Not every NES game is about jumping on mushrooms or shooting aliens. Some are about... placing stones on a grid. Othello, released in 1988 by HAL Laboratory, is exactly that—a faithful adaptation of the classic board game Reversi, brought to the living room via the NES. And you know what? It's surprisingly compelling.
If you've never played Othello (or Reversi), the rules are simple: two players, black and white disks. You place your disk on an 8x8 board, flipping your opponent's disks by sandwiching them between your own. The goal is to have more of your color showing when the board fills up. It's a game of strategy, calculation, and sometimes ruthless corner-taking. The NES version lets you play against the CPU at various difficulties, or against another human.
What makes this adaptation noteworthy isn't the graphics—it's a board game, after all—but the presentation and polish. The board gleams with a wood-grain texture. The disks have depth and shading. The cursor moves smoothly. There's even a little victory dance animation when you win. HAL Laboratory (better known for Kirby) took a simple concept and gave it the full NES treatment.
The AI is no pushover. On higher difficulties, it thinks ahead, calculates probabilities, and will ruthlessly take stable disks and corners. I've lost more than I care to admit. For a board game on a 2KB cartridge (okay, I'm guessing), the opponent feels smart. There are different board sizes too—8x8, 6x6, even 10x10—which changes the strategy dramatically.
Now, let's talk about why a video game adaptation of a board game works on a console that's known for action. Sometimes you want to play something that engages your brain, not your reflexes. Othello delivers that perfectly. It's a palate cleanser between marathon runs of Contra or Mega Man. It's also a great way to introduce someone to video games who might think all NES titles are frantic or violent. (Not that Othello is "violent"—but you get the idea.)
The music is calm, almost meditative—simple tunes that don't distract. Sound effects are minimal: a click when placing a disk, a soft flip when capturing. It's all very subdued, respectful of the source material. This isn't a flashy arcade conversions; it's a quiet, thoughtful experience.
Board game adaptations on consoles were rare back then. You had Chess, Checkers, maybe Backgammon. Othello stood out because it was truly built for the medium— menus, options, AI levels—it all felt native. It wasn't just a digitized board; it was a video game version of a board game, and that distinction matters.
That's Othello in a nutshell. The screenshots above capture the essence: the clean interface, the clear disk colors, the board's sheen. The first shows the early game—just a few moves made, the board still open, tension building. The second comes later—positions locked down, the board crowded, and that sinking feeling when you realize your opponent has set up a triple flip and you walked right into it.
Is it for everyone? No. If you're looking for fast-paced action, look elsewhere. But if you enjoy strategy, if you appreciate polished adaptations, or if you just want to see how HAL Laboratory handled something so cerebral, Othello is worth trying. It's a reminder that the NES library is broader than most people remember.
And hey, if you master it, you can impress friends by beating the CPU on Hard. Good luck with that.
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