How to Play Connect 4
Connect 4 is played on a 7-column, 6-row grid. Players alternate dropping a disc into any column with room; it falls to the lowest empty cell. Line up four of your own discs — across, up and down, or diagonally — to win instantly. A full board with no line is a draw.
The rules, step by step
- 1Take turns dropping discsOn your turn, drop a disc into any column with room left. It falls to the lowest empty cell in that column.
- 2Line up four to winFour of your own discs in an unbroken row — horizontal, vertical, or either diagonal — wins immediately, the moment the fourth disc lands.
- 3A full board with no line is a drawIf all 42 cells fill and neither side has four in a row, the game ends in a draw.
- 4You never choose the rowGravity decides where a disc lands within its column — only the column is your decision.
- 5Players alternate turnsYou and the computer take turns dropping one disc at a time; there is no skipping a turn and no dropping two discs in a row.
Try it — the rules above, running
New game starts an empty board with you playing Red and dropping first. Click a column to drop a disc there, or move the highlighted column with the Left and Right arrow keys and drop with Enter. Four of your discs in a row — across, up-and-down, or diagonally — wins.
Your statistics
- Played
- 0
- Won
- 0
- Win rate
- 0%
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
- Best time
- —
Keyboard
- Left / Right
- Move the pending column
- Enter / Space
- Drop a disc
- N
- New game
- F
- Full screen
How does a disc land?
You choose a column; gravity chooses the row. The disc falls to the lowest cell in that column that is still empty, so the same column drop can land in a different row depending on how full the column already is.
What counts as a win?
| Direction | Example |
|---|---|
| Horizontal | Four discs in a row across one row |
| Vertical | Four discs stacked in one column |
| Diagonal (up-right) | Four discs rising from lower-left to upper-right |
| Diagonal (up-left) | Four discs rising from lower-right to upper-left |
How do you win more often?
- Open in the center columnIt sits on more potential winning lines than any other column, and it is the proven correct opening move for the first player.
- Watch for an open three before it becomes a forced winThree of an opponent's discs with an open cell to complete them on either end is an immediate threat — block it the move you see it, not the move after.
- Avoid setting up a disc your opponent can useEvery disc you drop also becomes a potential landing spot for the disc dropped on top of it later. Think one move past your own before committing to a column.
- Build toward more than one threat at onceA single three-in-a-row is easy to block. Two separate threats that would both complete on the same turn cannot both be blocked — that double threat is usually how a won position actually gets won.
Common questions about connect 4
- How many discs fit on a Connect 4 board?
- Forty-two — seven columns of six. The game ends in a draw if all 42 fill with no four-in-a-row for either side.
- Does going first give you an advantage in Connect 4?
- Yes, provably so — with perfect play the first player wins by opening in the center column, a result proven independently by two researchers in 1988.
Ready to stop reading? Play connect 4 on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.