Othello

Othello (also called Reversi) is an abstract, tactical game for two players. The game board consists of 8x8 squares just like a chess board. The counters are white on one side and black on the other. Before the game starts you put down two white an two black counters on the four squares in the middle of the board. One player is white and the other black.

Playing the game

When it is a players turn he must put down a counter on an empty square on the game board. White player places the counters with the white side up and black player with the black side up. The counter is placed next to one of your opponents counters and it must be placed so that one or more of your opponents counters is being "trapped" between this and another one of your pieces already on the board. All of your opponents counters between these two are turned so that your color is facing up.

Now it is your opponents turn. It is now his turn to put down a counter on a free square next to one of your counters. He must also place his counter so that he captures one or more of yours. These counters are now turned so that they are faced with your opponents color.

If a player, when it is his turn, is unable to place a counter on the board he must pass. His opponent will continue play until the first player gets a chance to put down one of his counters again.

Gameplay continues until:

1. The board i full
2. All counters on the game board have the same color
3. Neither one of the players can capture one or more counters

Winning the game

When one of the situations A, B or C occur, all counters on the game board are counted. The player who has the most counters is the winner.

Summary

Othello is a rather fun game if you are into this type of abstract, tactical games. It has been in the shops in many years and I guess that you'll find it in many Norwegian homes. It also exists computer versions of this game on all major platforms.

Reader comments

Vidar Aas:

Othello er ganske riktig et spill som finnes i svært mange hjem, men de færreste vet hvordan man spiller bra! Har man bare som strategi å ta flest mulig brikker hver gang går det som regel dårlig. Tvert i mot bør man som regel ta få brikker, for å bevare flest mulig valgmuligheter for seg selv. Det er heller ikke nok å bare sørge for å holde motstanderen unna hjørnene, da det finnes en mengde feller der det lønner seg å ofre hjørnet.

Det er i det hele tatt et vell av muligheter i spillet, så hvis du liker denne typen strategiske spill anbefaler jeg en titt på www.othello.dk, som er hjemmesiden til det danske Othelloforbundet. Via turneringsoversikten der kan du også finne fram til norske turneringer!

PinCushion:

Hey, how ya doing? I've own'd 4 othello game's throughout my youth and I've just bid on a 5th board game off of ebay yesterday. On this web site, it reads that 64 counters (colored black on one side, white on the other) comes w/ the game, but the guy auctioning the game on ebay says that there is 66 counters w/ his. His game reads, "Like New In Box, and in excellent condition." I was young when I own'd the last othello game so does 2 extra pieces usuelly come w/ the game? Thanks, PinCushion

Vidar Aas:

Norges Othelloforbund har nå egen hjemmeside: home.no.net/nof!

Remo:

Othello var for meg det spillet som løftet meg over til spillenes verden for alvor, sammen med oppdagelsen av Risk og Avalon Hill forlager litt senere i min ungdom. Jeg er fremdeles svak for denne typen spill, selv om det stadig blir lenger mellom hver gang jeg drar frem sjakkbrettet. Othello har fått stor konkurranse fra flere gode hjernebrynere i de senere årene, og da blir jo ofte de senest ankomne de mest spennende. Sjekk www.brettspillguiden.no

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