Reversi rules: how to play
Reversi is a game for two players on a board of 8 by 8 squares. One player plays black, the other white. You place discs to trap your opponent's discs between your own. Every disc you trap flips to your colour. When neither player can move, usually on a full board, the player with more discs wins.
The game was popular in England at the end of the 19th century.
These are the rules of the modern game, with its fixed start in the centre. This is how it is played in clubs, in tournaments and online.
- Players
- 2
- Playing time
- 20-30 min
- Age
- 7+
- What you need
- A board of 8 x 8 squares and 64 discs, black on one side and white on the other
Updated: 2 November 2026
The board and discs
The board has 64 squares in 8 rows of 8. Any board of that size will do, including a chessboard.
There are 64 discs, one for each square. Each disc is black on one side and white on the other. Keep them in one shared pile. The colour facing up shows whose disc it is.
A placed disc stays on its square for the rest of the game. It can only be flipped.
Setting up
- Draw lots to decide who plays black, or swap colours from game to game.
- Put four discs on the four squares in the very centre of the board.
- Two of them go white side up. They take the top-left and bottom-right squares of the four.
- The other two go black side up, on the top-right and bottom-left squares. Each colour now has its own diagonal.
- Black makes the first move. After that, you take turns.
This layout looks the same from either side of the board, so both players see the same picture.
Your move
On your turn, place one disc on an empty square, your colour facing up. That disc must trap at least one of your opponent's discs.
A disc is trapped (outflanked) when it lies in a straight line between your new disc and another of yours. The line can run across, up and down, or diagonally. Only your opponent's discs may lie between your two discs: no empty squares and none of your own.
So your new disc always goes next to one of your opponent's discs. Playing on a square that traps nothing is not a legal move.
For example, a row holds black, white, white and then an empty square. Black can play on that empty square. That traps both white discs, and they flip to black.
Flipping discs
- Flip every disc you trap. You cannot leave any of them unflipped.
- One new disc can trap lines in several directions at once, up to eight. Flip the discs in all of those lines in the same move.
- Only lines that run from your new disc count. A disc flipped in this move does not trap anything itself.
- The same disc can change colour many times during a game.
When you cannot move
Sometimes no empty square would trap any of your opponent's discs. Then you pass, and your opponent moves again. Your opponent keeps moving until you have a legal move again.
You may not pass while you have a legal move, even if every move looks bad.
When neither player can move, the game is over.
End of the game and counting the discs
The game ends when neither player can move. Most often the board is simply full. It can also end earlier, with empty squares left that nobody can play on. If one colour disappears from the board, the game ends at once, because nobody has a legal move.
Count the discs of each colour. The player with more discs wins. Equal counts are a draw, for example 32 to 32 on a full board.
In tournaments, any empty squares left at the end are added to the winner's count. This changes the margin of victory, never the winner.
Variants
The old free start
The board starts empty. Each player places their first two discs on the four centre squares. Black goes first, then you take turns. These first four discs trap nothing. After that, the normal rules apply.
Discs of the same colour may end up side by side instead of on a diagonal.
Reversed reversi
The moves stay the same, but the aim is the opposite. The player with fewer discs at the end wins. Equal counts are still a draw.
Frequent questions
Who goes first in reversi, black or white?
Black always makes the first move. Draw lots to decide who plays black, or swap colours from one game to the next.
Do you have to flip a disc on every move?
Yes. A move that traps nothing is not allowed. If no empty square would trap any of your opponent's discs, you pass.
Can one move flip discs in several lines?
Yes. Check all eight directions from your new disc. Every line of your opponent's discs that ends at one of your own discs flips in full. One move in the middle of the board can flip discs in many lines at once.
Can you pass if you do not want to move?
No. You pass only when you have no legal move at all. If you have even one, you must play it, even if it helps your opponent.
Do the discs you flip trap other discs too?
No. Only lines that run from your new disc count. Discs flipped in this move do not start new lines. They can help trap discs only on later turns.
Can you choose which discs to flip?
No. You flip every trapped disc in every line. Leaving one unflipped is against the rules, even if it would suit you.
What if you run out of discs?
With one shared pile of 64 discs, this cannot happen: there is a disc for every square. Some sets give each player 32 discs instead. If a player then runs out but can still move, they take a disc from the opponent's pile.
What happens to empty squares at the end?
In a home game, just count the discs. In tournaments, the empty squares are added to the winner's count. With 33 black discs, 29 white discs and 2 empty squares, Black wins 35 to 29. A draw has no winner, so empty squares change nothing.
Can reversi end in a draw?
Yes. When both colours have the same number of discs, the game is a draw. On a full board, that means 32 each.
Can the game end before the board is full?
Yes. It ends as soon as neither player can move. That happens when no empty square left would trap a disc for either player. It also happens when one colour is wiped off the board.
Is reversi the same as the boxed game sold under a brand name?
In practice, yes. The boxed version sold since the 1970s has the same moves and the same fixed start in the centre. The 19th-century game began with an empty board. See the variant "The old free start".
Does it matter which diagonal each colour starts on?
Hardly at all. The usual layout puts white on the top-left and bottom-right centre squares. A mirror image of it plays exactly the same. What matters is that each colour has its own diagonal.
Is there a simple tip for winning?
Take the corners when you can. A disc in a corner can never be trapped, so it stays yours. Do not chase lots of discs early on: only the count at the end matters.
Log your plays
Save the plays of every game you play. See who wins most often and what you play the most.