🔴

Connect Four

Drop discs into the grid. Connect 4 in a row — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally — to win!

0
🔴 Red
0
Draw
0
🟡 Yellow
🔴 Red's turn
Mode
Difficulty

About Connect Four

Connect Four is a two-player strategy game published by Milton Bradley in 1974. Players take turns dropping colored discs into a 7-column, 6-row vertical grid. Discs fall to the lowest available position in the chosen column. The first player to form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of four discs wins. With perfect play the first player can always win, but choosing the wrong opening move quickly leads to defeat.

Controls

  • Click the ▼ arrow above a column — drop your disc into that column
  • Click the column directly — also drops your disc
  • Keys 1–7 — Drop a disc into column 1–7 (keyboard shortcut)
  • Mode buttons — Switch between 2 Players (local) and vs AI
  • Difficulty buttons — Easy (random AI) or Hard (look-ahead AI)
  • New Game button — Reset the board (scores are preserved)

How to Play

  • Red always goes first. Players alternate turns dropping one disc per turn.
  • Click the arrow above any column (or press 1–7) to drop your disc.
  • Discs fall to the lowest available row in that column — you cannot place them mid-air.
  • Connect exactly 4 discs in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) to win.
  • If the board fills up with no winner, it's a draw.
  • In vs AI mode, you play as 🔴 Red against the 🟡 Yellow computer.
  • Hard AI uses a multi-step look-ahead — it will try to win, block your winning moves, and set traps.