About Four in a Row
Four in a Row is a two-player game on an upright rack of seven columns and six rows. On your turn you drop one disc of your colour into any column that is not full, and it falls to the lowest empty space.
By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026
Play Four in a Row free online, the classic connect-four-in-a-line game. Three computer levels or two players on one device, with hints, undo and win streaks.
How to use
- The rack has seven columns and six rows. Players take turns dropping one disc into a column, and it falls to the lowest empty space.
- Tap or click a column to drop your disc. A faint disc shows where it will land before you commit.
- The first player to line up four of their own discs in a row wins. The line can run across, up and down, or diagonally.
- If all 42 spaces fill up and nobody has four in a row, the game is a draw.
- Choose vs Computer (Easy, Medium or Hard) or 2 Players to share one device. Against the computer you take turns going first: red always moves first, and you swap colours each game.
- Hint shows the strongest column and tells you whether it wins, blocks or just builds. Undo takes back your last move (and the computer's reply).
- Your wins, win rate and win streak against the computer are kept in the Your record panel, and a game in progress is saved if you leave and come back.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Four in a Row?
Four in a Row is a two-player game on an upright rack of seven columns and six rows. On your turn you drop one disc of your colour into any column that is not full, and it falls to the lowest empty space. The first player to get four of their discs in a line, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, wins. If the rack fills with no line of four, the game is drawn. The game is widely known by the brand name Connect 4, and has also been sold as The Captain's Mistress and Four Up.
Does the first player always win?
With perfect play, yes. The standard seven-by-six game was solved in 1988, independently by James Allen and Victor Allis: the first player can force a win by starting in the centre column. Starting in the columns next to the centre leads to a draw with perfect play, and starting in the outer columns loses. In practice nobody plays perfectly, which is why this game swaps who goes first every game against the computer.
What is the best opening move?
The centre column. A disc in the middle can be part of more possible lines of four than a disc anywhere else, because lines can extend in both directions. Keep building in and around the centre early on, and treat the edge columns as places to respond, not to start.
What are good strategies for Four in a Row?
Control the centre column and the two beside it. Look one move ahead for your opponent: before you drop, check whether your disc gives them a space to land a winning disc on top of it. Build two threats at once: if you have two different ways to complete four, they can only block one. Count the rows: a threat that sits on an odd row (first, third, fifth from the bottom) tends to favour the first player late in the game, and even rows favour the second. And block three in a row the moment it has an open end.
How strong is the computer?
There are three levels. Easy looks two moves ahead and plays at random about a third of the time. Medium looks four moves ahead and rarely slips. Hard thinks for about two thirds of a second per move, which usually lets it see ten or more moves ahead, and it judges a position by its threats: which empty squares would complete four, and whether each player will actually get to fill them. It never misses a win or a block it can see. It is a strong opponent, not a perfect solver, and it varies its play so the same game does not repeat.
Can two people play on the same device?
Yes. Choose 2 Players and pass the phone, tablet or keyboard back and forth. Red moves first. Undo takes back one move at a time in this mode. Games against a friend are not counted in the Your record panel; that tracks only games against the computer.
Is this the same as Connect 4?
It is the same game. Connect 4 is a brand name for the commercial version; the game itself, lining up four discs in a vertical grid, is much older and is played under many names. This version uses the standard seven-by-six rack and the standard rule that four in any direction wins.
Is this game free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer with no download and no sign-up. For more two-player games against the computer, try
Mancala or
Gomoku, which is five in a row on a bigger board.
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