Connect Four Rules: Interactive Tutorial for Beginners
Connect Four is quick to learn: drop discs, line up four. In six steps on a real board, you win two ways, block a three and set up a double threat.
Step 1 of 6
Discs fall to the bottom
The board has 7 columns and 6 rows. Red always goes first, then the players take turns dropping one disc into any column that isn't full. It falls to the lowest empty hole in that column.
Watch three turns: Red, then Yellow on top of it, then Red beside them.
Four in a row wins
You win with four discs in a straight line: across, down or diagonally. You are Red, with three across the bottom row and the left end closed.
Your move
Drop a disc to connect four.
Diagonals count too
Diagonals are the lines players miss most. Your three Red discs climb up to the right, and the hole that makes four sits on top of the next column's stack.
Your move
Connect four along the diagonal.
Block a three
Now you play Yellow. Red has three across the second row from the bottom. The right end is yours, but the left end is open with a disc under it, so Red can drop straight in.
Your move
You are Yellow. Stop Red from connecting four.
The middle column
Where you drop matters before anyone has three. A disc at the bottom of the middle column can be part of seven lines of four, a disc in a bottom corner only three. Which column gives Red's first disc the most ways to make four?
Make two threats at once
A careful opponent blocks every three, so make two at once: a double threat. You are Red, with two discs side by side and open holes on both sides.
Your move
Make two threats with one disc, then connect four.
What you learned
- Red goes first, and each disc falls to the lowest empty hole.
- Four in a row across, down or along a diagonal wins.
- Block any three your opponent can finish next turn.
- The middle column is part of the most lines.
- A double threat beats an opponent who always blocks.
In this course
Unit 1The rules
- Connect Four Rules: Interactive Tutorial for Beginners
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