                          Othello



This is a well-known board game for two players. It is

played on an eight by eight board which has two colours of

pieces, red for the Spectrum and blue for you. The game

commences with just four pieces (two from each side) on the

board.

  The object of the game is to end up with more of your

colour pieces than your opponent's. Each player takes a

turn to place a piece on the board in such a way that he

bridges one or more of his opponent's pieces. That is to

say that the player must always place his piece adjacent to

an opponent's piece in such a way that the opponent's piece

or a row of the opponent's pieces are bridges with one of

the player's pieces at either end. The diagram below shows

a board with opponent's pieces marked "O", player's "P" and

possible moves marked "X".



          X

        X O P

          O

        O O

      X O P



  When a move is made, all of the pieces bridged change

sides. In the example shown, the top-most move would result

in a vertical column of 3 pieces changing, the bottom left

move would result in a diagonal column of 2 pieces and an

additional adjactent piece changing and the other move

would only change a single piece.

  The game ends when either player cannot move.

  When it is your turn to move, point the arrows at your

favoured position by use of the cursor keys 5 to 8, and

then press 0. If the Spectrum ignores your move, it is

trying to tell you that the move is illegal. If you cannot

move, or wish to surrender, press 1.