I rather like the whimsical, hyperactive feel of the Smess board and of the Smess-style board Fergus has created for Storm the Ivory Tower. I haven't played the game yet, but I expect that this board would add to the experience in one way, by giving it a unique flavor, but detract from it in another way, as the loud colors and diverse styles of arrows might make it hard to see several moves down the game tree. (But perhaps playing a few games would help me to understand the structure of the board better, so that I wouldn't have to rely as much on the visual representation.)
I also like the more minimalistic look of Michael's board. I don't think I would have any trouble playing on this board. I can see where Fergus is coming from, though; I wouldn't call them optical illusions, but in some parts of the board the patterns formed by the triangles are noticeable. Some of these patterns have their own kind of beauty, and to my eyes they don't obscure the squares, but I can easily understand how some people could find it hard to play on this board, just as others find it hard to play on the Smess-style board. My own opinion is that Fergus's board is more fun to look at, but Michael's would probably be easier to play on.
As I write this I've just noticed Fergus's recoloring of Michael's board, which I like very much. The checkering helps a great deal (more than I expected), the texture gives the board life, and the colors are very well chosen. And it preserves the elegant simplicity of Michael's design.
If there's any interest in yet another StIT board, I think it would be nice to have one in the style of All the King's Men, which I think in at least two ways would be an appropriate complement to the Smess-style board. In All the King's Men, the squares resembled a wooden floor, and the arrows had a simple, uniform style, easy to see but not distracting. Iff Fergus and others are interested in having such a board, and if no one else wants to create it, I would be willing to try my hand, although I probably won't have the time until after New Year's Day.
BoardGameGeek's Smess page has some nice images of various editions of Smess, Take the Brain, and All the King's Men.
I also like the more minimalistic look of Michael's board. I don't think I would have any trouble playing on this board. I can see where Fergus is coming from, though; I wouldn't call them optical illusions, but in some parts of the board the patterns formed by the triangles are noticeable. Some of these patterns have their own kind of beauty, and to my eyes they don't obscure the squares, but I can easily understand how some people could find it hard to play on this board, just as others find it hard to play on the Smess-style board. My own opinion is that Fergus's board is more fun to look at, but Michael's would probably be easier to play on.
As I write this I've just noticed Fergus's recoloring of Michael's board, which I like very much. The checkering helps a great deal (more than I expected), the texture gives the board life, and the colors are very well chosen. And it preserves the elegant simplicity of Michael's design.
If there's any interest in yet another StIT board, I think it would be nice to have one in the style of All the King's Men, which I think in at least two ways would be an appropriate complement to the Smess-style board. In All the King's Men, the squares resembled a wooden floor, and the arrows had a simple, uniform style, easy to see but not distracting. Iff Fergus and others are interested in having such a board, and if no one else wants to create it, I would be willing to try my hand, although I probably won't have the time until after New Year's Day.
BoardGameGeek's Smess page has some nice images of various editions of Smess, Take the Brain, and All the King's Men.