Your first round
- Inspect all playable squares for a move that completes your own four.
- If you cannot win immediately, check whether the computer has a playable winning square that must be blocked.
- Otherwise choose a move that supports several future lines, often near the center.
- After the computer responds, reassess the new landing heights and repeat the immediate-threat check.
Worked example
Make the idea concrete
Gravity changes a threat
Three of your discs lie along a diagonal, but the fourth square is floating above two empty spaces. It is not an immediate winning move yet: you must first fill the supporting squares below it, while watching who would get to occupy the winning square.
Build your strategy
- Central columns participate in more possible four-disc lines than edge columns.
- Look for forks with two playable winning squares, rather than two lines that both need the same square.
- Before providing support beneath a future threat, check whether that support gives the opponent an immediate win.
Common mistakes
- Treating an unreachable empty square as if a disc could be placed there next turn.
- Pursuing your own line of three while overlooking an immediate opposing win.
Try this next
Use Easy to practice spotting wins in all four directions. On Medium, try creating two simultaneous threats instead of relying on the computer to miss a single one.
Play Four in a Row ↗Keep exploring
Another puzzle, another perspective.
Explore a related game, or return to the library to choose your next challenge.
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