Four in a row (Connect 4)

Line up four, vs computer or friend.

Play against
Computer
Who starts

0 You0 Draws0 Computer

Click a column or press 1 to 7 to drop a disc. N starts a new game.

Scores for each level are kept on this device.

Runs in your browser. Nothing uploaded.

How to play four in a row

  1. Pick the computer, a level and who starts, or A friend to take turns on the same screen. You play green.
  2. Click a column, or press 1 to 7, to drop a disc. It falls to the lowest empty space.
  3. Get four of your discs in a line across, up and down or diagonally to win. If the board fills first, it's a draw.

How to win more often

  • Take the middle. The center column is part of more possible lines of four than any other, so discs there do the most work. Start there when you can.
  • Make two threats at once. If you have two different spots that would each finish a four, your opponent can only block one.
  • Watch the row under a threat. A space your opponent needs is only a danger once the column fills up to it. Don’t drop a disc that lets them play on top of it.
  • Think in odd and even rows. Counting from the bottom, the player who went first usually wins threats on odd rows and the second player on even rows. Plan your threats on the rows that favor you.

With perfect play the first player can always win, starting in the middle column. That was worked out by computer in 1988, separately by James Dow Allen and Victor Allis.