Two players, seven columns

Connect 4 is played on an upright grid seven columns wide and six rows tall, with room for 42 discs.

Red always goes first. Then the players take turns, dropping one disc per turn into any column that isn’t full.

On an empty board, a disc drops all the way to the bottom row.

You pick the column, gravity picks the row

Your disc falls to the lowest empty space in the column you choose, the playable space. It lands on the bottom row, or on top of whatever is already there.

Once a column has six discs in it, it’s full and nobody can play there again. Discs never move once they’ve landed.

This column already holds two discs, so the next one lands third from the bottom.

Line up four to win

The first player with four of their own discs in an unbroken line wins, and the game stops right there.

A line can run across, up and down, or on a diagonal. If one disc connects five or more, that counts too.

Four red discs in a row across the bottom. Red wins.

Don’t forget the diagonals

Diagonal lines are the ones new players miss most often, and they can climb in either direction.

Before every drop, look along both diagonals through the square your disc will land on, and through the square above it.

“Check the diagonals every single time. I promise it’s worth the extra second.”
Altair

A diagonal climbing to the right. Each disc rests on the ones below it.

Stop three in a row

If your opponent has three in a line with an open, playable space at the end, that’s a threat. You need to block it by dropping a disc there right now.

The order to check each turn is simple: first see if you can win, then see if you have to block.

Yellow has to play here, or Red wins on the next turn.

Two threats beat one block

You can only block one space per turn, so a move that makes two winning spaces at once usually wins the game. That’s a double threat.

Look for three in a row with both ends open, or one disc that finishes two different lines.

Red can win at either end. Yellow can only block one of them.

Watch what your disc makes possible

Every disc you drop also opens up the space right above it. Sometimes the safest-looking move hands that space to your opponent.

If the space above your landing square would win the game for the other player, choose a different column.

If Yellow plays the red-ringed square, Red lands on the gold one above it and wins.

Four wins, a full board draws

The game ends the moment someone completes a line of four.

If all 42 spaces fill up without one, the game is a draw.

A full board with no line of four. Neither player wins.

Playing on LarkSpark

On your turn, click or tap a column and your disc drops in.

You can play one of eight bots, send a friend a link, or get matched with another player online. The bots range from Altair at level 1 to Orion at level 8.

Altair Level 1
Halley Level 2
Nova Level 3
Zhao Level 4
Juno Level 5
Lyra Level 6
Rigel Level 7
Orion Level 8

Your opponents, from friendliest to toughest.

Words to know

Look up threats, double threats, playable spaces and other terms in the Connect 4 Glossary.

Your turn in four checks

Look for a winIf a drop completes your line of four, play it.
Block a threeIf your opponent can win on their next turn, drop your disc there.
Check the space aboveYour disc makes the space above it playable for your opponent.
Build two threatsAim for two winning spaces your opponent can’t both block.