Hermit Boxes

Hermit Boxes' is a two player game from Games magazine, March 2013. It can be played on a 4x4 or a 6x6 board. At the start of the game, the board is empty. Off the board is a supply of three dimensional rectangular pieces having dimensions of 1x1x2 units, where a unit is about the same length as the side of a square on the board. The pieces come in three colors - red, yellow and blue. Each player in turn chooses a piece of any color and places it on the board either upright, so that it covers just one square, or on its side, so that it covers two squares. Pieces may only be placed on empty squares, and a piece may not be placed next to a piece of the same color, not even diagonally. The first player who is unable to make a legal placement loses the game.