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.

 Tonight. Scrabble. 7pm. 318 Broadway.

Be there, and be square.