Reversi Midgame Guide for Beginners: Limiting Opponent Moves

When returning to the board after a while, have you ever experienced feeling comfortable in the opening phase only to suddenly run out of places to play, losing by a large margin after your opponent takes the corners? When beginners learn how to play the Reversi midgame, focusing on how to reduce the opponent's available squares rather than taking many discs is the fastest shortcut to improving. Flipping many discs looks like an advantage at first glance, but taking too many during the midgame is often the real reason for defeat.

Reversi is a game played on an 8×8 board where players alternate playing black and white, outflanking and flipping opposing discs to compete for the final disc count. In the opening phase, both sides place discs near the center, but as the board opens up in the midgame, the number and positions of available squares heavily decide victory or defeat. Once you grasp how to narrow your opponent's options in the midgame, you can calmly steer the game into a favorable position without panicking.

Thinking Without Taking Too Many Discs in the Midgame

In this diagram, it is White's turn, and White can choose moves such as c3, c4, or c6. Playing c3 here quietly flips only 1 black disc at d4, leaving Black with 6 available squares. Although they also flip only 1 disc, c4 leaves Black with 8 squares and c6 leaves 9 squares. If you get greedy and flip a large number of central discs, your color scatters across the board, suddenly multiplying the squares Black can play. From the opening phase into the midgame, keeping your disc count relatively low gives you more freedom to maneuver.

What matters in midgame play is avoiding excessive disc gain and keeping flips to a minimum. Exposing your own discs on the outside grants footholds to your opponent. Conversely, choosing moves where flipped discs stay inside the board leaves your opponent with fewer squares on the next turn, putting them in trouble.

• Basic Midgame Principle: Keep the number of flipped discs as low as possible
• Impact on Opponent: Avoid flipping outer discs to prevent expanding the opponent's moves
• Target Development: Gradually reduce squares the opponent can play and strip their choices

Play in the app

Small dots mark playable squares, allowing you to learn the rules while playing from your very first match.

Counting the Opponent's Moves to Corner Them

This diagram shows Black's turn to consider where to play next. Playing c4 leaves White with 6 playable squares, whereas playing c5 or e3 increases White's options to 7 squares.

The most critical detail to watch here is the number of options the opponent has for where White can play after Black's move.

Counting the opponent's playable squares before making a move by asking, "If I play here, where can my opponent play?" is a major step beyond beginner level. As the opponent's playable squares decrease to 1 or 2, they will be forced to play bad moves they would rather avoid. If you can eliminate all of their playable squares and force a pass, you will gain total freedom to dominate the board.

When you want to test your skill while carefully counting squares on your own, practicing board transitions in the offline smartphone app Legends is a great method. With beginner guides included, you can take your time practicing moves that restrict opponent options at your own pace whenever you have free time.

Midgame Objectives and Moves Beginners Should Avoid

The ultimate goal of restricting opponent moves during the midgame is forcing the opponent to play into hazardous squares so you can safely take a corner. The four corners at a1, h1, a8, and h8 are special squares that cannot be outflanked once captured. Securing a corner allows you to turn outer discs into your own stable color using that corner as an anchor.

On the other hand, beginners often carelessly play the dangerous squares diagonally adjacent to the corners. Stepping into these yourself easily gives up the corner to your opponent. Instead of diving into danger yourself, aim to reduce your opponent's squares and compel them to play into those hazardous squares. When an opponent with nowhere left to play is forced into a dangerous square, the long-awaited corner is yours.

Midgame strategy rests on two pillars: keeping disc count low to strip the opponent's options, and forcing the opponent into bad moves to seize corners. Keeping these basics in mind substantially reduces midgame hesitation and leads to composed play. Even adult players revisiting the board will enjoy deeper tactical battles by checking their opponent's available squares on every move.

Play in the app

Explore famous Edo spots and face 50 players across the board in the Reversi app Legends. The AI processes on your device, allowing full matches without internet.