The board is seven columns by six rows, forty-two slots in all. On your turn you tap a column that is not full, and the disc falls to the lowest open slot. A landed disc cannot be moved, removed, or left hanging in mid-air. Four discs of the same color in a straight line — horizontal, vertical, or diagonal — win. Only when every slot is filled and nobody has four is the game a draw.

How a Drop Is Scored

Legal dropApplies when: It is your turn and the chosen column still has an empty slot

Tap one of the seven columns. The disc falls to the lowest open slot. A full column is illegal, and landed discs never move.

Check for four firstApplies when: After the disc lands

If four discs of the same color sit in a straight line — row, column, or diagonal — the game ends immediately.

Then check for a drawApplies when: Nobody has four and all forty-two slots are filled

Only then is the game a draw. If the last disc also completes four, it is still a win.

Score Each Drop in This Order

  1. Drop a red or blue disc into one open column
  2. Check whether the drop completes four in a line
  3. If it makes four, award the win immediately
  4. Only hand the turn over if the board is not full
  5. If there is no four and the board is full, award a draw

The Board and Legal Moves

Any of the seven columns can receive a disc, but each column is only six slots deep. A new disc always stacks on top of the discs already in that column. A full column is illegal. The first player is always red; the second is always blue. You choose a column, not a square: two drops in the same column sit on consecutive heights.

Four can appear in a row, a column, or either diagonal direction. The center column crosses the most four-in-a-line windows and is often contested in the opening. Edge columns have fewer windows, but if one of them is the only winning drop or the only forced block, you must play it.

Four red discs fill the bottom row, so the game ends immediately.

How Results Are Decided

After every drop, check whether four discs of the same color now sit in a straight line. The game ends as soon as one such line exists, even if empty slots remain. If one drop completes two winning lines, it still counts as a single win.

The last drop follows the same order: if it both fills the board and completes four, the result is a win, not a draw. A fork, or double threat, is another common route to victory. One drop leaves two independent winning columns; the opponent can fill only one of them.

A Seven-Move Win

Both players drop only into columns that still have space. This game ends on move 7:

  1. Red drops just left of center. The disc lands on the bottom of that column.
  2. Blue drops in a column toward the right.
  3. Red takes the neighboring column, so two red discs now sit side by side on the bottom row.
  4. Blue stacks another disc in the same column as before.
  5. Red occupies one more column. Three red discs now touch along the bottom.
  6. Blue switches to a farther column.
  7. Red fills the remaining adjacent column. Four red discs complete the bottom row and the game ends.
Move 7 completes four on the bottom row. The board is not full, but the game is over.

When the Game Is a Draw

A crowded board is not automatically a draw. First confirm that nobody has four in a line. The position below is only a little more than half full, the colors alternate, and there is no four, so play should continue.

A draw is awarded only when all forty-two slots are occupied and the last drop did not make four. In an online room, either player may offer a draw. The game ends if the opponent accepts and continues if they decline. Resignation is different: it awards the win to the opponent immediately.

Plenty of discs have already landed, but no row, column, or diagonal contains four of the same color, so the game is not a draw yet.

Different Modes, Same Rules

All three modes use the same 7×6 board and the same rules for wins and draws. Games against AI include hints, undo, and move-by-move replay. Same-device games include undo and replay but do not suggest moves for either player. Online rooms synchronize both players' drops and allow resignation or draw offers, but not one-sided undo.

Those features change how you play and review a game, not the rules themselves. To study the center column, forced blocks, and double threats, continue with Four in a Row strategy.

Common Questions

If the last drop fills the board and also makes four, is that a win or a draw?

It is a win. After every drop, the game checks for four in a line before checking for a full-board draw. If the last drop completes any winning line, that player wins.

What if one drop completes two winning lines?

It is still one win. Both lines are valid, but the drop ends a single game and is not scored twice.

Must the first drop take the center column?

No. The center column crosses the most four-in-a-line windows and is a common strong opening, but the rules allow red to begin in any column that is not full. Taking the center is a strategic choice, not a restriction on legal moves.

Can a disc move after it lands?

No. Each turn drops one disc into an open column. After it lands, it cannot be moved, taken off, or placed at a different height.

Does red always drop first on this site?

Yes. Every mode starts with red and gives blue the second drop. Against AI, you may choose red or blue; if you choose blue, the AI makes the opening drop.

Does perfect play always end in a draw?

No. Under the standard 7×6 rules, the first player can force a win with perfect play by opening in the center column. Over the board, missed blocks and double threats decide most games, so you should not play every drop as if the theoretical ending were already known.