Little is known about the origins of the Reversi game.

There are official data on her appearance in the UK, only in 1870. Where this fascinating game came from is not known for certain. In the UK, the game was known as the “Annexation”, and it was originally played on a board that has a cruciform shape. Later the game was transferred to the 8×8 board, on which it is still being played.

The first official rules for the game were issued 16 years later. The game was not particularly popular, until 1888, until Walter H. Peel published a series of articles about her. In the late 1890s, the already widely spread game fascinated not only residents of the UK, but also the USA, where the book Reversi was published, containing the main types of strategies.

The game in its history has undergone many renames: “Fan Man”, “Chameleon”, “Ribalton”, “Rivaschino”, “Chinese Friends”, and this is not the whole list of names used to designate Reversi.

The name “Chinese Friends”, the game received in the United States in the 1930s. Then Chinese checkers were very popular, and Reversi attributed Chinese roots, completely forgetting about its English origin.

In Russia and the Baltic countries, the game became widespread, but for a very short period of time. Decades later, from its official origin, the game, which has already lost its popularity, was revived in Japan, and received a new name “Othello”. Only in Russia, the name “Othello” did not stick, and the game is referred to as Reversi.

With the new name, new innovations have entered the game. In Othello there are no different initial stages, the initial placement is always the same. On the one hand, this makes the game more scarce, but participants can now use their opponent’s chips if their own has ended. The game license was bought from Japan by the UK.

Thus, the game returned to its homeland. To date, there are championships for this game.