About Reversi
Reversi is played on an 8 × 8 board with discs that are black on one side and white on the other. Each move must trap a line of your opponent’s discs between the new disc and one of your own, and every trapped disc turns over to your colour. The lead can change hands many times, because the board fills up and a single late move can flip a whole edge. Play the robot at three levels, or a friend on the same device.
How to play Reversi
- Place a disc so that one or more straight lines of your opponent’s discs lie between it and another of your discs. Every trapped disc flips to your colour.
- Lines can run across, up and down or diagonally, and one move can flip several lines at once. The dots show where you can play.
- If you have no legal move you pass; when neither player can move, the game ends and the most discs wins.
- Black moves first. Tap a square, or use the arrow keys and Enter. Results are saved on this device.
Tips & strategy
- Corners can never be flipped back, so they are the most valuable squares on the board.
- Avoid the squares right next to an empty corner, especially the diagonal one: they hand the corner to your opponent.
- Early on, flipping fewer discs is often better: it leaves your opponent with fewer good moves.
- Count your moves as well as your discs. Running out of good moves is how most games are lost.
Reversi: questions and answers
What happens when I can’t move?
You pass and your opponent plays again. If neither player can move, the game ends and the discs are counted.
Who moves first?
Black. Choose Black to open or White to let the robot start. The four discs in the centre are always set up the same way, two of each colour on the diagonals.
Can I turn the hints off?
Yes. The Hints button shows or hides the dots that mark your legal moves.
How does Hard play the endgame?
In the last moves of the game the Hard robot works out the exact final count, so it plays the endgame perfectly.