Othello
by Mattel
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Our Price: $24.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $12.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Othello
Customer Review: Strategy game for two with simple rules
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes known as Reversi, Othello is a great game in itself but (like draughts) is also a useful starting point for children too young to master the complexities of chess. The game can appeal to people of all ages who enjoy strategy games including those who feel intimidated by chess. Meanwhile, chess players who have difficulty finding other chess players of comparable ability can enjoy playing Othello - it is much easier to find suitable opponents for this game.
The rules are simple. The playing area is a squared board. Each square is a space for a plastic disk, which is white on one side and black on the other. To begin with, the four central squares are occupied with two disks showing white and two showing black. Each player has half of the remaining disks, taking turns to place a disk on an unoccupied square with their own color showing, adjacent to a disk showing the opponent's color and in a direct line with one showing the player's own color. The idea is to place the disk in such a way as to allow the player to turn over disks showing the opponent's color to their own color - as many as possible within the rules - while making the opponent's task as difficult as possible. As the game progresses, a player may be able to place a disk next to several showing the opponent's color, opening up lines in different directions and turning a lot of disks over.
People soon learn that being able to place disks in the four corners is often the key to winning the game. If you can get at least three of the four corners showing your color, you will almost certainly win (but not always). So you have to be careful to avoid placing disks in the squares adjacent to the corners, as this gives your opponent a potential opening (even though it may not be immediate).
While six and seven year old children can easily learn the rules, the game is sufficiently interesting (if you like strategy games) that it can entertain people of all ages.
Othello has one significant advantage over chess and draughts - it is not unusual for one player to build up a commanding position only to lose it quickly. In chess and draughts, it is very rare for a player to lose from a commanding position.
Customer Review: Deviously simple. Simply devious.
Summary: 5 Stars
You put down your black disk, enclosing your opponent's white disk between another black disk already on the board. You then flip the opponent's disk from white to black. You and your opponent take turns until there are no more available moves and the player whose color dominates the board is the winner.
There. That's all there is to Othello. And a little dust was all there was to Vesuvius.
Beneath its innocent appearance and simple game play, Othello conceals one of the most challenging and enduring strategy games known to humanity. Believed to be older than chess and checkers (going back to when it was called Reversi), Othello is a game of unexpected twists and turns, mind-bending strategy and constant challenge. It's one of a handful of strategy games where the outcome isn't decided in the first few moves. If you're playing black, there might be 2 or 3 white disks on the board as the game nears the end. Then, in a few moves you never anticipated, your opponent is suddenly flipping disk after disk to the opposite color. And all you can do is sit there and watch it happen.
Because of its non-linguistic, purely symbolic game play, it's a game many parents teach to their children and soon, find themselves getting whomped over and over again. A child's ability to think abstractly and look ahead hasn't yet been hindered by the adult obsession with language and the written and spoken word. Like learning to draw, becoming skilled at Othello is a function of the "right" brain: thinking without words, seeing everything, pondering every possibility. It's possible to sit in the middle of a busy airport playing Othello and, over time, becoming completely oblivious to everything else going on around you. Othello can easily be played by opponents who don't speak the same language, which is one of the reasons Othello tournaments attract participants from all over the world.
The product's well-known tagline of "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master" might sound like advertising hype but it's true. Computers have been programmed to play checkers and chess nearly flawlessly, but the same still can't be said of Othello.
Customer Review: Great Classic Game
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember playing this game when I was a kid. Even though I always wanted to own it I never got around to buying it until recently. Recently this game poped into my mind, and I knew that I had to try to find it, since I remember it being a ton of fun when I was a child. In the 21st century there is a lot of electronic games and party games available to buy. The classic's seem to be hard to find now days so when I find one of the classic games that I remember playing as a kid I usually buy it. I remember doing some christmas shopping this past holiday season and I remember seeing othello in the store. When I went back to the same store looking for othello it was no longer there. I put it out of my mind until recently when I was thinking about all of the fun classic games I remembered growing up. When you look at this game you don't think that it would be fun, however it is very fun and also can be very challenging. As many others have said this is one of those games that is easy to learn but hard to master. One of the great things about this game is that it is never the same game twice. This is one of my favorite games along with Monopoly/Yahtzee, and I'm so happy to finally add it to my collection of classic games.Customer Review: Two boys' review: Poor construction, materials take away the fun
Summary: 2 Stars
First, let me say this game is fun if you are playing on a quality game board with quality playing pieces.
Othello is a great game for young children. The rules are easy to learn and this game provides a solid education in basic strategy.
However, I set aside my own nostalgia for this game and looked at the reality of what's inside the box.
Here's the negatives:
This game board is cheap.
The poor construction means poor durability; the faux felt is already peeling away from the board.
The board is designed so tight that the game pieces almost have to be snapped into place when you flip them.
The game pieces are thinner and harder to pick up, especially for older hands (beware grandparents).
Steer clear of this version from Mattel. See if you can find a better quality version of the game. It makes a difference.
Message to Mattel: I'd rather pay the extra $10-$15 for you to provide better-quality materials. Cheap construction like this makes me think twice about buying your other games.
Customer Review: The classic Shakespearean tragedy brought to life with this magnificient game!
Summary: 5 Stars
Shakespeare's Othello is one of the most powerful tragedies in the history of literature. It was only a matter of time until someone got around to making a game about it, and here it is!
In this 2-player strategy game, one player plays the role as Othello, the lone black piece on the game board, while the other player assumes the role of Iago. Other characters on the board include Desdemona, Cassio, and Roderigo. While the Othello player traverses the board in hopes of reaching Desdemona on the other side, the intelligent individual controlling Iago will have to quickly find ways to incite a fight between Cassio and Roderigo or have Cassio reach Desdemona before Othello does. Once Othello reaches Desdemona, Iago's previous actions will determine whether or not Othello has come to kill Desdemona. The state of Desdemona's life determines the winner!
It certainly is a new and refreshing take on the classic tale, and I'm sure many have wished they could stop Iago's scheming if given the chance. A must-have for fans of Othello.