After a long afternoon of holiday shopping, with mittens full of receipts, I returned home with one particular treasure that made me smile even before the wrapping paper came out. Tucked neatly among shiny new titles was something old, something beloved, something perfectly round and satisfyingly clicky. Ravensburger Othello Classic. A game that’s been winning hearts (and flipping discs) since the 1970s. Sorry there are no photos.

This edition comes in a sturdy box with a built-in board, making setup and cleanup as simple as lifting the lid. Inside, you’ll find the iconic green playing field and 64 double-sided discs with white on one side, black on the other, each one waiting to be flipped in fierce yet silent battle. There’s a nice weight to everything. No batteries, no app, no fuss. Just classic strategy, ready to play.

Othello is a game for two players. You each begin with two discs placed in the center of the board in a diagonal pattern black and white facing off in perfect balance.

On your turn, you place a disc so that it sandwiches one or more of your opponent’s discs between your new piece and another of your own, in a straight line. Every opponent disc caught in that line gets flipped to your color. This can happen horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and it can be so satisfying when you catch a whole string of them.

Players alternate turns, flipping discs and watching control of the board shift back and forth. The game ends when the board is full or no one can make a move. The winner? Whoever has the most discs showing their color.

Othello is fast to learn but deep enough to reward clever play. You might start off casually, flipping a few here and there, and then find yourself squinting at every angle, trying to see three moves ahead. It’s a perfect storm of planning and adaptation, with the kind of elegant simplicity that makes it feel like it’s always existed.

So this season, whether you’re wrapping up a gift for a strategy-loving teen or setting the table for post-dinner play, Othello is a beautiful way to bring people together. It doesn’t need electricity. It doesn’t need an explanation. It just needs a little table space, two players, and the quiet thrill of flipping the board in your favor.

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