| Beginnings: |
Othello is a registered trademark of Anjar Co. The game was
introduced in 1975, and is licensed to distributors worldwide. The game is
credited to Goro Hasegawa (1971), who authored the book How to win at
Othello. The book is currently out of print, but credible sources indicate
the best way to use this book is to give it to your opponents.
Prior to the 1975 introduction of Othello, a game already in production (1880)
called Reversi was being marketed in England. This game was marketed by Jaques and Sons of London in 1888, with the book "Reversi and Go Bang" published in
1890. This game used the same equipment as the modern game, and the same
'flanking' concept for moving. It differed only in two respects:
- The first four discs were played (not preset).
- Each player was given a set number of discs at the game start. If a player
ran out of discs, the other player completed the remainder of the game.
The second rule above greatly changes the strategy of the game, the first rule
allows for an alternate starting layout. Aside from these two differences,
the 1880 game of Reversi and the 1971 game of Othello are identical. Several
'Reversi' games exist on the internet today because there are no licensing
issues with the name, however the internet reversi sites follow the Othello
conventions of a central pool for discs, and most provide the initial Othello
layout. |