How to play Reversi Online: illustrated beginner guide

Understand the objective

Reversi is a game of changing ownership. One placement can flip several lines and reshape the whole board. Learning why a quiet move can be stronger than taking many discs makes the game especially rewarding for beginners who enjoy patterns and positional puzzles.

How to play

The board begins with four central discs. Light starts on this platform. Place a disc on an empty square so that one or more opposing discs lie in a straight, uninterrupted line between your new disc and another of your colour. All such lines flip, including diagonals. A move must flip something. If you have no legal placement, your turn passes automatically; the game ends when neither player can move.

Rules used on this platform

1. Light starts in this version. Place a disc to bracket at least one opposing disc.
2. All bracketed discs flip horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
3. A player without a legal move passes automatically. The game ends when neither can move.
4. The player with more discs wins. Equal scores are a draw.

Build a simple plan

Count available choices as well as discs. A corner is stable because it cannot be flanked from beyond the board, while a square next to an empty corner can give it away. Keep your position compact and compare what moves your placement gives the opponent. The largest immediate flip is not automatically the strongest move; timing matters more as the board fills.

Mistakes to avoid

Do not treat every edge square as permanently safe, confuse touching with bracketing, or assume the game must fill all 64 squares. Discs only flip along complete lines closed by your own colour. Running out of moves is a pass, not an immediate loss. The winner is decided by the final disc count after both sides have no legal move.

Try this exercise

For three turns, write down the opponent’s legal choices before and after your move. Compare a move that flips many discs with one that leaves fewer replies. Review every corner that changed ownership and identify the earlier move that made it possible.

Play with your own profile

Open the profile button at the top of a game and choose Create account. Pick an available nickname of 2–20 letters or numbers, with spaces, dots or hyphens. Enter a private password of 10–128 characters and confirm it. Sign in on another device with the same credentials to recover your saved profile and coins. Never send your password in chat.

To try the platform without a password, choose Continue as guest and enter your name before joining. A registered account reserves its nickname: the profile editor does not currently rename it. You can choose a name when creating an account or upgrading a guest account. Check spelling before confirming; changing your sticker or flag does not rename your account.

Open your profile, browse the circular stickers and select the face that suits you. The list scrolls inside the window. Choose a country flag, or the globe option for no flag, then save. Your selected sticker appears beside your name in games and chat; in Parchisi and Monopoly it also represents your moving pawn. Signed-in profile choices are saved to your account.

The chat icon opens the conversation without leaving the game. Each message identifies its sender by nickname and sticker. The microphone button controls what you transmit; the listening button independently mutes or restores other players. A friend can hear you without opening their own microphone, provided listening is enabled. Allow microphone access when asked. Focus mode enlarges the board; closing the chat returns you to it.

Challenge a friend

Open the game you want to play and use Invite or the share icon. For Parchisi or Monopoly, select the number of seats and Friends first. Send the invitation, copy it or let your friend scan its QR code. Your friend enters with a separate profile. The invitation has a ten-minute countdown; if it expires, return home and create a new one. Use the start or fill option where the waiting room offers it.

Organise a tournament

From Tournaments on the homepage, create a cup, choose the game and select 4, 8 or 16 entrants. Choose an open event for random participation, or Friends to share invitations. The organiser controls the friend cup start. Empty places may be filled by platform-controlled opponents; a displayed profile does not establish that a person is online. Read the waiting-room countdown and entry settings before starting.

The current format is knockout with a bronze match. Follow the match cards to see the two opponents and who qualifies. Tournament matches are head-to-head, including the multiplayer games; a four-player Parchisi room is different from a four-entrant tournament. Each decision has a 120-second clock. A drawn match is replayed with reversed sides; after two draws the original seeded order decides qualification.

The final podium awards 100k platform coins for first, 50k for second and 10k for third. These coins track progression; they are not cash prizes. Monopoly money belongs only to the current board and is separate from your account coins. Keep the tournament page open between rounds, review the next match card and wait for the server’s result before leaving.

Common questions