How to Win Connect 4: Strategy for Four in a Row
Updated
To win Connect 4, take the center column early, build two threats at once so your opponent can block only one, and watch which row each threat sits on. The first player has the edge: the game has been solved, and with perfect play the player who starts in the middle column can always force a win.
The rules in one minute
- The board stands upright with 7 columns and 6 rows.
- Players take turns dropping one disc into a column. It falls to the lowest empty square.
- The first player to line up four discs in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, wins.
- If all 42 squares fill up with no line of four, the game is a draw.
The same game goes by many names, such as four in a row. Some versions add extra rules or powers, so check the instructions of the one you play.
Why the center column matters
There are 69 possible lines of four on a 7×6 board. The table counts how many of those lines pass through each square: the more lines, the more ways a disc there can help you win.
| Row | a | b | c | d | e | f | g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 (top) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| 1 (bottom) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
A disc in the middle of the board can belong to 13 different lines; a corner disc belongs to only 3. The solved game agrees: according to Wikipedia's Connect Four article, a first move in the center column wins with perfect play, a first move next to it leads to a draw, and a first move in any of the four outer columns lets the second player force a win.
How to win Connect 4: the core ideas
Look for threats, not just lines
A threat is an empty square that would complete four of your discs. Three in a row is only dangerous if the fourth square is still empty. Every turn, first ask two questions: can I win right now, and must I block right now?
Set up a double threat
Most games are won with two threats at once. Your opponent can block only one square per turn, so you play the other. Two common shapes:
- Three in a row along a row, with the empty square at each end playable now.
- Two of your threats stacked directly on top of each other in one column. When your opponent blocks the lower square, you take the one above it.
Build toward these quietly. A move that adds to two possible lines at once is often worth more than one that makes three in a row your opponent can see and block.
Never play under your opponent's threat
Because discs fall, a square only becomes playable once the square below it is filled. If your opponent has a threat on a square, do not drop a disc into the square directly beneath it, or you hand them the win. The same idea works for you: a threat that your opponent cannot afford to play under will sit there until the end of the game.
Use the odd and even rows
Number the rows 1 to 6 from the bottom. Victor Allis, one of the two people who solved the game in 1988, showed in his study of the game that when the other columns fill up, the first player ends up taking the odd-row squares and the second player the even-row squares.
| You are | Threats that work for you | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The first player | Rows 3 and 5 | You get the odd squares when the board fills, so your opponent is forced to play under your threat |
| The second player | Rows 2, 4 and 6 | You get the even squares, so an even-row threat is the one that pays off late in the game |
A threat on the wrong kind of row is not useless, since your opponent may still blunder, but it will not win by itself in a long game.
Playing first or second
Going first: start in the center column and keep taking central squares. Aim for a threat on an odd row that your opponent cannot remove, and avoid filling the square under it yourself.
Going second: answer the center early so the first player cannot build freely there. Aim for even-row threats and block every odd-row threat you see. Allis describes a defense where the second player answers in the same column the opponent just played, which hands the second player the even squares; he also shows it fails as a plan from the very first move, so save it for later in the game.
Common mistakes
- Opening on the edge. An edge disc joins far fewer lines than a central one.
- Watching rows and columns and missing a diagonal.
- Dropping a disc under your opponent's threat to block something else.
- Making a lone three in a row that is easy to block, instead of a quieter move that prepares two threats.
Beating the computer
A computer opponent never misses a winning move or an obvious block, so single threats rarely work against it. Start on an easier level, use the center, and practice setting up double threats and stacked threats. 4 in Row Mania lets you set the difficulty and play against the CPU or a friend.
Play four in a row in your browser
4 in a row - Board game for 2 players lets you play the computer or another person on the same device, or challenge players online in multiplayer mode. 4 in a Blow has a Classic mode for the standard game against the computer or a friend, a Blast mode where powers can block a column, swap or remove tokens or drop twice, and a 90-second Wakie mode; a power can never win the game on its own.
Tic-tac-toe is a smaller relative of four in a row. Tic Tac Toe Pro has computer opponents at several skill settings, and Tic Tac Toe Multiplayer has a multiplayer mode, the computer or a friend on one device. Tic-tac-toe strategy covers how to never lose at it.
More games for two are in the 2-player category and the strategy collection.
Connect 4 FAQ
Can you always win Connect 4 if you go first?
In theory, yes. With perfect play from a first move in the center column, the first player can force a win by the 41st move. In a real game, both players make mistakes, so the result is far from settled.
How do you win Connect 4 going second?
Contest the center, block every odd-row threat, and build threats on even rows. Against perfect play the second player cannot win, so you are waiting for a mistake and making sure you can use it.
Where should you make your first move in Connect 4?
The bottom square of the center column. It joins more possible lines than any other first move.
Is Connect 4 a solved game?
Yes. James Dow Allen and Victor Allis solved it independently in October 1988, and later computer searches confirmed that the first player wins with perfect play.
Take the center, watch the square under every threat, and play for two threats at once.
