Snails

Rules — Snails

• The board is a strip of 1×n squares with a lettuce at the end.
• On your turn you do one of two things: place a snail on an empty square, or advance a snail one square to the right if that square is empty.
• A snail takes the colour of whoever places it, but the snails belong to nobody: anyone may advance any snail.
• Whoever cannot move loses — that is, whoever finds the strip full.

Levels:

• Level 1 — a 1×5 strip.
• Level 2 — a 1×7 strip.
• Level 3 — a 1×8 strip.
• Level 4 — a 1×9 strip with a double turn: each turn you may place, advance, or do both (one of each at most), in whichever order you like.

Against the computer you also choose who starts. It matters: on some strips the first player wins with perfect play, on others the second.

On a 1×5 strip: click an empty square and a snail appears (on 2, then on 4); click a snail and it crawls one square on (the one on 2 moves to 3). Each turn you either place a snail on an empty square or advance one a square to the right (if it is free) — any snail, whoever put it there.

Place or advance: whoever finds the strip full loses.