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Rules of Smess
 | The Brain moves one space in any direction indicated by the arrows on the space it moves from. The object of the game is to capture your opponent's Brain. There is no such thing as check in Smess, and it is legal for a Brain to move to an attacked space. |
 | The Ninny moves one space in any direction indicated by the arrows on the space it moves from. When a Ninny reaches one of the spaces that one of the opponent's Numskulls began on, it automatically promotes to a Numskull. |
 | The Numskull moves in a straight line any number of spaces in any direction indicated by the arrows on the space it moves from. It may not leap over other pieces. It is equivalent to the Queen in Chess, except that its directions of movement are limited by the arrows on the board. |
Legal Stuff
Smess is a Parker Brothers game from 1970. The name Smess was a registered trademark of Parker Brothers, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database indicates that it has expired. Parker Brothers is now part of Hasbro, but Hasbro has never produced any Smess sets. Smess is no longer commercially made. The copyright on Smess belongs to Reuben Klamer and Associates. As far as I can tell, Reuben Klamer currently runs a company called Reuben Klamer Toylab, but I have not found any website for the company. Although the copyright suggests that Klamer invented Smess, David Pritchard attributes the invention of Smess to Perry Grant. At this time, I am uncertain who invented Smess, and I am uncertain whether Klamer, Hasbro, or anyone else has claims to Smess. This preset is here for the sake of preserving the memory and popularity of Smess, and no assumption is made that the game is in the public domain. It is not my intention to step on anyone's rights, and if the owner of Smess objects to this preset, it will be removed.
It should be noted that, except for the use of some fonts, all graphics are the original artwork of Fergus Duniho. Photos of Smess have not been used to make this preset.
How to Move Pieces
Full Algebraic Notation
Algebraic notation identifies each space by a coordinate that begins with its file label and ends with its rank label. On the Chess board, files go up and down from one player to the other, and ranks go from left to right. In most games, files are represented by letters, and ranks are represented by numbers, but there is no fixed rule requiring this for all games, and some games, such as Shogi, reverse this convention. If you look at the diagram, you will usually see the file labels going from left to right and the file labels going up and down. And if you hover your mouse over a space, you will normally see the name of the coordinate appear in a tooltip.
It is not uncommon to see algebraic notation being used for Chess, but it is often in an abbreviated format that requires you to know both the rules of the game and the current position to know exactly which piece moves where. For example, the notation "Ne6" indicates that a Knight is moving to e6, but it doesn't indicate which Knight, and it doesn't specify where the Knight is coming from. To figure this out, you need to know how a Knight moves and which Knight on the board can make a legal move to e6.
Although rules may be programmed for individual games, Game Courier itself does not know the rules of any game, and it is unable to parse abbreviated algebraic notation. Therefore, it relies on full algebraic notation, which completely specifies the move without requiring any knowledge of the game's rules or the current position. The most usual type of full algebraic notation indicates the piece that is moving by its label, the space it is moving from, and the space it moving to. In Chess, a typical first move might be written as "P e2-e4". When you hover your mouse over a piece, you will normally see the piece label followed by the coordinate for the space, and when you hover it over an empty space, you will normally see the coordinate label. Including the piece label in your notation allows Game Courier to check that the piece you're moving is the right one, and it makes game notation easier to follow, but it is not mandatory.
You may promote a piece by including a promotion move after your regular move. A promotion move has a piece go directly to a coordinate. Here is an example: "p e7-e8; q-e8".
You may remove a piece from a space by adding an @ to the space or by omitting the destination coordinate. For example, both "@-e4" and "e4-" would remove the piece on "e4". This is useful for en passant when you are playing a game that does not handle this automatically. For example, "P d5-e6; e5-" removes the Pawn on e5 after a Pawn moves from d5 to e6.
You will not need to remove spaces for most games, but if you should need to, you can do this by omitting the first coordinate in a move. For example, "-e4" would remove e4 from the board. To add or return a space to the board, you may add an @ or any other piece to it.
Available Pieces
Pieces are represented by labels, usually using uppercase letters for White and lowercase letter for Black. When you enter a move or specify the starting position for a game, you should remember that piece labels are case-sensitive. Many piece sets are available for use with Game Courier, and this table shows you which pieces belong to the piece set you are currently using.
The inclusion of a piece does not indicate that it is used in the game you are playing. But if your game uses pieces not included here, you should choose a different piece set.
Credits
This preset uses the Smess settings file for Smess, which was made by Fergus Duniho.
Game Courier was created, programmed and written by Fergus Duniho.
Game Courier, Copyright © Fergus Duniho, 2001-2017
WWW Page Created: 15 August 2001
Kibbitzing Etiquette
Kibbitzing is the practice of commenting on a game you are not playing. In commenting on a game, please follow these rules of etiquette.
(1) If you notice that someone has made an illegal move, please mention it. Some Game Courier presets cannot enforce rules, but Game Courier does enable players to take back any previous move. Details on how to take back a move are provided in the User's Guide, linked to above the board.
(2) Unless otherwise specifically asked to, do not offer hints or suggestions to players on what moves they should make. In general, avoid coaching comments.
(3) Once a game is over, it should be alright to offer your analysis of the game and your specific comments on what moves players should have made. If some players don't want this, they may mention it in the Kibbitzing section, and you should honor this request by not commenting on the game.
(4) Be polite. At the appropriate time, offer any criticism you have in a constructive manner. Avoid heckling players for bad moves.
(5) Don't spam this space with irrelevant comments. If you have a comment about Game Courier, rather than about the specific game you're viewing, please post it on Game Courier's Index page to give it.