othello game
The game (game) Othello which has been worldwide was originally started with the use of a milk bottle cap by its creator Goro Hasegawa, the son of Kito City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
"When Hasegawa designed his Othello, he used paper caps from milk bottles as a substitute for the stones that were easy to get at that time," Akihiko Oomori, a Miro City official, told Tribunnews.com recently.
At that time the milk was served in paper packaging, and it was difficult to find a round paper lid.
When comparing the size of the Othello stone with the current cap of the milk bottle, we will see that both sizes are the same.
Where did the name "Othello" come from?
William Shakespeare's name was given to him, "The Tragedy of Othello" - a story, full of drama, between Othello, a brave general (black skinned), and his beautiful wife Desdemona (white skin).
This game is played by around 600 million people in the world from Mito.
during such miserable times, Hasegawa thought of a new board game, using a black and white stone from Japan called "Go" or Othello.
It used to be called Mi-Go because Go came from Mito.
Later it became Go only, and the changed rules gave rise to the new name Othello, especially after it began to be mass-produced and marketed to various countries using special boards other than 8 × 8, such as "Grand Othello" or "Eight Stars Othello".
After graduating from high school, Hasegawa became an employee of a pharmaceutical company and a board game researcher in Tokyo around 1970.
Then the Othello game was released by Tsukuda Original (now MegaHouse) in 1973.
The game's basic rules are similar to those discovered earlier, and the Othello prototype is based on a game called Reversi, invented in 19th century England by John Mollett and Lewis Waterman.
Othello boards use special boards other than 8 × 8, such as "Grand Othello" or "Eight Stars Othello".
On 16 December 2018, the world's largest Othello board was installed in front (on the terrace) of the Mayor of Mito's office.
The second one with a 6x6 black and white ball with a board size of 1,280㎜ × 1,990㎜ × 800.
And another 8x8 black and white ball with a board size of 1,490㎜ × 2,120㎜ × 800.
According to the late Hasegawa, Othello's competition population was around 60 million in 2001.
According to the Leisure White Paper published by Leisure Souken, Japan Productivity Center, in 2001 the number of chess players was around 6 million, the number of Go players was around 2.2 million, and the number of Othello players was not included in the survey.
Othello boards are sometimes installed in elementary school classrooms, nursing homes, daytime service centers, etc., and children and parents who are on vacation also enjoy playing.
In February 2019, the oldest athlete identified was Kako Tanaka (116) in Japan.
Goro Hasegawa born in Mito on 19 October 1932 and died on 20 June 2016 is a researcher and board game developer from Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
According to the Leisure White Paper published by Leisure Souken, Japan Productivity Center, in 2001 the number of chess players was around 6 million, the number of Go players was around 2.2 million, and the number of Othello players was not included in the survey.
Othello boards are sometimes installed in elementary school classrooms, nursing homes, daytime service centers, etc., and children and parents who are on vacation also enjoy playing.
In February 2019, the oldest athlete identified was Kako Tanaka (116) in Japan.
Goro Hasegawa born in Mito on 19 October 1932 and died on 20 June 2016 is a researcher and board game developer from Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
He is very well known for developing the Othello pack.
Apart from Othello, he also developed board games such as 88 Othello, Socrates, Miracle Five, Sergo and Daigo, and was president of the Japan Othello Federation until the holding of the international Othello competition in Mito as well.
On Thursday, 28 November 2019, Othello national team player from Belgium, Tom Scott visited Mito to perform at the Othello event at Miro and used the giant Othello board for about 30 minutes, very exciting to him.
The local Mito government also organizes various Othello activities.
Among others, events in collaboration with the local football club "Mito Hollyhock", then the Othello course for children, Othello using a black and white umbrella, and so on.