Where did the game of Othello come from?
The origin of Othello is not known. We have not seen any proof of rumours that Othello arose from an old Chinese game called “Fan Mian” (claimed in E. O. Harbin, “Games of Many Nations”, Abingdon Press, 1954). Lewis Waterman and John W. Mollett (both of London, England) both marketed games with similar rules in 1880. Mollett’s game was called Annexation and was played on a cross-shaped board. Waterman’s game was called Reversi and played on the familiar 8×8 square board. It is unclear whose version came first, but Waterman’s board and name are in use today. Walter H. Peel wrote a book, Handbook of Reversi, published by Waterman’s firm Jacques and Sons in London 1888, and this book was reprinted in various guises over the next decade. Reversi differs from Othello in two respects. In Reversi, the board starts empty, and in each of the first two turns each player plays a stone of his own colour in one of the centre four squares. In Othello, this is done for you, eliminating one of the s
