About Four in a Row
Four in a Row is the classic two-player game on a board of seven columns and six rows. Players take turns dropping discs into a column, each disc falls to the lowest empty space, and the first to line up four of their own colour, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, wins. Play it here against the computer on three levels, or send a friend a link and play from your own devices.
How to play
- Red moves first. Players take turns dropping one disc into any column that is not full.
- The disc falls to the lowest empty space in that column.
- Four of your discs in a row, column or diagonal win the game.
- If all 42 spaces fill with no line of four, the game is a draw.
The computer: Easy, Medium and Perfect
Easy plays a relaxed game and leaves openings. It is the right opponent for learning the board.
Medium looks several moves ahead. It blocks your obvious threats and punishes careless ones.
Perfect is an exact solver: it knows the outcome of every position. Four in a Row is a solved game, and the player who moves first can always win by starting in the centre column and playing perfectly. So when Perfect moves first, it cannot be beaten. When you move first, the win is there for the taking, if you never make a single mistake.
The first move alternates after every game, against the computer and in private rooms, so you get both sides of the board.
Play a friend
Choose Play with a friend, enter your name and create a room. Copy the link and send it. Your friend opens it in their own browser, on any device, and takes the second seat. No account is needed on either side.
A room lasts 24 hours. Both players accept Rematch to play again, and the first move switches each time. If you refresh or lose connection, come back in the same browser and your seat, the board and the match score are still there.
Tips
- Play the centre. The middle column is part of more possible lines than any other, which is why the winning first move is there.
- Count lines, not discs. A disc that sits on three possible lines of four is worth more than one that sits on one.
- Look at what your move gives away. Your disc fills a space, and the space above it becomes playable for your opponent.
- Build two threats at once. One threat can be blocked. Two cannot.
More in how to win at Four in a Row.
Scoring
Wins and draws are counted in the current match against the computer or in a private room. Four in a Row is not ranked on a global leaderboard.
