Drop four

How to play Drop four

Take turns dropping coloured discs into a seven column grid. Discs fall to the lowest empty spot in the column you pick. Your goal is to line up four of your discs in a row, vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The bot plays the other colour and tries to do the same. First to four in a row wins. If the grid fills with no winner, the game is a draw.

Tips

• Aim for the centre column on your first move, more lines run through it
• Watch for diagonal threats, they are the easiest to miss
• If you can block a three in a row, do it before going for your own win
• Stack your own pieces in different columns to set up multiple threats

About Drop four

Connect Four was sold by Milton Bradley in 1974 in plastic with bright yellow and red discs. Mathematicians solved it in the 1980s: the first player can always win with perfect play, starting in the centre. Most humans never play perfectly, which is exactly why it is still fun. Our bot plays at a friendly level. Tough enough to push you, soft enough that beginners can still pull off a real win.

More logic games

• 2048: Slide tiles to combine them. Reach 2048 or beyond.
• Memory: Find every matching pair. Easy on the brain, hard to put down.
• Sudoku mini: A quick 6x6 sudoku you can finish on a coffee break.
• Reversi: Flip your way to a bigger army. Othello against an AI.
• Lights out: Turn off every light in the 5x5 grid. Trickier than it looks.
• Slide fifteen: The classic 15 puzzle. Slide tiles into order in as few moves as possible.

Browse the full arcade →