The board starts with two black and two white discs at the center. Black always goes first. On your turn, place a disc so that at least one of your opponent's discs is flanked between your new disc and one of your existing discs — all flanked discs flip to your color. If you have no legal moves, your turn passes. The game ends when neither player can move or the board is full. The player with the most discs wins.

Also known as Reversi, Othello rewards positional thinking over raw disc count. Mid-game you often want fewer discs — more mobility leads to a dominant late game.

Tips

• Corners are the most powerful squares — a corner disc can never be flipped.
• Avoid placing discs adjacent to empty corners early — you hand the corner to your opponent.
• Edges are strong but only once the adjacent corner is secure.

Setup and movement

An 8×8 board, 64 discs (black on one side, white on the other). The game starts with two black and two white discs in the central 2×2 square arranged crosswise. Black moves first. To play, place a disc such that it brackets one or more of the opponent's discs in a straight line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal); all bracketed discs flip to your color. If you cannot make a flipping move, you must pass.

History

Othello as a commercial game was created by Goro Hasegawa in Japan in 1971 and published by Tsukuda Original in 1973. The mechanics descend from the older British game Reversi (1880s) but with one critical change: Othello fixes the starting position to a four-disc cross in the center, eliminating early chaos and producing the modern strategic game. World championships have been held annually since 1977.

Othello rewards positional thinking, not greedy capture. The most common beginner mistake is flipping as many discs as possible every turn. This usually loses, because giving yourself many flips also gives your opponent many response options. Aim instead for a small disc count through the midgame — paradoxically, the player with fewer discs at move 30 often wins by move 60.

Corners are the most valuable squares on the board because they cannot be flipped. Avoid the squares adjacent to corners (X-squares and C-squares) early — playing them gives your opponent the corner. Edges are the second-most-valuable region. Building a stable wall along an edge anchors a region of your color permanently.

Parity in the endgame decides many close games. The player who moves last in any unfilled region tends to gain that region. Count empty squares as the board fills and steer toward an endgame where you, not the opponent, get the final move in each pocket of empty space.

Is Othello the same as Reversi?

They share core mechanics but Othello fixes the starting position and uses official tournament rules. Reversi historically allowed players to choose their opening discs, leading to different early-game theory.

What if I have no legal move?

You pass. Your opponent moves again. If neither player can move, the game ends and the player with more discs wins.

Does taking a corner always win?

No. Corners are strong but not decisive on their own. A corner with no support can be surrounded and the surrounding edges flipped repeatedly.

Why is the AI hard even on lower difficulties?

Othello has a small branching factor and well-understood theory, so even a shallow search plays at a respectable level. Beating the AI usually requires understanding mobility and parity, not just looking ahead.

What's a wipeout?

When all 64 squares are filled with one color, or one side has no discs left. Wipeouts end the game immediately — score is 64-0.

How long does a game take?

Five to fifteen minutes typically. The board fills in 60 moves at most.

Chess — The most-played strategy game in the world.

Checkers — Diagonal movement and forced jumps on the same 8×8 board.

Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) — Asian chess with cannons and a fortified palace.

Tic-Tac-Toe — A simpler take on grid-based wins and forks.