How to play Reversi
The goal
Finish with more discs of your color. In Fewest wins, finish with fewer instead. The score during play counts your discs; it does not predict the winner.
The rules
- Dark starts. Four discs begin in the middle. Choose a computer opponent or pass and play.
- Enclose a line. Place on an empty square so that a straight line of opposing discs lies between your new disc and one of your existing discs. Lines can run horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. All enclosed lines turn to your color.
- Capture every time. A legal move must flip at least one disc. You cannot jump empty squares or friendly pieces, move placed discs, or start secondary chain captures.
- Pass when needed. If you have no legal move, your turn passes automatically. You cannot pass when you have a move.
- Count at the end. The round ends when neither player can move, even if empty squares remain. Equal counts are a draw.
Boards and variants
Classic has 6×6, 8×8, and 10×10 boards. Fewest wins uses an 8×8 board and the same placement rules; having zero discs at the end wins against a nonzero count. Garden board adds four stones to an 8×8 board. Stones cannot hold discs and interrupt capture lines.
Use New round to change the board, rules, opponent, difficulty, or your side. Starting a new round replaces the current one. A rematch can swap your side.
Magnifier and controls
Tap or click a marked square to place. With Magnifier enabled in Settings, hold the board briefly for a lens above your finger. Slide to aim at a square, then release to place there. This works from the first move and on every board size. Releasing outside the board or on a square with no capture places nothing. Escape or an interrupted touch cancels the gesture. A quick tap still places normally; there is no separate magnifier board or dialog.
Large-button placement in Settings adds Place with buttons to the toolbar. This optional aiming aid lets you browse legal squares with Previous and Next, then press Place to confirm. It does not recommend a strategy or mark the round as practice. Hint suggests a move for you and marks the round as practice. Large-button placement is off by default; enable it if tapping small squares or holding the magnifier is difficult. Optional Confirm each move also previews your selection on the board before you press Place.
Tab to the board and use the arrow keys to move. Enter or Space selects the focused square. The same keyboard controls work with Magnifier enabled; holding is never required.
Tips
- In Classic, a captured corner cannot be flipped. Look for opportunities to take one.
- Flipping the most discs immediately is not always strongest. Leave yourself useful moves.
- Hint offers a move with a short explanation. It is a suggestion, not a guaranteed win.
- Undo takes back your last decision and the computer’s reply. In pass-and-play it takes back one placement. Hints and take-backs mark a computer round as practice.
Questions
Do I need an account? No. Your round saves on this device automatically. An optional account adds cloud saves across devices.
Can I change the look? Settings lets you mix seven boards with polished marble, turned wood, glazed ceramic, or sea-glass pieces. Small previews show the materials before you choose. Sun and moon inlays are optional; keep them on for an extra way to recognize the sides. Light, Dark, and Match site control the table palette. Your choices stay on this device and do not affect the rules.
Which games count in my win rate? Completed computer games without hints or take-backs. Pass-and-play and practice rounds are counted separately. Statistics also shows results by difficulty for the current board size and rules. Sound, volume, and supported phone haptics are optional in Settings.
