Drop 4 – Free Four in a Row Game Online

Drop 4 (Drop Four) is a free online four in a row game. Drop your discs into the grid and line up four – across, down or diagonally – before your opponent does. Play against a bot that really thinks ahead, from Easy up to Brutal, or pass the phone to a friend. No download, no sign-up.

What is four in a row?

Four in a row is a two-player strategy game on an upright grid with 7 columns and 6 rows. Players take turns dropping a disc into a column, and the disc falls to the lowest free space. It is quick to learn, but there is real strategy behind it.

Drop 4 rules

• Yellow always starts. Then players take turns.
• On your turn, drop one disc into any column that is not full.
• The disc falls to the lowest empty space in that column.
• Get four of your discs in a line – horizontal, vertical or diagonal – to win.
• If all 42 spaces fill up and nobody has four, the game is a draw.

How to use the buttons

• Tap a column to drop your disc there.
• Settings: choose Vs bot or Two players, and the bot level – Easy, Normal, Hard or Brutal.
• Undo takes back your last move (and the bot's answer).
• New round clears the board. Your wins, losses and draws are counted at the top and saved on this device.

What Drop 4 does for your mind

• Thinking ahead: every move changes what your opponent can do next.
• Seeing threats: you learn to spot three-in-a-row before it becomes four.
• Planning: strong players build two threats at once, so the other player cannot block both.
• Spatial thinking: diagonals are easy to miss – the game trains your eye for them.
• Learning from mistakes: Undo lets you see why a move lost.
• Fair play with friends: two-player mode is a great quick game for families.

Drop 4 is a game for fun. It is not a medical brain training.

Who is it for?

• Children and beginners: the rules fit in one sentence – start with the Easy bot.
• Families and friends: two players on one phone, no internet account needed.
• Strategy fans: Brutal looks many moves ahead. Beating it needs a plan.
• Older players: big board, clear colours and no time limit.

Drop 4 strategy: tips to win

1. Take the middle column. More winning lines pass through the centre than any other column.
2. Block threes at once. If your opponent has three in a line with a free space, block it now.
3. Build a double threat. A move that makes two ways to win cannot be stopped.
4. Look at the space above. Before you drop, check: does my disc give my opponent a winning space on top of it?
5. Watch the diagonals. Most surprise losses come from a diagonal you did not see.
6. Control the low rows. Threats near the bottom are ready sooner than threats at the top.
7. Train level by level. Beat Normal three times in a row before you try Hard.

A short history of four in a row

Games like this have many names – Four in a Row, Four Up, Plot Four, Find Four or Drop Four. The famous boxed version came to shops in 1974. In October 1988 two computer scientists, James Dow Allen and Victor Allis, independently “solved” the game: with perfect play, the player who starts wins by dropping the first disc into the middle column.

Fun fact: on the standard 7×6 board there are about 4.5 trillion different positions – that is why even computers needed clever tricks to solve it.

Want a German guide? Read Vier gewinnt: die Strategie.

Questions people ask

Is Drop 4 free to play online?

Yes. Drop 4 is free in your browser with no download and no sign-up.

Who goes first in Drop 4?

Yellow always starts. Against the bot, you play yellow.

Can the first player always win?

With perfect play, yes – computer scientists showed in 1988 that the starting player wins by playing the middle column first. In real games people make mistakes, so anything can happen.

Can I play with a friend?

Yes. Choose Two players in Settings and pass the phone back and forth.

How strong is the Brutal bot?

Brutal searches the deepest of the four levels. It blocks your threats and sets its own traps, so you need a real plan to beat it.

Do diagonals count?

Yes. Four in a line counts across, down and in both diagonal directions.

Is Drop 4 the same as four in a row?

Yes. Drop 4 is our free online version of the classic four in a row game.

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Sources

• Wikipedia – Four in a row (history and solution)

This page is for fun and general information, not medical advice.