# Quick!  Anyone remember how to play the board game Othello?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 10, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418 "2004-10-10T00:00:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418/1 "2004-10-10T00:00:54Z")

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I scored a complete set of Othello for free.

All that is missing is the directions.

I am vague on how to play.  
Help!

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**Author:** ![Mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Mac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418/2 "2004-10-10T00:04:27Z")

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Yahoo game has a version of it called reversi [http://games.yahoo.com/games/rules/reversi/reversihistory.html?page=rv](http://games.yahoo.com/games/rules/reversi/reversihistory.html?page=rv)

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**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418/3 "2004-10-10T00:06:56Z")

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Never mind. I found this cool place where the rules of old boardgames are listed:

[Game Cabinet](http://www.centralconnector.com/GAMES/GameCab.html)

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**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418/4 "2004-10-10T03:12:17Z")

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Othello is a ridiculously simple game. There’s only one point that may not be clear. When you place a piece on the board, opposing pieces bracketed between two of your pieces get flipped only if one of the bracketing pieces is that one you just put down. If one of the formerly opposing pieces that got flipped and joined your side causes other opposing pieces to be bracketed between two of yours, they do not flip.

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-anyone-remember-how-to-play-the-board-game-othello/268418/5 "2004-10-10T05:55:41Z")

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Play until someone suspects another player of cheating. Suspicious player gets to strangle suspected cheater.