Pocket Games
Connect 4
Connect 4 has been solved since 1988: the first player wins, given perfect play and an opening in the centre. Nobody plays perfectly — but knowing why the centre matters so much is enough to win nearly every game across a table.
The rules
The board is seven columns by six rows. You pick a column and your disc falls to the lowest free slot: you choose the column, not the row. Whoever lines up four discs horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins. If the board fills with no line, it is a draw.
On Pocket Games you play two players on the same phone or against the bot at three levels: the high one looks seven moves ahead and sees double threats coming. Wins, draws and losses are stored on the device.
The centre is worth more than everything
The middle column is the fourth, and it runs through more winning lines than any other: horizontal, vertical and all the main diagonals pass through it. The outer columns take part in very few combinations.
The opening strategy follows, and it is all the strategy you need in the early moves:
- open in the centre, always;
- if your opponent opens in the centre, play next to it and work on building the diagonals;
- do not play the outer columns until you have to: a disc in column one or seven takes part in three lines, a central one in seven.
The double threat
As in tic tac toe, you win by creating two simultaneous threats: two different spots where, on your next move, you would make four. Your opponent can only block one.
The most common form is the horizontal threat with gaps at both ends: three discs in a row with a free square on the left and on the right. If both are reachable, the game is over.
Hence a defensive rule worth half your games on its own: never let your opponent get three in a row with free space on both sides. The moment to block is when they have two, not when they have three.
Odd and even: the rule almost nobody knows
This is the next level, and between experienced players it decides everything.
Every column fills from the bottom, so its squares are occupied in a fixed order. With six rows, the player who opened tends to occupy the odd rows (first, third, fifth) and the second player the even ones.
It follows that a threat has to be built in the right place:
- if you moved first, try to place your threats on an odd row;
- if you moved second, on an even row.
A threat on the "wrong" row can end up blocked because your opponent will be the one filling the square you need. You do not have to calculate it precisely: just ask, before building a vertical threat, who will fill the square you are counting on.
Common mistakes
- Always answering with a block. Sometimes the blocking move creates a square below that hands your opponent the win. Before blocking, look at what happens above your disc.
- Playing the outer columns to be safe. That is not safety, it is conceding the centre.
- Ignoring the diagonals. They are the threats people see least, and they are where games are lost against the hard bot.
Frequently asked questions
Does the first player really win?
With perfect play, yes: Connect 4 was solved in 1988, and the first player wins by opening in the centre. Any other opening draws or loses. In human practice the difference is far less clear-cut.
Is the bot unbeatable?
No. At the high level it looks seven moves ahead and punishes mistakes, but it uses no opening book: play well and you beat it.
Can two people play on the same phone?
Yes, passing it back and forth each turn. Two-player games do not count towards the statistics.
Why can discs not be removed?
It is a game of accumulation: every disc stays where it is. That is what makes the order in which columns fill so important, and therefore the odd-even rule.
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