Connect Four looks simple enough for a five-year-old and hides enough depth that mathematicians eventually solved it completely — a rare combination for a game invented in the 1970s.
How to Play Connect Four
Connect Four is played on a vertical grid, standing on end, with seven columns and six rows. Two players each use discs of a single color — typically red and yellow — and take turns dropping one disc into any column of their choice. Gravity does the rest: the disc falls straight down and settles on top of whatever is already in that column, or on the bottom of the grid if the column is empty.
The goal is to be the first player to connect four of your own discs in an unbroken line — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally — anywhere on the grid. Players must watch the whole board at once, since an opponent can build a threat in any direction, including sneaky diagonals that are easy to miss. If the entire grid fills up with 42 discs and neither player has connected four, the game ends in a draw. Because whoever moves first has a meaningful edge, many casual and tournament formats alternate who goes first between games.
The History of Connect Four
Connect Four was created by game designer Howard Wexler working with Ned Strongin, who set out to build a game that was instantly understandable but genuinely challenging to play well — favoring real strategy over pure chance. Milton Bradley picked it up and released it under the Connect Four trademark in February 1974, and it quickly found a place among the company's lineup of simple, mechanical two-player games from that era.
The game's sales didn't take off immediately; it was the introduction of a television advertising campaign in 1979, built around the now-famous "Pretty Sneaky, Sis" catchphrase, that turned Connect Four into a genuine hit and a fixture of household game shelves through the 1980s and beyond. Wexler, a prolific game inventor credited with more than 100 games and toys over his career, considered it one of his most successful designs. Connect Four's popularity has only grown since — the game was later mathematically "solved" by computer analysis, proving that the first player can always force a win with perfect play, a fact that hasn't stopped millions of casual players from enjoying it purely for fun. It's part of our classic board game lineup, and if you like games where a single overlooked diagonal can cost you the match, you'll also enjoy Othello, another quick-to-learn classic built on spotting patterns before your opponent does.
Why Play Connect Four on RivalPit
- Free and no download. Connect Four runs instantly in your browser.
- Real-time multiplayer. Challenge a friend with a link, or play a solid CPU opponent.
- Live chat and points. Talk trash mid-match, earn points by playing (never purchased).
- One of 100+ free games on RivalPit, with new games added every week.