About Reversi
Reversi, also sold as Othello, is a classic strategy board game played on an 8×8 board. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.
Dots show your legal moves, so beginners can focus on strategy.
Reversi at a glance
| Genre | Board game |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no download or sign-up |
| Controls | Tap |
| Typical game length | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Lives | None |
| Works on | Phones, tablets and computers, in any modern browser |
| Daily challenge | Yes, the same puzzle for everyone each day |
How to play Reversi
- Tap a dot. Place your black disc on a legal square.
- Trap to flip. Discs caught in a straight line flip to your color.
- Grab the corners. Corners can never be flipped back.
- Most discs wins. When nobody can move, count the discs.
Rules
- If you have no legal move, you pass.
- The game ends when neither player can move.
Levels and difficulty
Easy grabs the most discs, Medium understands that corners matter, and Hard looks three moves ahead.
Scoring
Points for each of your discs at the end, plus a bonus for winning. Harder opponents multiply the points. Daily challenge scores can be shared with friends.
Tips and strategy for Reversi
- Corners are the most valuable squares.
- Avoid the squares next to empty corners.
- Having more moves available is often better than having more discs early.
History of the game
Reversi was invented in England in the 1880s; the modern version called Othello was developed in Japan by Goro Hasegawa in the 1970s.
How we built and tested Reversi
The Hard computer uses a three-move search with a positional strategy that values corners and edges, and it moves in a fraction of a second.
Frequently asked questions
Is Reversi the same as Othello?
Othello is a trademarked version of Reversi with the same basic rules and a fixed starting position.
What if I cannot move?
You pass and the computer plays again.