Also called Othello. You play the dark discs and move first; the House plays light. Place a disc so it traps a line of the House's discs between it and another of yours, and every trapped disc flips to your colour. Highlighted squares show your legal moves. If you cannot move, your turn passes. When the board is full — or neither side can move — the most discs wins. Wins are saved on this device.
- You 2
- House 2
- Wins 0
Quick start
You are Dark
Dark always opens, so the first move is yours.
Play where you can flank
Legal squares are marked. A move is legal only if it traps a line of the House's discs.
Watch them flip
Every disc between your new one and another of yours turns to your colour.
Hold the corners
When neither side can move, the larger army wins.
Read the board
However you like to play
Mouse or trackpad
Click any highlighted square. Squares that would flip nothing are not playable and do not respond.
Touch
Tap a highlighted square. If you have no legal move at all, the turn passes automatically and the status line tells you.
Keyboard
Every square is a button. Tab to a highlighted square and press Enter or Space. Each square announces whether it holds your disc, the House's disc, or is playable.
What actually helps
- Corners are the whole game. A corner disc can never be flipped. The House scores a corner at 120 and the square diagonally inside it at minus 40, which tells you exactly how it thinks.
- Having more discs early is a trap. Until the last handful of squares, the House rewards mobility over material. A big lead in the middlegame usually means you have run out of safe moves.
- Give it fewer choices. It adds a bonus for every legal move it has. Play so that its options shrink and it will be forced into the squares beside the corners.
- It counts discs at the end. Once eight or fewer empty squares remain, it switches to maximising the final count. Plan your last flips before that point, not after.
Which colour do I play?
You play Dark, and Dark always moves first.
How does the House decide?
It searches three plies ahead, weighting each square by position, adding a bonus for how many legal moves it has, and switching to a straight disc count once eight or fewer empty squares remain.
What happens if I have no legal move?
Your turn passes automatically to the House and the status line says so. If neither side can move, the game ends.
Why do corners matter so much?
A disc in a corner can never be flanked, so it can never be flipped. The House scores a corner at 120 and the diagonal square beside it at minus 40.
Is holding the most discs mid-game a good sign?
Not usually. Mobility matters more than count until the endgame, and a large early lead often means your remaining moves are bad ones.
When does the game end?
When neither player has a legal move. That is usually when the board is full, but not always.
Can I undo a move?
No. Press New game to start a fresh board.
Where is my win count stored?
In your browser's local storage on this device only, and you can clear it from the Cookie Policy page.
