Play Reversi against the computer ▶ Play now — runs natively, no emulator
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via WebAssembly (native port)
Reversi is played on an 8×8 board with discs that are black on one side and white on the other. You play black and move first. Place a disc so that one or more straight lines of white discs are trapped between it and another black disc, and every trapped disc flips to black. Legal squares are marked with a dot. When the board fills — or neither side can move — whoever has more discs wins.
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|---|
| Place a disc | Tab / Enter | Click a dotted square |
| Take back | — | Undo |
FREE This is the complete game, free. Written from scratch for ExeBrowser — original code, nothing to unlock, free to play.
Original code written for ExeBrowser — see NOTICE.md.
Rules
- The game starts with four discs in the centre, two of each colour on a diagonal.
- Every move must flip at least one opposing disc, along a row, column or diagonal. A single move can flip lines in several directions at once.
- If you have no legal move you pass; if neither side can move, the game ends.
- The player with more discs at the end wins.
The game is also widely known by a trademarked name; the rules are the same.
Strategy
Corners can never be flipped, so they are the most valuable squares on the board; the squares diagonally next to them are the most dangerous, because playing there usually hands the corner to your opponent. Early in the game, having fewer discs is often better — it leaves your opponent with fewer moves. Count disc totals only near the end. The computer plays exactly this way: corner-first square weights, mobility, and raw disc count once fewer than fourteen squares remain.
Frequently asked questions
Who moves first?
Black moves first, and you play black.
What happens if I have no legal move?
You pass automatically and the computer moves again. If neither side can move, the game ends and the discs are counted.
How strong is Hard?
Hard searches five moves ahead with alpha-beta pruning and a positional evaluation. It is a solid club-level opponent but not a perfect player.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
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- Chess vs computerPlay the Stockfish engine at eight levels, from beginner to maximum.
- BackgammonThe full race-and-hit game with gammons, against the computer.
- All board gamesChess, checkers, backgammon, mahjong and more, all in the browser.
Want a game like this on your own site?
Reversi isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.