Connect Four facts for kids
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Connect Four is a super fun game for two players! You pick a color, like red or yellow, and then take turns dropping your colored discs into a tall grid. The discs fall to the bottom of the column you choose. Your main goal is to be the first player to get four of your own discs in a row. This line can be straight across (horizontal), up and down (vertical), or even slanted (diagonal).
Connect Four is known as a "solved game." This means that experts have figured out all the best moves. If the first player plays perfectly, they can always win the game! The game was first sold by the Milton Bradley company in February 1974.
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How to Play Connect Four
The main idea of Connect Four is simple:
Object: Connect four of your checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
Here's how a game usually works:
- The first player drops a disc into one of the seven columns.
- Then, the second player takes their turn, dropping their disc into any open space.
- Players keep taking turns, dropping one disc at a time.
- The game ends when one player gets four of their discs in a row. That player wins!
- If the whole grid fills up and no one has four in a row, the game is a draw.
The Math Behind Connect Four
Connect Four is a game where both players know everything that's happening. There are no hidden moves or secret cards. This makes it a "perfect information" game.
Experts have studied Connect Four a lot. They've figured out all the possible ways a game can go. For the classic game board (6 rows high, 7 columns wide), there are over 4.5 trillion different ways the discs can be placed!
The game was first "solved" by James Dow Allen and Victor Allis in 1988. This means they found the best moves for every situation. Later, computers used powerful methods to confirm these solutions.
What they found is that the first player can always win if they play perfectly. To do this, the first player should always start by dropping their disc into the middle column. If the first player starts in other columns, the second player might be able to win instead!
Different Ways to Play
There are many fun ways to play Connect Four, besides the classic version. These variations often change the board size or add new rules.
Some Connect Four game boards let you remove pieces from the bottom. This feature allows for some cool new game types:
Pop Out Rules
Pop Out starts like a regular game. You drop discs from the top. But here's the twist: on your turn, you can either drop a new disc from the top OR remove one of your own colored discs from the very bottom row. When you "pop out" a disc, all the discs above it drop down one space. This can totally change the game and help you get four in a row! The first player to connect four discs wins.
Pop 10 Rules
Pop 10 starts differently. First, players take turns filling up the entire board with discs, starting from the bottom row. Once the board is full, players take turns removing their own colored discs from the bottom. If the disc you remove was part of a "connect four" line, you get to keep it! You also get another turn. If it wasn't part of a line, you have to put it back into any open slot from the top. The first player to collect ten of their own discs wins the game.
5-in-a-Row Rules
The 5-in-a-Row version of Connect Four is played on a bigger board. It's 6 rows high and 9 columns wide. To win, you need to get five of your discs in a row, not just four! This makes the game a bit harder and more strategic.
Power Up Rules
In Power Up, players start with special "Power Checkers." Each player can use one of these special discs once per game.
- Anvil disc: If you play an anvil disc, it drops to the bottom, and all discs below it are removed from the game!
- Wall disc: This lets you play a second turn right away, but only with a regular disc.
- "x2" disc: This gives you a free second turn with any regular disc.
- Bomb disc: This lets you immediately remove one of your opponent's discs from the board!
Other Connect Four Games
You can find Connect Four in many different forms! There are giant versions for playing outside, made from wood. Connect Four was also one of the first games for early video game consoles like the Microvision in 1979.
Today, Connect Four is very popular on phones and tablets. You can play it quickly against friends or people online.
In 2007, a game called Connect 4 Stackers came out. Instead of a grid, it had a flat board where you stacked discs. The goal was still to get four in a row.
In 2015, Connect 4 Twist & Turn was released. This game has a tall tower with five rings that can twist. You still drop discs, but after your turn, you can twist a ring. This adds a cool new layer of strategy to the game!
Connect Four in Pop Culture
- A funny rumor once spread that the famous musician David Bowie invented Connect Four! This became a popular urban myth.
- On the TV show Family Game Night, there's a game called "Connect 4 Basketball." Teams try to throw colored basketballs into a giant Connect Four grid.
- On the TV show Top Shot, teams had to throw tomahawks (small axes) at a grid of targets. The first team to hit four targets in a line won the challenge, just like in Connect Four!
See also
In Spanish: Conecta 4 para niños
