Play Reversi Online - 2 Player Strategy Game

Reversi is a strategic 2-player board game. By skillfully flipping discs, each player tries to control the majority of pieces in their own color.

The game was developed in the 1880s by the Englishman Lewis Waterman. Today, Reversi is often used as a synonym for the nearly identical and better-known game Othello, even though they are two different games.

Here you can play Reversi online with your friends. Create a room now or join an existing game. Have fun!

Reversi Rules

Reversi is played by two players on an 8x8 board. Players take turns placing a disc, which is black on one side and white on the other, on an empty square.

The goal of the game is to flip the majority of discs so your own color is facing up. It starts with an empty board, as shown in the following image:

Moves

Players always move alternately, with Black starting. In general, you can distinguish between the first four moves and the remaining moves during the game.

At the Beginning

At the start of the game, the four center squares of the board must first be occupied with discs. Black starts and can choose any of these squares.

After the first four moves, there are 2 discs of each color on the board. The image below shows one possible board state after these opening moves:

The red marker on the white disc indicates that it was placed last.

During the Game

After the first four moves, each new disc must be placed on an empty square. With every move, at least one opposing disc must be outflanked and therefore flipped.

Outflanked means that at least one opposing disc lies in a straight line between the newly placed disc and the next disc of your own color. Direction does not matter: outflanking can happen horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

In addition, multiple outflanks are possible, as shown in the following example:

If Black placed the disc as marked, the three vertically adjacent white discs and the diagonally adjacent white disc would be flipped.

Possible Endings

In Reversi, the game can end in the following two ways:

1. A player has no legal moves left.
2. The board is completely filled with discs.

In both cases, the player with the most discs in their color on the board wins.

As a quick summary, here is a short video explaining the Reversi rules:

By playing the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.

Differences Between Reversi and Othello

As mentioned in the introduction, Reversi is often used as a synonym for Othello. However, this is not correct because Reversi and Othello are two different games. Othello was invented in 1971 by the Japanese inventor Goro Hasegawa and has since become established worldwide.

The differences are minor and can be summarized as follows:

• Reversi starts with an empty board. Othello starts with 4 discs in the center arranged in an X-formation.
• In Reversi, the game ends as soon as a player has no legal moves left. In Othello, the affected player passes in that situation, so the other player takes the next turn.

Strategy and Tips

Reversi is easy to learn, but much harder to master. To help you improve, here are three tips that can strengthen your game.

1. Secure the corners

Corner squares are the strongest positions on the board because a disc placed there can no longer be flipped. Plan your moves so you do not open easy corner opportunities for your opponent and can take corners yourself at the right time. In particular, avoid the squares directly next to a still-open corner unless you can take that corner on your next move.

2. Use the edges

Besides corners, edges are also key positions on the board. They allow strong outflanking lines and help you prepare corner captures.

3. Avoid the center early

At the beginning, do not focus on flipping as many discs as possible in the center. Otherwise, you may enable your opponent to flip many of your discs back through edge moves. So focus on the center only after you have gained the upper hand on the edges and in the corners.

Questions and Answers