Connect Four is a game I remember playing a lot as a child, and I use it now at my Curious Minds Club. It’s an excellent introduction to abstract strategy games for children, and if you have not yet played it with your child then do have a go. The sound as you open the under-bar and the counters clatter onto the table will transport you back in time. Supermarkets often sell a generic version with a name like ‘4 in a Row’ or ‘Line Up Four’. The game has been spun off in several ways over the years: a giant version for the garden or school playground; a version which involves bounding discs off a table; a card game for up to four players.

When it was introduced in the form you recognise today by Milton Bradley in 1974 it kind of swept away any competition and is the only 4 in a row game most people can name. A search for ‘4 in a row game’ on Amazon only turns up Connect Four and its many generic versions. This overshadows the fact that there are some other good ones out there.

Flatten the Grid: Play On Paper

Before we get to those, first get a different take on the game by playing it on a horizontal surface instead of the usual vertical game grid. Print this game board on the thickest paper you can fit in your printer. You need 21 counters in one colour, and 21 in a different colour. You can use many things as counters e.g. buttons, beads, shells, coins. Slide your counter along as indicated by the arrows until you reach either the bold ‘baseline’ or another counter.

All the normal ways of making your 4 in a row apply. Do you find it easier to spot the 4 in a row your opponent is about to make so you can block them? Try facing the board in different directions: how does it affect the way you play the game? A winning strategy is to make a 3 in a row which is open at both ends: on their next move your opponent can only block one end, leaving you able to win on your next move. Do you find it easier to apply this winning strategy when playing the game this horizontal way?

Step Into the Third Dimension

Whether you play Connect Four in this horizontal way or the usual vertical way it is a two-dimensional game. One interesting twist came when a third dimension was added to the game. A company called Funtastic brought out a game called Score Four in 1967. Another company called Lakeside took it on in the 1970s and it became more popular. Second hand copies can be bought online. The normal ways of making your 4 in a row apply (vertical, horizontal or diagonal) but with the addition of building rows on or across different levels. There are more ways to win, and more ways to lose!

Other three-dimensional games:

Eternas (2011) with a board in the shape of a circle;

Helix (1974), in which the board has overlapping arcs;

Quadrago (2007) with four middle bars that rotate to add complexity to the board.

There are more to be discovered if your interest has been piqued.

Think Outside the Grid: Brainline

Another obscure, vintage 4 in a row game is Brainline by Palitoy (probably released in the 1970s). The game board is made up of hexagons. Each player has four pegs which start the game on a specific hex. Players take turns to move any one of their pegs any distance along a straight line in any direction but may not jump any other peg. The winner is the first to get all four pegs of their colour in a straight line. The little twist I like is that the pegs do not have to be adjacent, but there must be no opponent pegs between them. Many times, you feel you are about to win, before your opponent thwarts you by moving their peg just where you don’t want it.

Circular Geometry

One final game to mention is called Circular Tic Tac Toe (or Circular Noughts and Crosses). A circular board is divided into 32 segments. There are four different ways to make a 4 in a row: a line from the central segment to the outer segment; a spiral to the left getting further away from the centre; a spiral to the right getting further away from the centre; and four adjacent segments of the same colour. The first to play has an advantage, as happens with many abstract strategy games. The Pie Rule can be used to level things up.

I was unable to find a commercial version of Circular Tic Tac Toe so I drew the board on a piece of MDF, coloured in the segments and took some counters from another game. Here is what it looked like:

Here is an example of a win: White has won with a spiral to the right getting further away from the centre.

Taking it Further

If you have five minutes to spare, I recommend the Numberphile You Tube video on Connect Four. You will learn that it is a mathematically ‘solved’ game and be amazed by how many possible configurations of the grid there are. 4.5 trillion is a mind-boggling number.

Whether you stick to the classic red and yellow gravity-obeying counters or branch out into circular boards or three dimensions, I hope this inspires you to look at 4 in a row games with fresh eyes.