OBJECTIVE OF OTHELLO: End the game with more discs of your colour showing on the board than your opponent.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2
MATERIALS: An 8×8 board, 64 reversible discs (black on one side, white on the other)
TYPE OF GAME: Abstract strategy board game
AUDIENCE: 7+
OVERVIEW OF OTHELLO
The othello board game has an unusual ratio of learning time to strategic depth. The rules take under five minutes to explain. The strategy can take years to develop. That gap explains why the game has stayed popular for more than five decades.
The reversi game that Othello grew from first appeared in England during the 1880s. Lewis Waterman and John Mollett each claimed credit for the invention at roughly the same time. Goro Hasegawa standardised the rules and trademarked the Othello name in Japan in 1971. Among board games, Othello reached a wide audience after Mattel began distributing it internationally in 1973. The two names now appear almost interchangeably, though a small setup rule does separate them.
Gameplay runs on a single mechanic. Place a disc to trap opponent discs between your new piece and an existing one of your colour. Flip those trapped discs over. The player who controls more squares at the end wins.
HOW TO SET UP THE OTHELLO BOARD
Sit opposite your opponent with the board between you. One player takes the black discs; the other takes white. Before the first move, four discs go into the four central squares in a fixed pattern.
Two black and two white discs fill those squares. Black sits in the top-right and bottom-left positions; white takes the other two. This arrangement never changes in standard Othello. Black always goes first.
The reversi board game handles the opening differently. Both players place their first two discs freely into those four centre squares before play begins. This free-placement rule is the main distinction in reversi game rules versus Othello rules.
HOW TO PLAY OTHELLO
Every turn in Othello follows the same sequence. Once you have this pattern, the game clicks immediately.
- Choose a square: Find an empty square where placing your disc will trap at least one opponent disc. If no such square exists anywhere on the board, you must pass your turn.
- Check the sandwich: Your new disc must sit in a straight line with another disc of your colour, with only opponent discs between them. The line can run horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
- Place your disc: Put your disc in the chosen square. It stays there for the rest of the game. It can be flipped to the other colour, but it cannot be moved.
- Flip the trapped discs: Every opponent disc caught in a valid line flips to your colour immediately. If your placement created sandwiches in multiple directions at once, all of them flip in the same turn.
- Pass the turn: Your opponent now follows the same sequence. Play alternates until the board is full or neither player has a legal move.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CANNOT MOVE
Passing only happens when no legal move exists anywhere on the board. You cannot pass for convenience or tactical reasons. Under Othello rules, you pass only when every empty square fails the flip test. Your opponent then plays again.
If neither player can move, the game ends immediately. Empty squares belong to neither player. Play stops regardless of how full the board is. This situation is uncommon but can occur if one colour is driven completely off the board before it fills.
HOW THE GAME ENDS AND HOW YOU SCORE
Once the board fills completely, or once neither player can move, counting begins. All discs showing your colour score one point each. The player with more discs in their colour wins. If the score is level, the game is a draw.
No positions carry a bonus under standard Othello game rules. Corners, edges, and centre squares all score identically. A single move in the final stages can flip many discs and overturn a substantial lead in one turn.
IS OTHELLO THE SAME AS REVERSI?
Yes, in almost every practical sense. The othello game reversi connection is direct: same board, same discs, same flipping mechanic. The setup rule is where the two versions diverge.
Classic reversi rules allow both players to place their opening two discs freely in the four centre squares. Learning how to play reversi teaches the same core skills as Othello. Othello fixes that opening arrangement into the diagonal pattern. Black goes first under those standardised rules. Competitive Othello enforces this precisely. For home play, the distinction rarely matters.
OTHELLO GAME VS GO
Othello and Go share a grid and a two-player format. Beyond that, they have little in common. Go stones do not move once placed; capturing requires surrounding entire groups.
The Go board runs 19×19. Othello discs flip repeatedly throughout a match. The board is always 8×8. Go game scoring varies by country, while Othello game rules apply consistently in competitive play worldwide. If the comparison came from the shared grid alone, that is genuinely the only element they have in common.
REVERSI STRATEGY: WHAT ACTUALLY WINS
Disc-flipping aggression is the approach most beginners start with. Capturing as many discs as possible every turn feels productive. It is also the fastest route to losing. Early disc counts mislead badly; the board shifts dramatically as the final moves approach.
Corner control matters most. A disc in any corner square cannot be flipped for the rest of the match. From a corner, stable chains build along both adjacent edges. Squares diagonally next to an empty corner are risky to occupy early. Doing so often gifts that corner to your opponent on the very next move.
Mobility is the second principle. Keeping your opponent short of legal moves forces them into weak placements. Eight valid options against your opponent’s two is a strong position. That holds true whatever the disc count shows at that moment.
OTHELLO AND REVERSI VARIATIONS
Several formats have developed beyond the standard 8×8 game.
- 6×6 Reversi scales the board and starting arrangement proportionally. Games finish in under ten minutes. This makes it a practical entry point for younger players. It also suits anyone learning the mechanics before moving to the full-size board.
- Grand Othello expands to a 10×10 grid with six discs in a larger centre starting group. Corner control scales up in importance on the bigger board. This format exists as a recognised competitive variant, though far fewer players encounter it than the standard game.
- Anti-Othello inverts the win condition entirely. Fewer discs wins. All principles standard reversi strategy builds on become liabilities. Surrendering squares is the goal, and the player who gives the most away without losing all pieces takes the match.
FAQ
Othello is both a game and a brand. It is the standardised, commercially produced version of the older reversi game. The reversi game rules and othello game rules share almost every mechanic. The main distinctions are the fixed starting position and black always moving first in Othello.
Players who know how to play othello typically finish in 20 to 30 minutes. Beginners often take longer while learning to spot legal moves and plan a few turns ahead.
Against a player who understands reversi strategy, it is very difficult. Corners anchor permanent structures along the edges, and edge chains are nearly impossible to flip. Controlling three or four corners creates an advantage that disc-count swings rarely overcome by the end.
Yes. The core rule is simple: place a disc and flip what you trap. A seven-year-old can follow that after one demonstration. The strategic layer gives older players and adults plenty to engage with well past the first few games.
Goro Hasegawa named the game after Shakespeare’s play. The contrast between black and white discs echoes the play’s themes of conflict and reversal. The way each side flips throughout the match reinforces that connection. The game’s original Japanese tagline translated roughly as “a minute to learn, a lifetime to master.”
Yes. Several free platforms host the reversi board game digitally, including browser-based options and dedicated mobile apps. Most support both casual and rated play.
- 23 SUPER FUN 4TH OF JULY GAMES - July 2, 2026
- 15 Hilarious 4th of July Drinking Games - July 2, 2026
- 30 Summer Camp Games - July 2, 2026