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Connect Four·Board Games
Connect Four
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Board Games
1 players
connect four set
6 essential rules
Connect Four is a two-player game in which discs are dropped into a vertical seven-column grid, falling to the lowest free slot. The first player to line up four of their own discs — horizontally, vertically or diagonally — wins.
Vertical grid: 7 columns × 6 rows — 42 slots.; 42 discs: 21 in each of two colours.; A release mechanism at the base to empty the grid between games.
Stand the grid upright and confirm it is empty.; Each player takes all 21 discs of one colour.; Decide who goes first — given the game is solved, alternating the first move between games is the fairer convention.
The centre column participates in more possible four-in-a-rows than any other, which is why the solved first-player win begins there. Play is largely about creating two threats at once, since a single threat is always blockable.
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There is no score. A player wins immediately on connecting four of their discs in a line — horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
Pop Out: players may remove one of their own discs from the bottom of a column instead of dropping, shifting everything above down.; Pop 10 / Power Up: published variants adding special discs or objectives.; 5-in-a-row on a larger grid: a common informal extension that removes the solved first-pl...
The centre column participates in more possible four-in-a-rows than any other, which is why the solved first-player win begins there. Play is largely about creating two threats at once, since a single threat is always blockable.