.