How to play Reversi: a beginner's guide

What you need and how to set up

Reversi is played on an 8×8 board, the same size as a chessboard, with 64 discs that are black on one side and white on the other. One player is Black and the other is White.

Four discs start in the centre: white on d4 and e5, black on d5 and e4. The diagonal layout gives both players equal influence. Black always moves first.

Legal moves and flipping

A move is legal only if it flips at least one of your opponent's discs. To make one:

1. Place a disc on any empty square.
2. In one or more straight lines, your new disc must flank a continuous row of opponent discs.
3. That row must end with one of your own discs.

Lines run in eight directions: left, right, up, down and the four diagonals. When you place a disc, the game checks every direction, and every opponent disc in every flanked line flips to your colour at once. A disc that flips nothing is an illegal move. This flipping is what makes the board change so fast.

Flips in a row, a column and a diagonal

A row first. White has discs on c4 and d4 and Black has one on e4. White plays f4, which traps e4 between f4 and d4, so e4 turns white.

Now a column. Black has a disc on d3 and White has two on d4 and d5. Black plays d6, and both white discs are caught between d6 and d3, so both flip.

Diagonals are the ones beginners miss. Black has discs on c3 and d4 and White has one on e5. White plays b2, and the line from b2 to e5 traps c3 and d4, so both turn white.

Passing and the end of the game

If you have no legal move, you must pass. You can't skip a turn by choice, and a pass only happens when no legal move exists. Passes become more common in the middle and late game, when moves are scarce.

The game ends when neither player can move, which includes a completely full board. Each player counts the discs showing their colour and the higher total wins. Equal totals are a draw. There is no point system, only the final disc count. The Reversi rules page has more board examples of passing and the final count.

How a game unfolds

A game moves through three stages: the opening, the midgame and the endgame.

In the opening, roughly moves 1 to 20, beginners try to flip as many discs as they can. That is usually a mistake. More discs means fewer moves for you, and the player with more moves has more control. Pick moves that keep you flexible, stay off the edges early, and go for moves that flip fewer discs rather than more.

Most of the action comes in the midgame, roughly moves 20 to 50. Expect large flips and fights over mobility as both players prepare for the corners and try to cut down each other's options. Whoever comes out of the midgame in control of the board usually has the edge going into the endgame.

In the last 10 or so moves, every move matters. Few empty squares remain, choices become forced and disc count finally counts. Exact calculation decides the winner, and the player with better mobility and planning usually takes the endgame.

Tactics for your first games

Corners (a1, h1, a8 and h8) are permanent. A corner disc can't be flipped and often secures a whole edge, so corners are worth far more than a big flip. Edges are a different story. Beginners assume edges lead to corners, but grabbing edges early usually backfires.

The X-squares b2, g2, b7 and g7 sit diagonally next to the corners. Playing there early often lets your opponent take the corner on the very next turn. Unless you are forced, stay out of them.

Mobility, the number of legal moves you have, matters more than anything else. A player with plenty of moves controls the flow of the game, pushes the opponent into bad moves and gets chances at corners. A player with few moves ends up reacting, loses access to strong squares and is often forced into X-squares or onto edges.

That is why good players look for quiet moves. A quiet move flips few discs, gives the opponent no strong reply and keeps your options open. Small moves often beat flashy ones. Think about potential mobility too, meaning how many new moves your move hands your opponent and how many it takes away. A good move gives you more options and leaves them fewer.

Midgame and endgame habits

Delay taking edges. Early edges cost mobility and lead to predictable replies, and your opponent can often take the edge back later. An edge is worth having when it is stable or serves a plan.

Don't try to win the midgame count. Having more discs in the middle of the game often means you are losing. Fewer discs early keeps your mobility up, exposes your opponent's weaknesses and sets you up to win a large number of discs at the end.

The board often breaks into separate empty regions. You want a say in when each region fills and who moves last in it, which is called parity. A useful rule is to fill corner regions last. If a region has an odd number of empty squares, you want to play last there. If it has an even number, you want your opponent to play last. Beginners don't need the full theory, only the awareness.

Avoid leaving yourself with forced moves. A position where you have one legal move can give away a strong square, walk you into a trap and shrink your endgame options, so only create one when it helps you. And take stable discs when they are on offer. They can't be flipped back, they make the discs around them stable, and they decide the final score. Corners and edges create them naturally.

How to improve quickly

Games are short, so you get better fast through repetition. Play often, look back at the moves where you lost mobility, practise staying out of X-squares, watch how corner control affects the board, and try quiet moves instead of big flips. The table sums up the core ideas.

With these in hand, move on to beginner strategy and then advanced strategy.

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Reversi rules Guide

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