Ravensburger is set to distribute Othello, the classic 50-year strategy board game, in the United States and Canada.

Ravensburger has announced that it is now the distributor for the classic strategy game Othello, which has sold over 40m copies worldwide, in the United States and Canada. Beginning on 1st August, Ravensburger will take on distribution of this fast-paced strategy title to hobby and specialty stores nationwide. Retailers will also notice a new update to Othello’s components – the rulebook will be printed in colour for the first time in the game’s history.

“Othello is a natural fit for Ravensburger’s games portfolio,” said Florian Baldenhofer, international category director of Games for Ravensburger, who leads the company’s Games Category in North America. “The motto, ‘A minute to learn… a lifetime to master’, captures our own philosophy of designing games that are easy to learn, that offer depth and replayability and that are ideal for multi-generations, bringing kids and grandkids together around the table.”

Designed for two players and featuring two-sided disks, black or white, Othello challenges players to capture and convert their opponent’s disks to their own colour, with the objective of having more of their own colour disks face up on the board at the end of the game. To change the disks to their selected colour, players must work to sandwich their opponent’s pieces, but they must look out as their opponent will try to do the same on their next move. The lead can change with a flip of a disk.

Othello is suggested for players ages eight and up and will be available at retailers from 1st August 2024.