Reversi before Othello: the three rules that changed
Published · By TG, the site operator
This site is called Reversi, but the rules it enforces are those of Othello, as published by the World Othello Federation (WOF). The names are often used for one game, but historically they differed, and the differences explain the modern rules.
A Victorian quarrel
The British Othello Federation's history page says two Englishmen, Lewis Waterman and John W. Mollett, each claimed to have invented the game in 1883 and called the other a fraud. The WOF's own timeline adds that Mollett had introduced a forerunner, “The Game of Annexation”, by 1870. Reversi spread beyond England: the WOF notes a Ravensburger edition in 1893, and in the 1940s versions sold in Scandinavia as “Turné” or “Vända”. The same page says neither sold well for long, and no clubs or tournaments formed before the 1970s.
That changed with Goro Hasegawa, who patented Othello in Japan in 1971, according to the British federation, and started making and selling it that year, according to the WOF. A World Championship has been held every year since 1977, except 2020 and 2021.
Three rules that changed
In a 2014 article that the WOF republished in 2020, Ben Seeley lists what separated original Reversi from Othello. The British page agrees on the first and adds the third.
- The start was not fixed. Players took turns placing the first four discs in the centre, so either could force a “parallel” start, with each colour side by side. Seeley calls that start less interesting and says it may be a win for White with perfect play. Othello fixes the crossed start. Here that means White on d5 and e4, Black on d4 and e5, and Black's four first moves (c5, d6, e3 and f4) are mirror images of one another.
- No passing. In Reversi the game ended as soon as either player had no move. In Othello the stuck player passes and the opponent keeps moving until a move appears; the game ends only when neither side can play. Seeley says the old rule upsets normal Othello strategy.
- Separate supplies. Each Reversi player had 32 discs of their own, the British page says, instead of drawing from a shared pool.
What the pass rule is worth
Our puzzle of 21 October shows the difference. Black, behind 19 to 35, wins with g7, which leaves White no legal move, so Black plays a1 and a7 in a row. We replayed g7 with this site's own rules file: the count is 21 to 34, White has no move, and the site hands the turn back to Black. Under the 1880s rule the game would have stopped there, Black 13 discs behind.
So the habit of counting your opponent's replies and leaving none pays only because of the pass rule; in old Reversi it would simply close the game on the current count.
On this site
The guide spells out the modern rules (and every new game here starts from the same four centre discs): a side with no highlighted square is skipped automatically, and the game ends only when neither side can move. There is no setting for the old Reversi rules, and no position editor. To feel the difference, play the computer and watch the status line: each time it says a side has no legal move, that is a moment where a Victorian game would have ended. If you want to play people across a table, Othello federations such as the British Othello Federation run clubs and tournaments. Or start a game here.
Sources
- History — British Othello Federation
- Othello history: The early years — World Othello Federation
- "Reversi" versus Othello — World Othello Federation (article by Ben Seeley), 2 August 2020
- Official rules for the game Othello — World Othello Federation
Written by the operator of this site from the sources listed above. Spotted a mistake? Email warmeve.label@gmail.com and it will be corrected.