Reversi
Flank it. Flip it. Own the board.
Two colors, sixty-four squares, and a board that can change hands in a single move. Reversi takes a minute to learn and keeps surprising you to the last disc. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
ReversiGot a room code?
- Players
- 2
- You need
- A board and 64 discs
- Style
- Pure strategy
- Goal
- Most discs
What is Reversi?
Trap them. Then flip them.
Players take turns placing a disc of their color. Each move must trap a straight line of the other player’s discs between the new disc and one already yours, and every trapped disc flips to your color.
Lines run across, down and diagonally, and one move can flip several at once. When neither player can move, the board is counted, and the most discs win.
The practice table
Try itLearn it one disc at a time.
Play a full game against one bot with our Classic rules. Tap a dotted square to play there. The coach looks a few moves ahead, reads the last ten squares out exactly, and tells you what it would play, and why.
- The coach spots corners, the squares to avoid, and quiet moves, and tells you how your last move compared.
- Three bots: Easy, Normal, and Sharp.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
A little history
A Victorian craze that never left.
Reversi was a hit in England in the 1880s, when two men each claimed to have invented it. Early players could set up the first discs wherever they liked.
The modern start, four discs set diagonally in the center, became standard in the 1970s with a famous boxed version under another name. Computers have played it better than any person since the 1990s.
Fun facts
- Corner discs can never be flipped, which is why corners are worth fighting for.
- The game starts with four discs, so filling the board takes 60 moves.
- If you have no move you pass. The game ends when neither player can move.
- One move can flip lines in several directions at once.
Why people love it
A minute to learn. A lifetime to master.
One rule.
Trap a line, flip it. That’s the whole game, and it is enough.
Big swings.
The board can turn from your color to theirs in a few moves, and back again.
Real strategy.
Corners, edges and mobility reward planning more than grabbing discs.
Every game ends.
Sixty moves at most, so a game never drags on.
How to play
Place. Trap. Flip.
Setup
- Players: two. Our practice table is you against one bot.
- Board: an 8 by 8 board, and discs of two colors.
- Start: four discs in the center, two each, set diagonally. The first player has e4 and d5.
- First move: decide who goes first, then take turns.
Winning
When neither player can move, usually with the board full, count the discs. The most discs win, and an equal count is a tie.
- 1
Place a disc
Put one disc of your color on an empty square.
- 2
Trap a line
Your new disc must trap a straight line of the other color between it and one of yours.
- 3
Flip everything trapped
Every trapped disc flips, in every direction, across, down and diagonally.
- 4
No move? Pass
If you have no move that flips something, you pass. You can’t pass when you have a move.
- 5
Count up
When neither player can move, the most discs wins.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
6 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Trap a line
You are gold and move first. The dots show where you can play. What makes a square playable?
Scoring
No points. Just discs.
Reversi is decided by one number: how many discs of your color are on the board at the end.
| How the game ends | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Neither player can move, and you have more discs | You win | |
| Neither player can move, and the counts are equal | Tie | |
| One player has no move, the other does | Pass, and play on |
Our Classic rules: 8 by 8 from the four-disc center, passes only when you have no move, and the game ends after two passes in a row or a full board.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Take the corners.
A corner can never be flipped back, and it anchors the edges beside it.
Tip 2
Avoid the squares next to an empty corner.
The one diagonally next to the corner is the worst of all: it usually hands the corner over.
Tip 3
Flip fewer discs early.
Grabbing lots of discs gives the other player more moves. Quiet moves keep them short of options.
Tip 4
Count at the end.
With a few squares left, read it out to the last move. Every disc decides it.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Reversi puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Reversi table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Reversi? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Disc
- A piece, gold on one side for you and blue for the bot at our table.
- Flank
- Trap a line of the other color between your new disc and one already yours.
- Flip
- Turn a trapped disc over to your color.
- Pass
- Skip your turn because you have no move. Only allowed then.
- Corner
- One of the four corner squares. A disc there can never be flipped.
- X-square
- The square diagonally next to a corner. Dangerous while that corner is empty.
- Mobility
- How many moves a player has. Leaving the other side few is a big edge.
- Quiet move
- A move that flips few discs and opens few new moves for the other side.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: board size, opening setup, pace. We'll show you what Reversi can do when it's ready.
In the Board Games pack
Reversi is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which board games join the Board Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Reversi is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Reversi into the Board Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.