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Smess. Produced and sold in the early 70's by Parker Brothers. Arrows on squares determine direction pieces can move. (7x8, Cells: 56) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

Michael Jacobs wrote on Sun, Jul 21, 2002 05:21 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

I used to have a copy of 'Take the Brain', and played it a lot.  It is a
great game, and the 'one-way' system means that moves must be planned very
carefully.  Ultimately, he who controls the central squares usually wins
the game.  The typical '1970s' graphics add to the charm of the game, and
'All the King's Men', whilst more 'dignified', somehow lacks this cute
element of anarchy...

Whilst I had seen 'All the King's Men', the 'Smess' version is news to me.
 I am very pleased to see that this game is still preserved for posterity,
and hope one day to see a commercial edition on sale again so that I
restore it to my collection!

I would have rated this item as excellent - even just for existing - if
the pictures of the pieces had been a bit clearer, and more had been said
about actual game-play.

Anonymous wrote on Thu, Sep 5, 2002 03:13 AM UTC:Good ★★★★

I wonder if this is the Michael Jacobs who lived in south africa and directed chess tournaments. if so I'm trying to make contact. Ian Kitai, 95 bayly st w #202, Ajax, Ontario, Canada L1S 7K8

Anonymous wrote on Wed, Sep 18, 2002 02:15 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Richard wrote on Sun, Sep 22, 2002 03:24 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Loved this game when I was younger and have Two versions of the Smess game
one that my Relitive gave me when he got bored with it and one I found at

a Yard Sale a few years back.  Sad to say that no one I hang with knows 
how to play the game or wants to learn.  I was wondering if there is a 
computer version of this game somewhere out there?  This is the Type of 
Computer Chess that would go great with some Computer Graphics.  Thanks
for
Having this Site did not know anyone else rememberd the game.

Peter Aronson wrote on Sun, Sep 22, 2002 07:26 AM UTC:

There are two versions of this game available for the computer game Zillions of Games (see: http://www.zillionsofgames.com), one by Fergus Duniho (called 'All the King's Men' or 'Ninnychess'), available from this site, and one by Stephen Tavener (called 'Take the Brain') available from the Zillions site. Zillions is currently selling for about $15 dollars when downloaded from their site.

Anonymous wrote on Tue, Feb 4, 2003 01:20 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Does anyone have an spare Smess game that they would be willing to sell? Must have all pieces and instructions. Please contact soon. Today's date is 2-3-03 conntact bygo@peoplepc.com (no caps)

Ben Good wrote on Tue, Feb 4, 2003 04:09 AM UTC:

your best bet is ebay. people who read cv.com and have a smess set are much less likely to be interested in selling it. i just did an ebay search - currently there's one for sale, it's at $17 with more than 2 days left, which is typical; in the auctions i've watched in the past, smess sets typically sold for $25-$35, sometimes higher. i don't know of anywhere else to get one. 'all the kings men' sets go for much less, i paid less than $10 for mine.

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