Portugues
Four in a Row Variants
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About the game
Four in a row is the simple game of dropping discs into a vertical grid: each disc falls to the lowest free place of its column, and the first player to line up four of their own, across, up and down or diagonally, wins. It is easy to learn and surprisingly deep, because every drop changes what the next one can reach. This page has five versions of it.
| Game | What sets it apart |
|---|---|
| Four in a row (7x6) | The classic board. |
| Four in a row (9x6) | A wider board, with more room for diagonals. |
| Popout | At your turn you may, instead of adding a disc, remove one of yours from the bottom of a column; the discs above fall by one place. |
| Five in a row | You need five in a line, and the board starts with the left and right columns already filled with alternating colours. |
| Four in a row on a torus | The board is curved like a cylinder, so the leftmost and rightmost columns touch: a line can run across the edge. |
Playing it here
This page runs Jocly, a free library of board games with a computer opponent that thinks in the background while you wait. Pick a game in the Game menu at the top; You play chooses first, second or both sides (to play against a friend on the same screen), Computer level sets how hard the computer thinks, and New game starts again. Take back undoes your last move together with the reply, and Rules opens the rules of the game you picked. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. Your choices (game, side, level and board) are kept in this browser; clearing the site's data erases them. The game is in English and has no sound.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Click or tap a column | drop a disc into it |
| In Popout, click or tap one of your discs at the bottom of a column | pull it out |
| Game menu | choose the game |
| You play | first, second or both sides |
| Computer level | from quick replies to longer thinking |
| Board | switch between the board looks |
| Take back | undo your last move and the reply |
Tips
Play the middle first. The centre columns take part in more possible lines than the edge columns, which is why strong players start there.
Look for two threats at once. A move that creates two different winning spots wins the game, because the opponent can only block one.
In Popout, a full column is not safe. Removing a bottom disc shifts the whole column down, which can complete a line, yours or the opponent's.
Credits
Jocly was made by Michel Gutierrez, who wrote the games and the computer player, and Jérôme Choain, who did the graphic design, and it is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License. Only the flat boards of the library are used here, not its 3D views, and its sound files are left out.
FAQ
Can the game end in a draw? Yes, when the board is full without a winner.
Why is the name not the one I know? The game is old and has many names; this page uses the plain description of what you do.