Connect Four
strategyHow to play Connect Four
I am orange and the computer is yellow. I click or tap a column to drop my disc into the lowest open slot, then the AI drops its own. The first to line up four discs in a row wins.
Those four can run horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The AI looks several moves ahead, so I plan my own threats while blocking its lines.
About Connect Four
Connect Four, published by Milton Bradley in 1974, is the definitive gravity game: discs drop to the lowest open slot in a seven-column, six-row grid, and the first player to line up four in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, wins. The vertical board made it a toy-shelf icon, but the game underneath is a serious exercise in threats and parity.
Connect Four is also mathematically solved: with perfect play the first player wins, and the winning first move is the center column. James Dow Allen and Victor Allis both proved it independently in 1988. Against a human, or this browser opponent, none of that matters unless you find the right moves yourself, and the traps come thick and fast.
Connect Four tactics
- Take the center column when you can. It participates in more four-in-a-row lines than any other column.
- Build double threats. A single line of three is blockable; two open threes at once cannot both be answered.
- Think in odd and even rows. As the first player you want winning squares on odd rows, as the second player on even rows.
- Never drop a disc that gives your opponent a winning landing square directly above your move.
- Block diagonals early. Horizontal threats are easy to see; the diagonal ones are what actually end games.
FAQ
Is there a best first move in Connect Four?
Yes, the center column. The game is solved: with perfect play, first player wins by starting in the center, draws by starting adjacent to it, and actually loses with perfect counterplay after starting in the outer columns.
What is a double threat and why does it matter?
It is two separate three-in-a-row threats that can each be completed on your next turn. Your opponent can only block one column per move, so a genuine double threat is a forced win. Most Connect Four strategy is engineering one.
What does playing the odd or even rows mean?
Because discs stack, the row a threat completes on is fixed. If both players play out a full column, odd-numbered rows fall to the first player and even rows to the second. Building threats on the rows whose parity favors you wins endgames.
Can Connect Four end in a draw?
Yes. If all 42 slots fill without anyone making four in a row, the game is drawn. It is rare in casual play, where diagonal threats usually slip through long before the board fills.
