Connect Four (Connect 4) Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Connect 4

The objective of Connect 4 is to place four of your checkers in a row vertically, horizontally, or vertically before the other player.

Setup

Attach the two end supports/legs to the side of the gameboard.
Remove all of the checkers from the gameboard.
Slide the lever on the bottom of the gameboard so the checkers will remain in place when you drop them in.
Place the gameboard between the two players.
Each player takes all of the checkers of one of the two colors.
Choose who will start the game. The player who goes second in the first game will get to go first in the next game.

Playing Connect 4

On your turn you will study the gameboard to decide where you would like to place one of your checkers. You can drop your checker into any of the columns on the top of the gameboard. Your objective is to find a column to drop it in that either gets you close to having four checkers in a row, or prevents your opponent from getting four checkers in a row.

Dropping a Checker into the Gameboard — The red player has decided to drop their first checker into the middle column on the gameboard.

Once you have chosen a column, you will drop one of your checkers down the slot. The checker will fall down the slot to the lowest position left in that column of the grid.

Adding A Checker to the Gameboard — The red player has let go of the checker. The checker sits on the lowest space in the center column.

After you have placed your checker you should check to see if you have four checkers in a row in the grid.

If you didn’t get four checkers in a row, play passes to the other player. They will choose a column to add one of their checkers to.

Placing A Checker — The player with the black checkers has decided to place their first piece next to the red checker played by the other player.

Winning Connect 4

Players will keep taking turns dropping checkers into the grid.

Connect 4 ends when one player gets four checkers in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. The player that gets four checkers in a row wins the game.

Winning Horizontally in Connect 4 — The red player has gotten four of their checkers in a row horizontally near to the bottom of the board. They have won the game.

Winning Vertically in Connect 4 — The black player has gotten four checkers in a row vertically in the third column. They have won the game.

Winning Diagonally in Connect 4 — The red player has gotten four checkers in a row diagonally towards the top of the gameboard. They have won the game.

Starting Another Game

To play another game slide the lever at the bottom of the gameboard. All of the checkers should slide out of the grid. Slide the lever back to prevent the checkers from falling out. The player who went second in the previous game gets to start the next game.

Year: 1974 | Publisher: Hasbro, Milton Bradley | Designer: Ned Strongin, Howard Wexler | Artist: NA

Genres: Abstract, Children’s, Strategy

Ages: 6+ | Number of Players: 2 | Length of Game: 10-15 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Moderate | Luck: Light

Components: gameboard, 42 checkers (21 of each color), instructions

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