Classic Reversi, devised in the 1880s. It starts on an empty board and each player has 32 discs. A player who has used up all of his discs can no longer move.
Rules
- Play starts on an empty 8x8 board. Disc colours varied between versions; here we use black and red.
- The first four moves go on the four center squares (D4, E4, D5, E5), in turn. Any of the four squares and any arrangement is allowed, and nothing is flipped.
- Once the center is full, play as in Othello: move only where you can flip opponent discs, and flip every disc you trap.
- If you have no legal move, you pass.
- Each player has 32 discs. A player who runs out cannot move, and the opponent plays the remaining moves. If the opponent also has no move, the game ends there.
- The game ends when neither player can move. The player with more discs wins.
Source: The Handbook of Reversi (Mollett's Reversi, 1889), Reversi and Go Bang (Waterman's Reversi, 1890)
Examples
From the fifth move
Reversi is said to have been devised in 1880s England by Lewis Waterman and John W. Mollett. The free choice of the first four moves and the fact that a player who has used up all the discs he was given can no longer move are its biggest differences from modern Othello.
Reversi became very popular in England in the late 19th century and spread to many European countries. But its popularity did not last; it gradually declined from the early 20th century, and by the time Othello was launched in 1973 it had been almost forgotten by the public.
Things changed when Othello achieved major worldwide success. Its popularity also brought the name Reversi back into widespread use, but many games offered today under that name actually follow Othello's rules. This often leads people to regard the two as the same game with different names. However, although Reversi and Othello share a similar basic way of playing, they are distinct games with different historical backgrounds and detailed rules. It is therefore inaccurate to understand Othello simply as another name for Reversi.