What is Handicap Reversi?
Handicap Reversi lets a stronger and a weaker player have a close game. The weaker player takes Black and starts with one to four discs already on the corners of the board, next to the usual four discs in the centre. The stronger player takes White and moves first.
Corners are the most valuable squares in Reversi, because a disc on a corner can never be flipped and it helps the discs along its edges become stable too. A single corner is a real advantage, and four corners make the game very hard for White. The corners are filled in a fixed order: the first handicap disc goes on a1, the second on the opposite corner h8, then h1 and a8.
After the setup the normal rules apply. Each move must outflank and flip at least one line of opposing discs, a player without a legal move passes, and the player with more discs at the end wins. The handicap discs count like any other disc of Black's.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Reversi | Handicap Reversi |
|---|---|---|
| Starting position | Standard ReversiTwo Black and two White discs on the four centre squares, placed crosswise. | Handicap ReversiThe same centre discs, plus one to four Black discs on the corners: a1, then h8, h1 and a8. |
| Who plays which colour | Standard ReversiEither player may take Black. | Handicap ReversiThe weaker player takes Black and receives the handicap; the stronger player takes White. |
| First move | Standard ReversiBlack moves first. | Handicap ReversiWhite moves first. |
| Scoring | Standard ReversiThe player with more discs at the end wins. | Handicap ReversiThe same, and the handicap discs count for Black. |
| Board and options | Standard ReversiEvery option in the table setup can be used. | Handicap ReversiWorks on 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10 (on the corners of the chosen board), with the free opening and with blocked squares. Not on the Octagon, which has no corners. |
History
Giving a weaker player stones before the game is an old idea in board games, best known from the handicap stones of Go. After Goro Hasegawa launched his version of the game in Japan in 1973 and a national players' association was founded there the same year, corner handicaps became the usual way to balance games between players of different ranks.
The Japanese rules give the weaker player Black and one to four corners, depending on the difference in strength, and let the stronger player, White, move first, since the corners already give Black more than the first move would. A handicap game lets a strong player play at full strength against a beginner and still give a fair contest.