Othello and Reversi Corner Strategy Explained
You flip a pile of discs and feel great about your big lead. Ten moves later, you lose. Sound familiar? Othello punishes greed. The player with the most discs in the middle rarely wins the end. Corners win games. This guide explains why corners matter, how to avoid the squares that hand them over, and how to think about mobility instead of disc count. You can practice every concept on Othello or Reversi right now.
How to Play Othello
Othello uses an 8x8 board with 64 discs. Each disc has a dark side and a light side. The game starts with four discs in the center, two of each color in a diagonal pattern. Players take turns placing discs of their color on the board. You must place your disc so it sandwiches one or more opponent discs between your new disc and another disc of your color already on the board. All sandwiched discs flip to your color.
If you have no legal move, you pass. The game ends when neither player can move. The player with the most discs of their color wins.
The game originated as Reversi in England in 1883. The credit is disputed between Lewis Waterman and John W. Mollett. Goro Hasegawa trademarked the name "Othello" in Japan in 1971, a reference to Shakespeare's play. You can explore more classic titles in our board games category, including Chess and Checkers.
Othello Strategy Tips
1. Treat Corners as the Ultimate Goal
Corners are permanent. No opponent can flip a corner disc because a corner has only two adjacent squares and cannot be sandwiched from both sides. Whoever controls the most corners usually wins. Build your entire strategy around capturing corners and denying them to your opponent.
2. Avoid X-Squares and C-Squares
The squares diagonally adjacent to corners are called X-squares. The squares directly adjacent to corners along the edges are called C-squares. Playing on these squares gives your opponent a strong chance to capture the corner. Avoid X-squares and C-squares unless you have a guaranteed follow-up move that takes the corner yourself. Beginners lose games by playing these squares carelessly.
3. Limit Your Opponent's Mobility
The player with fewer legal moves is forced into bad positions. When you reduce your opponent's options, they must eventually play an X-square or C-square. Then you take the corner. Think about mobility on every move. Ask yourself: does this move shrink my opponent's options?
4. Do Not Maximize Disc Count Early
This is the most counterintuitive tip in Othello. Having more discs in the opening and midgame is often a disadvantage. More of your discs on the board means more targets for your opponent to flip. Having fewer discs gives you more flip opportunities on future turns. Play for position, not for count, until the endgame.
5. Force Opponent Bad Moves
Set up positions where every available move for your opponent helps you. If all their legal moves are on C-squares or X-squares, they hand you a corner. This technique is called "passing" your opponent a bad move. It is the highest-level skill in Othello strategy.
Gameplay Examples
You are dark. Your opponent plays a disc next to a corner X-square. You flip several discs but resist the urge to grab more territory. Instead, you play a quiet move on the edge that limits your opponent to two legal moves, both of which are C-squares. They pick one. You take the corner. Now you have a permanent anchor that controls the entire edge.
Later in the game, you hold three corners. Your opponent has a large disc count but no access to the remaining corner. You methodically flip discs along the edges anchored by your corners. The final count swings in your favor by ten discs.
Othello and Reversi Variations
Reversi and Othello share the same board and flipping mechanic but differ slightly in setup rules. Original Reversi starts with an empty board, and players place four discs in the center in their first two moves. Othello starts with the four center discs pre-placed. Some online versions add larger boards (10x10 or 12x12) for more complex games. Tournament Othello uses the standard 8x8 board with strict time controls.
Why People Love Othello
Othello delivers dramatic swings. A player with five discs can win the game with a single well-placed move that flips twenty discs. That reversal of fortune is thrilling. The game also rewards deep strategic thinking over quick tactics. Players who enjoy long-term planning love Othello.
In 2023, researcher Hiroki Takizawa at Preferred Networks weakly solved Othello. Perfect play by both sides results in a draw. The computation searched approximately 1.5 x 10^18 positions using a modified alpha-beta algorithm on a supercomputer. This result confirmed what top players suspected: Othello is remarkably balanced between two perfect opponents.
Play Othello for Free
You can play Othello in your browser right now. No downloads, no accounts, no cost. Visit Othello or Reversi and start flipping discs immediately. Practice corner control, mobility reduction, and endgame disc counting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are corners so important in Othello?
Corners cannot be flipped. Once you place a disc on a corner, it stays your color for the rest of the game. Corners also anchor edges, making those discs harder to flip. Corner control is the single biggest factor in winning.
What are X-squares and C-squares?
X-squares are the squares diagonally adjacent to corners. C-squares are the squares directly next to corners along the edges. Playing on these squares invites your opponent to take the corner. Avoid them unless you can capture the corner immediately after.
Is Othello a solved game?
Yes. In 2023, Hiroki Takizawa weakly solved Othello using a supercomputer. Perfect play by both sides results in a draw. The research is published as an arXiv paper (arXiv:2310.19387).
Should I try to flip as many discs as possible?
No. Flipping many discs early gives your opponent more targets. Play for position and mobility instead of disc count. In the endgame, maximizing flips becomes the right approach.
What is the difference between Reversi and Othello?
The games are nearly identical. Reversi starts with an empty board and players place the four center discs themselves. Othello starts with the four center discs pre-placed. The flipping and winning rules are the same.
Conclusion
Othello rewards patience and positional thinking. Treat corners as your primary goal. Avoid X-squares and C-squares unless you can immediately take the corner. Limit your opponent's mobility to force bad moves. Resist the urge to maximize disc count early. These principles will flip your losing streak into a winning habit. Start practicing on Othello today.
References
- Takizawa, H. (2023). "Othello is Solved." arXiv:2310.19387. https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.19387
- World Othello Federation. "Rules of Othello." https://www.worldothello.org/about-us/rules-of-othello
