How to play Othello in 60 seconds
- Black moves first. Players take turns placing one disc of their colour on an empty square.
- Every move must flip. A move is legal only if it traps one or more opponent discs in a straight line (across, down or diagonal) between the new disc and another of your own.
- Trapped discs flip to your colour, in every direction the move traps them at once.
- No move? Pass. If you cannot flip anything you pass; when neither player can move the game ends and the most discs wins.
That’s the whole rulebook. Glowing dots on the board show every legal square, and on desktop you can hover a square to preview which discs it flips. For setup diagrams and the edge cases people argue about, read the full Othello rules.
Five levels of computer opponent
The computer uses an alpha-beta search with a hand-tuned evaluation of corners, mobility and frontier discs, and switches to an exact solver near the end of the game. It runs in a background thread on your device, so the board never freezes while it thinks.
| Level | How it plays | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | Plays fast and greedy. Perfect for learning the rules. | Learning the rules, young players |
| Casual | Looks two moves ahead and still slips up. | First real wins |
| Club | Solid four-move search with real strategy. | Players who know corners matter |
| Strong | Deep search; plays the last 14 squares perfectly. | Club-level practice |
| Master | Thinks up to 2.5 s; perfect from 16 squares left. | Strong players and endgame study |
Review every game, move by move
After each game, press Review game. Every move is re-searched and compared with the best move in that position. You get an advantage graph for the whole game, your average loss per move, and your biggest mistakes ranked by how many discs they cost. Near the end of the game the analysis is exact, not an estimate. Tap any mistake to see the position, the move you played and the better move.
Instant start
The board is ready the moment the page loads. Your game and settings are saved on your device automatically.
Made for touch
Large tap targets, haptic feedback and a board that fills a phone screen. No accidental zoom.
Undo & hints
Take back any move, or ask for the best move when you’re stuck. Use U, H and N on a keyboard.
Quick tips to beat the computer
- Take corners, give none away. A disc on a1, h1, a8 or h8 can never be flipped.
- Avoid the X-squares (b2, g2, b7, g7) while the next corner is empty. They usually hand your opponent that corner.
- Fewer discs early is often better. Grabbing many discs in the opening leaves you with few moves later. Aim for moves that give your opponent few options.
- Play quiet moves that flip interior discs and don’t open new squares for your opponent.
The Othello strategy guide explains each idea with diagrams, from mobility and parity to the main openings.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Othello game free to play?
Yes. OthelloGame.app is completely free, with no account, download or app install. It runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet or computer, and the computer opponent runs on your own device.
How strong is the computer opponent?
There are five levels. Novice and Casual make human-like mistakes and suit beginners. Club searches four moves ahead. Strong searches deeper and plays the last 14 squares perfectly. Master thinks for up to 2.5 seconds per move and plays perfectly once 16 squares are left, which beats most casual players.
Can I play Othello with a friend?
Yes. Choose “2 players” to play pass-and-play on one device. After the game you can copy a replay link and send it to anyone; it opens the full game with move-by-move analysis.
Who moves first in Othello?
Black always moves first. The game starts with four discs in the centre: white on d4 and e5, black on d5 and e4. Black’s four possible first moves (d3, c4, f5, e6) are all equally good by symmetry.
What happens if I have no legal move?
You must pass and your opponent moves again. Passing is only allowed when you have no legal move. If neither player can move, the game ends immediately, even if the board is not full.
How is the winner decided?
The player with more discs of their colour when the game ends wins. Under World Othello Federation rules, any empty squares are added to the winner’s total, so a 40–20 finish with 4 empty squares is scored 44–20.
Is Othello the same as Reversi?
Almost. Othello is the modern, standardised version of the 19th-century game Reversi, with a fixed starting position and an unlimited supply of discs. Most online “Reversi” games, including this one, use the Othello rules.
Will my game be saved if I close the page?
Yes. Your current game, settings and win record are saved in your browser’s local storage, so you can close the tab and continue later on the same device. Nothing is sent to a server.