News
How to Join
Mailing lists
Tournaments
Results
Rules of Othello®
Where to Buy Othello®
Where to Play Online
Downloads
Newsletters
Official Ratings
Other Federations
Other links
Contact the BOF
Contact the Webmaster
|
|
| Although Othello can be played on any
size board the standard game uses a board with 64 squares (8x8). The opening position is
shown in the diagram opposite. The usual way of labelling the board is A-H along the top
and 1-8 down the side. Note that this is different from the method used in games like
chess. Using this method we can refer to any square by the use of a letter and a number.
For example, the top left square is A1 and the bottom right square is H8. |
 |
| Each othello disc is black on one side
and white on the other. Black plays first (again different from chess) and places a disc,
black side uppermost, on any square on the board such that he 'traps' at least one of his
opponents pieces between the disc he has just placed and any other of his colour already
on the board. Black's possible opening moves are shown as 'x' in the diagram above. If,
for example, black opens with F5, he has trapped the white disc at E5 between the piece he
has just played (F5) and another black piece already on the board (D5). The white disc at
E5 is flipped to show the black side uppermost. |
 |
The diagram opposite shows a game in
play. It is white to move and all possible moves are numbered. It is possible to flip
several discs on a single turn. For example, a white move at 6 flips the black discs at
C4, D4, E4, F4 and G4. You can flip discs horizontally, vertically or diagonally. For
example, a white move at 1 flips the black discs at C3 and D4. It is even possible to flip
discs in more than one direction on a single move. For example, a white move at 10 flips
the black discs at F4, F5, F6 (vertically) and E6 (diagonally). It is important to
remember that you may only flip discs that lie between the disc you have just placed and
another of your colour already on the board. |
| Taking the previous example of a white
move at 10, after white has flipped the 4 discs mentioned the black discs at C4, D4 and E4
now lie between the white disc at B4 and a disc you have just flipped at F4. However, you
may NOT flip the discs at C4, D4 and E4, even though they are now trapped between two
white discs, because neither of the two white discs were played on this turn. Any discs
flipped must lie in a continuous line between the disc you have just placed and another
disc of your colour already on the board. For example, a white move at 7 flips the black
discs at B5 and C5 since they lie between the disc you have just placed (A5) and a disc
already on the board (D5). However, you may NOT flip the disc at F5, even though it lies
between A5 and G5, because it does not lie in a continous line from the disc you have just
placed. |
WINNING THE GAME!
Play continues alternately. First
black, then white. If at any time a player does not have a legal move i.e. there is
nowhere he can play that flips one of his opponent's discs, he must pass and his opponent
plays again. It is possible to pass several times in succession. When neither player has a
legal move (usually when the board is full but not always) the game ends. The winner is
the player with the most pieces of his colour showing.
Othello® is a registered trademark of Anjar Co and Character Games Ltd
|
|
