A game of Reversi (Othello) for Windows

The game Reversi, otherwise known as the game Othello, is a great game in which two players of opposite color pieces take turns taking pieces of the opposite color, trying to get the most. Like chess, it is analytical and takes a little time to get good at ("a minute to learn...a lifetime to master!"). In reversi, two players take turns placing disks of opposite colors (each disk has a black and a white side) on an 8 by 8 board. One places a disk adjacent to the opponent's disk so that the opponent's disk or row of disks is directly in between that first player's disk and another of the person's disks. The player then flips, or "flanks," the opponent's disks to match his or her color and the two players take turns doing this until the board is full. If a player cannot move, he or she must pass, and the player with the most disks at the end wins the game wins. I wrote a nice freeware version of the game in Visual C++ and it plays a nice game, you can download it by clicking on teh link below. My oldest son Robert Pragt designed the layout of the game.

Click onm the disk to download a windows version of the game reversi also known as Othello. (Version 1.04)

The game Reversi was invented in 1883 by the Englishman Lewis Waterman, and gained considerable popularity in England at the end of the 19th century. The game is mentioned in an 1895 article in the New York Times: "Reversi is something like Go Bang, and is played with 64 pieces." In 1898, the well-known German games publisher Ravensburger started producing the game as one of its first titles. The modern rule set, now universally accepted, originated in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan in the 1970s.

The game was renamed Othello, and was registered as a trademark by the Japanese game company Tsukuda Original. The name is a reference to the Shakespearean play Othello, the Moor of Venice, referencing the conflict between the Moor Othello and Iago, who describes himself as "two faced" (or more controversially, to the marriage between Othello, who is black, and Desdemona, who is white, recalling the coloring of the game pieces). It can also be likened to a jealousy competition (jealousy being the central theme in Shakespeare's play) since players engulf the pieces of the opponent, thereby turning them their possession.

A 2002 press release about the origins of the modern game makes no mention of the original version. Othello was invented by Japanese game enthusiast, Goro Hasegawa in 1971, he chose James R. Becker, to help him develop and market the game. Inspired by the ancient Chinese strategy game 'Go', Hasegawa sought to create a game that was rich in strategy, but still approachable by the casual player. Becker simplified the game play, coined the tagline, 'A Minute to Learn...A Lifetime to Master' and named this new game after Shakespeare's classic play, because of the black and white disks. Othello was first introduced in Japan in 1973, by Tsukuda Original Co., who at Becker's suggestion organized the Japanese Othello Association.