Swish & Squeeze are twin bead-capture games. The diagram shows one of countless initial set-ups for either. In both games each player has three 'hexagonal rooks' that move in the six main directions.

Object
There are 19 beads in the game. The first player to capture 10 of them wins.

The initial position: the 'Marquisian Method' The Marquisian Method to balance a game is named after a 19th century French Draughts player who made money by offering opponents a similar choice in a particularly nasty endgame of which he knew every nook and cranny, and betting on the outcome. The main characteristic of the method is that it allows the player who makes the initial position, to present an in-deep studied piece of homework. It is therefore not a true balancing method, yet it takes that form in games between less experienced players. In the case of more experienced players, the fun for Player Two is to figure out the nasty tricks his opponent has woven into the position, and try to let him fall into his own traps.

The initial set-up is totally up to Player One. He puts three white and three black rooks on the edge of the board and 19 'beads' on cells of the inner area.

Player Two then may choose to either to:

• move first, in which case his opponent decides on color, or
• choose a color, in which case his opponent moves first.

Swish This being settled, players move, and must move, in turn. Each player must, on his turn, move one of his rooks. A rook must always end its move on a vacant cell. It may move: Any number of vacant cells. Any number of vacant cells followed by a bead or an unbroken row of beads, provided there's at least one vacant cell beyond to land on. Beads thus leaped over are captured and added to the player's store. If there are more vacant cells beyond the captured beads, the player is free to land on any of them. Any number of vacant cells followed by an opposing rook or an unbroken row of opposing rooks, provided there's at least one vacant cell beyond to land on. Pieces thus leaped over are captured and removed from play. If there are more vacant cells beyond the captured rook(s), the player is free to land on any of them. Simultaneous capture of a piece and beads is not possible. Play Swish interactively

Squeeze This being settled, players move, and must move, in turn. Each player must, on his turn, move one of his rooks. A rook must always end its move on a vacant cell. Rooks may neither pass over nor land on a cell occupied by a piece or a bead. Beads are captured the 'custodian' fashion, that is: sandwiched between two of a player's rooks. The first piece must already be in place for the second to make a capture. With two rooks in place is possible to capture in two directions simultaneously with the third one. Opponent's rooks may be captured the same way as beads. Squeeze allows the simultaneous capture of a piece and beads, but not as a 'mixed row': the captures must be in different directions. Play Squeeze interactively

How I invented ... Swish & Squeeze
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