Four in a Row
Who places four pieces in a row first?
How to Play
Goal
Place four of your pieces in a row – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Gameplay
Click a column to drop your piece. It falls to the lowest empty spot.
Winner
First to get four in a row wins. If the board is full with no winner, it's a draw.
Strategy & tips
The centre column is the most valuable square on the board. On a 7×6 grid, more possible four-in-a-rows pass through a central cell than through any other, so holding the centre simply gives you more ways to win. Your first disc almost always belongs in column four.
Games are rarely won with a single threat — they are won with two at once. Build a position where you can complete a line in two different places: your opponent can block only one. The mirror of that rule matters just as much, so before every move check whether it hands your opponent the same thing.
Watch the height of your threats. Because discs fall, parity decides: the first player should aim for threats on odd rows counted from the bottom, the second player on even rows. A threat that only becomes reachable after your opponent moves is worth nothing.
Do not force too early. Every move that compels a specific reply spends one of your threats. Hold them back until you can combine them into a double attack.
Variants
Five in a row
Played on a wider board and requiring five discs instead of four. Games run much longer and parity matters far less.
Pop out
Instead of dropping a new disc, a player may remove their own bottom disc from a column. Everything above slides down, which can flip a losing position entirely.
Gravity off
Discs may be placed on any empty cell. Without the falling rule parity disappears and the game plays much like Gomoku.
How it works
1. Create a game
Click "Create Game" and receive a 6-digit code.
2. Share the code
Share the code with your friends – via WhatsApp, Telegram, or just tell them.
3. Play instantly
Your friends enter the code and you start playing immediately. No login required!
Origin
The idea is far older than any boxed edition. It circulated as a fairground and shipboard game under names such as “The Captain's Mistress” — by tradition a pastime aboard Captain James Cook's ship, who is said to have retreated to his cabin to play it.
In 1988 the game was solved completely, twice and independently, by James Dow Allen and Victor Allis. The result: with perfect play on both sides the first player wins — but only by opening in the centre column. Any other opening throws the advantage away or loses outright.
Frequently asked questions
Who wins with perfect play?
The player who moves first — provided the opening disc goes in the centre column. This was proven computationally in 1988. In practice almost nobody plays flawlessly, so games stay open.
Can a game end in a draw?
Yes. If all 42 cells are filled and neither player has four in a row, the game is drawn.
Do diagonals count?
Yes — horizontal, vertical and both diagonals count equally. Diagonals are what players miss most often, and they decide a lot of games.
How many players do I need?
Exactly two. Share the six-digit code and you can start straight away, with no sign-up and nothing to install.