Othello (Reversi) Version 1.9.4

This version should already be stable, it's been tested rather
extensively in linux. Please try it and inform me of any problems or
requests you might have. Let me know what you think of it!

Hein Zelle,     hein@icce.rug.nl
                http://www.icce.rug.nl/~hein

-- OBTAINING --

You've obviously found a copy of the program, but in case you want to
check for a new version (please do so until 2.0 comes out), you can
find the latest version at

     http://www.icce.rug.nl/~hein/programs.html#othello

-- Running --

To run the program, enter "othello &".

If Othello finds a HOME variable (under unix, typically), it will try
to create a $HOME/.othello directory to store configuration and save
files in. If this HOME variable doesn't exist (Windows/DOS) it will
put configuration and save files in the directory where the program is
run.

Undo, Redo and Hint buttons are located at the right side of the
screen. Because the computer player likes to move again immediately
after you do an undo, the game is paused for undo / redo
operations. Unpause it using the play button to continue playing. Some
confusion may arise from this, when things are not working (no hint is
given or moves aren't accepted) check if the game is paused.

The game menu can be reached by pressing escape. From this menu you
can configure the computer player, and you may start a new game,
resume the previous game, load an old game or save the current
game. When a game is finished (game over is shown in the) it will
automatically be saved as 'last.sav' so you can review it or store it
elsewhere. The savefiles are ascii-text, so you can read (and edit)
them with any editor. Beware that changing the savefile may cause it
to not load properly anymore! The second half of the savefile is a log
of the game, and can be used to replay the game or analyse it. Loading
a completed game allows you to browse through it with the undo/redo
buttons from beginning to end.

-- Configuration --

Most settings of the othello program can be changed in the options
menu, and they are all automagically saved in the file othello.cfg
(either in $HOME/.othello or in the program directory) when you leave
the menu. Some options can only be set by editing this file however,
so here is the full list of options you have available:

[othello]
computer_player_1 = 0
computer_player_2 = 1
ply_level = 3
who_starts = 1
animations = 1

Computer_player_1/2 indicate which player is handled by the computer
(1) and which is handled by a human (0). By default the computer is
player 2. 

The ply level is the amount of moves the computer player
will look ahead: if it is set to 1, the computer will try all possible
moves, evaluate the outcome, and look no further. At ply 2 it will
also evaluate the opponents move after that, and so on and so forth.

The who_starts variable indicates which player begins the game, this
is useful when playing against other othello programs that do not
start with the player which has the left bottom and right top stone. I
am not sure what the official rule is, but www.itsyourturn.com starts
like that, and I have copied them. If you want to switch, set this
variable to 2.

The animations variable can be set to 0 to disable the animated
flipping of the stones. (You don't like pancakes?)

-- COPYRIGHT --

This software is free, you may use it as you wish. If you distribute
it (be it modified or in the original form) please be so kind to
mention my name in the credits and to leave a pointer to the original
website (see under OBTAINING). 

If you modify the program, please let me know about it! I am always
interested in including improvements, additions and bugfixes, and any
ideas or suggestions you may have are very welcome.