Connect 4 strategy

Hold the center, set up two threats at once, and use the odd and even rows to steer the endgame your way.

Understanding Connect 4

Connect 4 is a solved game with a first-player advantage. The player who starts (Red) can force a win with perfect play by controlling the center column. Most real games, though, are won by spotting threats and creating several winning chances at the same time.

Fundamental principles

Control the center: The center column is part of the most winning combinations and controls both diagonals. Discs there force your opponent to react to you.
Think vertically: Vertical lines are the easiest to set up early, so plan your stacking from the bottom up. Vertical threats force your opponent’s moves and let you control the flow of the game.
Watch the diagonals: Diagonals are the hardest lines to notice, and opponents often miss them. Build them alongside your other threats, and keep checking for your opponent’s.

The opening

Going first (Red)

Best move: The center column, column 4.
Alternative: One column off center: column 3 or 5.
Why: It gives you the most ways to win.
Avoid: The edge columns in the opening.

Going second (Black)

Play the center too: Stack on Red’s disc to contest control.
Or play next to it: Column 3 or 5 keeps your options open.
The goal: Don’t let Red build threats in the center unopposed.

Winning tactics

The double threat: Set up two winning lines your opponent can’t both block. It is the most common way games are won: three in a row with both ends open.
The seven trap: Arrange your discs in the shape of a 7: three in a row across, with a diagonal running down from one end. That makes two threats stacked one above the other in the same column, and your opponent can only block the lower one.
The fork: Two winning lines through the same square, so one disc connects two ways at once. It is hard for your opponent to see coming.

Defense

When you need to block, work through this list in order:

1
Block immediate wins. Three in a row with an open space must be blocked.
2
Block double threats before your opponent can set up two ways to win.
3
Control the center columns, so your opponent can’t stack where it suits them.
4
Block diagonals early. They grow quickly if nobody checks them.

Common mistakes

Playing at random: Every move needs a purpose.
Ignoring diagonals: They are just as dangerous as horizontal lines.
Playing under a threat: Never drop a disc in the space below your opponent’s winning square. It hands them the win.
Neglecting the center: Center control is crucial.

Advanced strategies

Odd and even rows

Number the rows 1 to 6 from the bottom. Rows 1, 3 and 5 are odd; rows 2, 4 and 6 are even. Red, who moves first, is the player who benefits from threats on odd rows, and Black from threats on even rows.

Use this to force your opponent into bad positions.
Build threats on squares your opponent can’t reach in time.

Zugzwang

Zugzwang is a position where any move your opponent makes worsens their position. Fill the columns so that their forced moves help you win. It takes planning four or five moves ahead, and it is the mark of expert play.

Ready to play?

Practice these strategies against the computer on Hard, or invite a friend.

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