STEKIUS
Reversi online for free at STEKIUS
Play nowReversi is a classic strategy game for two players on a board of 8×8 squares. Every disc is dark on one side and light on the other, and each move can turn many of the opponent’s discs to your colour in a single moment. The rules fit in one sentence, yet the board can change completely in the last few moves, so nobody is sure of the result until the very end.
At STEKIUS you play Reversi online for free, against a friend or an AI player on three levels, from your computer or your phone. Below you will find all the rules: how the game starts, which moves are allowed, how discs turn over, when you pass, how a game ends and how the match and the chips work.
The board and the discs
Reversi is played on one surface of 64 squares, eight rows of eight, with no colours of squares: only lines between them and four small dots. Each player has a colour, dark or light, and every disc has both colours, one on each face. Your discs start at the bottom of the screen.
The game starts with four discs in the middle of the board, two of each colour, placed on a diagonal. Dark always moves first. In the next game of the match the other player takes dark, so that nobody keeps the advantage of the first move.
How a move works
On your turn you place one disc of your colour on an empty square. The move is allowed only if at least one straight line of the opponent’s discs lies between the new disc and another disc of yours, with no empty square in between. The line can run across, up and down, or diagonally.
All the opponent’s discs closed in this way turn over and become your colour. The squares where you can play glow on the board; you just tap one. On a computer, when you move the mouse over a square that glows, the discs it would turn over are marked.
Turning discs over
One disc can close several lines at the same time, in up to eight directions, and every closed line turns. Only the discs closed by the disc you have just placed turn; discs that change colour do not turn any others in their turn, and a line with an empty square or the edge of the board is not closed.
That is why the number of discs can swing wildly: a player with few discs in the middle of the game can still win, if their discs sit in the right places.
Passing and the end of a game
If you have no square where a disc turns at least one of the opponent’s discs, you cannot play and you pass; the opponent moves again. You never pass by choice: when a move exists, you must play.
The game ends when neither player can move, which usually happens when the board is full. The discs are counted, and the player with more discs of their colour wins the game. If both have the same number, the game is a draw.
Placing the first four discs
Some people play the original rule, where the board starts empty. If the table chose it, the players place the first four discs themselves on the four middle squares, one each in turn, and nothing turns over until the middle is full. After that the game goes on with the usual rules.
The match, the time and the chips
A match is won by whoever first reaches the number of wins chosen at the start: one, three or five. A draw counts for nobody. Each move has a time limit; when it runs out, a sensible move is played for you, and a player who keeps missing their turn leaves the table.
The winner of the match wins virtual chips and the loser loses the same amount. With a shorter match the chips are fewer. Against bots you win chips according to their level. After the first moves, whoever leaves pays a leave penalty; once the match has a winner, you leave freely.
Tips
- Corners are the strongest squares: a disc in a corner can never be turned over again.
- Avoid the squares next to an empty corner, because they often give the corner to the opponent.
- Do not hurry to have many discs in the middle of the game; having more possible moves than the opponent is often worth more.
- Edges are good when they are safe, but a single disc on an edge can be closed in from both sides.
- Near the end, count carefully: the last moves can turn whole rows.
Questions
Can I pass when I want to?
No. You pass only when you have no allowed move; if there is a square where a disc turns something, you must play.
Which discs turn over?
Only the opponent’s discs that lie in a straight line between the disc you have just placed and another disc of yours, in any of the eight directions.
Who moves first?
Dark moves first. In each new game of the match the other player takes dark.
What happens if both players have the same number of discs?
The game is a draw and counts for nobody in the match.
How long does a match last?
Until someone reaches the number of wins chosen at the start: one, three or five.
