Grabbing the corners in Flip Discs

Reversi, the classic disc-flipping game, appears in the collection as Flip Discs. You place discs to trap lines of the computer's discs between your own, and every trapped disc flips to your colour. At the end, whoever has more discs wins. In Games by Zaweba you play black and move first, and the game sits on the Board games shelf.

It is famous for being quick to learn and slow to master. The lead can change hands many times, and a position that looks hopeless can turn round in a few moves.

Outflanking a line

Place a disc so that it traps a straight line of white discs between it and another black disc. The line can run across, up and down or diagonally. Every white disc in that line flips to black. A single move can flip lines in several directions at once.

You may only place a disc where it flips something. If you cannot make a flipping move, you must pass, and the computer moves again.

When neither side can move, the game ends, and whoever has more discs wins.

Glowing squares and the flip preview

Squares where you can play glow, so you never have to work out the legal moves yourself. Click a glowing square to place a disc. Before you click, hover over a square to see which discs would flip. That preview is a great help, both for learning and for weighing up two moves against each other.

Why the corners matter

The game itself tells you to grab the corners, and it is the best single piece of advice in reversi. A disc in a corner can never be flipped, because there is no way to trap it between two enemy discs. Once you hold a corner, the discs along its edges become much safer too.

The flip side is to be wary of the squares next to a corner. Playing there can hand the computer a chance to take the corner itself. If the corner is still empty, think twice before placing a disc right beside it.

More flips is not always better

A common mistake is to choose the move that flips the most discs every time. Early in the game, having lots of discs often means having lots of discs the computer can flip back. What matters more is how many moves each side has. A move that leaves the computer with few good options, or forces it to pass, is often stronger than a move that flips a long line.

Use the hover preview to compare. Look not just at what flips, but at which glowing squares the computer would have afterwards.

A good game for a thoughtful evening

Flip Discs in Games by Zaweba is calm, absorbing and never the same twice. Take your time over each move, since there is no clock. Esc pauses, F1 brings back the rules, and your wins against the computer are counted on the game's tile in the library. It sits well alongside Drop Four and Draughts, other games on the Board games shelf where position counts for more than luck.