Zeno

Zeno is an alien game of annihilation for two players expressly designed to be played with very standard household game equipment. As the game goes on, players will shuffle and capture pieces in an attempt to be the last remaining player on the board. A game of Zeno cannot end in a draw.

Equipment: checkers or chess set

Setup: players place all their 8 pieces on their third rank.

Gameplay: starting with white, turns alternate. On a turn you may move one of your pieces in any of the three forward directions one space. At the conclusion of this move, two things happen: you may choose enemy pieces on the rank your piece is now on to advance in the exact opposite direction to your movement one space; any piece that lands on one of your pieces or one of the opponent's own pieces is captured and removed from the game. Following the enemy movement phase, friendly pieces of your choosing on the rank you just moved from can be moved, likewise, in the exact opposite direction one space. Players may make self-capturing moves either off the end of the board or onto any remaining pieces and must do so if no other moves remain. Note: self-capture moves only trigger the backwards movement of friendly pieces as the piece doesn't land on its destination. Passing is strictly prohibited.

Objective: be the last player with pieces remaining on the board. In practice it is polite to resign when it's obvious the players have passed each other and there are fewer moves remaining than the opponent has.

-description from the designer