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| Figure 1: The begin position of Othello |
Othello is a game that is played on a 8 by 8 board using stones that are black on one side, and white on the other. One player uses the black side of the stones, the other the white sides. The starting position is as follows: four stones are placed in the middle, two white and two black, each color getting a diagonal. Thus the starting position is as in figure 1. The player using the black stones always makes the first move. The players take turns placing a stone.
Following standard Othello notation, we will number the rows by 1...8 and the columns by a...h. For example, the begin positions for black are d5 and e4, and for white d4 and e5. In addition, we will also use ``compass'' directions, i.e. west when we mean the left side of the board, north for the upper side etcetera.
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| Figure 1: The begin position of Othello |
There are a few places on the Othello board that are important enough to deserve a special name. The squares a1,a8,h1 and h8 are called the corners. There are 3 squares adjacent to a1, two of which are on the edge of the board (a2 and b1). These two stones are called C squares. The third square, situated on the diagonal, i.e. square b2, is called an X square. The same notation also applies for the other corners, so there are 4 X squares and 8 C squares (A mnemonic: the two diagonals form an X). Figure 2 shows these special stones. The four squares already occupied in the starting position are called the center squares, for obvious reasons.
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| Figure 2: Special places on the board |
At his turn, a player must place one of his stones on the board. He may place a stone on one of the empty squares of the board, adjacent to a disk of the opponent. In addition, the stone also must flank one or more of his opponent's disks between his new stone and one or more of his other stones which already are on the board. He then changes the stones of the opponent which were flanked to his color, by flipping the stones.
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| Figure 3: Black's possible first moves |
As mentioned, the black player is the first to move. His valid moves are c4,d3,e6,f5. These squares are shown in figure 3, where X marks the spot. Suppose that he chooses c4, then the white disk d4 is flipped to black, and then it is white's turn to move. White now has 3 different spots to place his disk, c3, e3 and c5. If he chooses c3, the situation then becomes as figure 4.
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| Figuur 4: The position after playing c4,c3 |
Note that disks which are flipped may not be used to flip even more disks in the same turn. For example: if we have the board from figure 5, and suppose that white has to make a move. The choices for white are d3 and e3. Both moves will flip 3 of the black stones, and the fourth one will be completely surrounded by white stones, but it will not be flipped.
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| Figure 5: Stones flip only once per turn |
If a player can not make a move that flips at least one of his opponents disks, then he has to pass. If he is able to make a valid move however, then passing is not allowed. It is possible that a player has to pass several times before he can make a move again.
The game ends when neither player can make a valid move. This usually happens when all 64 squares are filled, but sometimes it ends earlier. The stones then are counted. The winner is the player who has more discs then his opponent. If both players have 32 stones, then it is a draw.
Looking at figure 5, you can see that the white player can easily win. After either of his moves, the black player has only remaining stone. It does not matter which move black makes, the white player can always flank all the stones in the next turn. This is an example where the game ends before the board is completely filled.
Besides these written rules, there are a few unwritten rules and tips for winning Othello. The strategy page will delve into these ideas.