How to play Swans.

1. Draw one loop through every swan. The loop runs from the middle of one cell to the middle of the next, up and down or left and right, never diagonally, and never crosses itself, branches or passes through the same cell twice. A grid with six rows has six columns; the size changes through the week, from six by six on Monday to ten by ten on Sunday.

2. A white swan means the loop goes straight through it and turns in the cell just before or just after. A black swan means the loop turns and goes straight through both neighbouring cells. Cells with no swan may be left out of the loop altogether.

3. A cross is your own note that the loop does not run here. Crosses are yours; the game does not judge them, except when you ask with Check. When every swan has its shape and the ring is closed, the game notices by itself.

Crosses are notes, not answers. Placing a cross narrows the room left for the loop; the game never marks it wrong while you play, only when you ask with Check. On the phone, drag from cell to cell to draw, and drag back along the loop to rub it out. On a keyboard, arrows move the cursor, Enter starts and ends drawing, X crosses it, P pauses.

A cross you were wrong about is shown by Check, never by the board turning red while you play.

Every lake opens with steps like these. Hint finds the next one for you, rings the step or cell it is about and says why; press it again to draw it. Hints are counted and shown when you finish, never hidden.

• Black swans at the edge. A black swan turns, so it can never send an arm off the board, and one in a corner has only one turn left to make.
• A white swan against the edge has to run along that edge, because the loop goes straight through it and the other way is off the board.
• Every arm of a black swan runs straight on through the next cell, so a single black swan usually settles five steps at once. The cheapest opening on any lake.
• Three white swans in a row cannot all be crossed lengthways: the middle one would have no turn beside it, so the loop cuts across the row instead.