How to Win Connect 4 Every Time – Four in a Row Winning Tips

Want to know how to win Connect 4 more often? You can’t win every game against a perfect player, but these five habits will beat most people. If you’re still learning, check the rules and the 69 ways to win first.

Play Four in a Row

1. Play the middle

The middle column is part of more winning lines than any other. Discs there can join rows, columns and both diagonals. Start in the middle and keep claiming the centre throughout the game.

Result of each first move with perfect play: the middle column wins, the columns beside it draw, the edges lose — Start in the middle column.

2. Always check for wins and blocks first

Before every move, ask two questions. Can I win right now? Can my opponent win on their next move? If they can, block it. It sounds obvious, but most games are lost by missing one of these.

3. Build two threats at once

A “threat” is three of your discs in a line with the fourth space open. One threat is easy to block. Two threats at the same time can’t both be blocked. This is called a double threat, and it wins most games. See Cheats and Tricks for patterns that create them.

How to win Connect 4 with a double threat: two winning spaces at once, and the opponent can only block one — A double threat: two winning spaces at once.

4. Don’t play under your opponent’s winning space

If your opponent needs a space that is one row up, don’t fill the space below it. That lets them drop straight into their winning spot. Leave it empty and make them play there first.

The opponent's winning space is one row up; playing in the space below it, marked with a cross, would let them win — Leave the space under their winning spot empty.

5. Think one move ahead

For each move you consider, picture your opponent’s best reply. Beginners play the move that looks good now; winners play the move that still looks good after the reply.

Can you win every game?

Not against a perfect opponent, unless you go first. Four in a Row is a “solved” game: the first player who starts in the middle can always win with perfect play. See Is Four in a Row Solved?.

Practise this against the Hard computer.

FAQ

What’s the best first move?

The middle column. Our guide to opening moves explains why.

How do I get better quickly?

Play the Medium computer until you win most games, then move to Hard.

Keep reading

More in Four in a Row Strategy: How to Win at Four in a Row · Best Opening Moves in Four in a Row · Four in a Row Cheats and Tricks · Seven Common Four in a Row Mistakes · How to Beat the Computer at Four in a Row · Odd and Even Threats in Four in a Row

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