Othello

Othello ranks among the greatest of board games. Also known as Reversi, Othello is a classic contest of strategy in which your goal is to use your pieces to claim as many spaces as possible on a grid. You need to flank each round piece belonging to your opponent with two of your own, and when you do, their disk becomes yours. It sounds simple, but as any player will tell you, it isn't. Succeeding takes a great deal of planning and quick thinking.

This computer version of the game is a very good one. It provides three levels of play, so that you can make sure the games are appropriately challenging. You can turn the music on and off, and you can save and open games in progress. If you want to cheat, or if you're just learning, you can even have the game suggest a move for you.

This title may be a time-waster, but at least you'll be doing a lot of thinking while the minutes fly by. It's a pleasure, but not a guilty one.