How to play Four in a Row
Four in a Row is the vertical strategy classic. You drop pieces into columns and gravity pulls each one to the lowest open slot, so you never choose a row — only a column. Line up four of your pieces across, up and down, or diagonally to win. Choose the standard seven-by-six board or the quicker six-by-five, and play the computer at three difficulties or pass the device between two players.
How to play
- On your turn, drop a piece into any column that is not already full.
- Each piece falls to the lowest open slot in that column.
- Get four of your pieces in a row — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally — to win.
- If the board fills with no four in a row, the game is a draw.
- Tap a column to drop there, or use the arrow keys to move between columns and Enter to drop. Home and End jump to the first and last column.
Tips & strategy
- Play the centre column early. It takes part in more winning lines than any other, and control of it shapes the whole game.
- Build threats that point in two directions at once — a line your opponent can only block on one end.
- Look up as well as across. A piece you drop hands your opponent the slot directly above it, so check what they could complete there.
- The double threat wins games: engineer a position with two separate winning squares and your opponent can only stop one.
- Count in odd and even rows. On the standard board, threats that complete on an odd row favour the first player and even rows favour the second.
Accessibility
Columns can be selected with the arrow keys and dropped with Enter, and the board state is available as text so nothing relies on distinguishing two colours.