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Othello, also known as Reversi, is played with two players, each representing a color on the board. The rules are simple, but strategy is what will help you win.

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  Step 1: Set up the board

  Place two black and two white discs in the board’s four center squares, with corresponding colors diagonal to each other.

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  Step 2: Choose a color

  Choose a color for each player. Black goes first.

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  Step 3: Begin play

  Place a black disc in a square adjacent to a white disc so that a black disc is on either side of a white disc. When a white disc is surrounded, the black player flips the white disc to the black side.

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  Step 4: Next player

  Move on to the next player. The white player places a disc in a square adjacent to a black disc so that there are white discs on either side of black ones. Flip the black discs to the white side.

• Tip

  A player can flip any number of opposing discs so long as they have one of their discs on either side of consecutive opposing discs.

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  Step 5: Take turns

  Take turns playing the game until all of the discs are on the board. If you cannot place a disc on the board so that your color is on either side of another player, you lose your turn.

• Tip

  The corners are the most powerful spaces on the board. Try to get one of your own colored discs in each of the corners.

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  Step 6: Continue play

  Continue playing until every space on the board is occupied or no one can make another move. The player who has the most discs on the board wins.

• Fact

  Othello was created in 1971 by a Japanese salesman named Goro Hasegawa.