This is an archived copy of the original site of Marc Mandt
Basic Othello Strategy
The goal of the game is to own the most
board locations at the end of the game. One way to approach reaching this goal
is to try and secure board locations that can't be recaptured by your opponent.
Through analysis of the game and this approach in mind, one can verify that the
idea of capturing key board locations is fundamental to winning. Below, I will
demonstrate these locations and how they become a key factor in the winning of
the game:
Ownership of a corner is irreversible: meaning that an oppenent can't
retake it once you own it and vice versa.
Owning two adjacent corners means that it will be very likely that you
will also own the connecting side. Squares under the influence of the corners
are marked by the red X's in the following image:
Furthermore, owning any 3 corners creates the strong likelihood of owning
2 adjacent sides. As demonstrated below:
Those sides, once owned, can't be recaptured by an opponent. Yet most
importantly, owning 2 adjacent sides yields the possibility to create many
more irreversible pieces. This is done by repeating the same pattern described
above:
Of course, this is only really effective if all the
pieces on those two sides are owned by you. Regardless, the principle game
strategy has now been introduced.
