• Connect Four is a vertical game of tic-tac-toe, but with a twist - you have to get four in a row

• The first player to get four checkers lined up in a row in any direction--horizontal, vertical, or diagonal--wins the game

• Game includes: grid, two end supports, 21 black checkers and 21 red checkers

• This game is centuries old

• For 2 Players

• Captain James Cook used to play it with his fellow officers on his long voyages, and so it has also been called "Captain's Mistress"

The rules are simple: try to build a row of four checkers while keeping your opponent from doing the same. Sounds easy, but it's not! The vertical strategy creates a unique challenge: you must think in a whole new way to block your opponent's moves! For 2 players. Game includes: grid, two end supports, 21 black checkers and 21 red checkers.

What's particularly effective about the game is that the rules are so simple that she can concentrate on the content of the game.

My only complaint is that after hundreds of playings the plastic slider at the bottom has become a bit loose, and several complex games came to an abrupt finale when the checkers were released unintentionally under the weight.

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:


Once You Drop, You Just Can't Stop . . .  Nov 07, 2001 By Lee DeWald
Whenever it was not possible to go outside for recess during my grade-school days (I'm a college sophomore now), there were many games that we would play indoors to pass the time.

Some kids drew on the blackboard. Other kids just got together in groups and talked. And then there were kids like me that played Connect Four.

Connect Four is extremely habit-forming because you get totally engaged in the game-play. It takes skill, a little bit of luck, and a decent amount of humor to play. We would have Connect Four tournaments all the time in grade school, and they would get pretty competitive sometimes!

Fun: This game is one of the best out there. Once you catch on, which doesn't take long since the rules of the game are easy, it is great to play. If you like games that will make you think and strategize, games that force you to outwit your opponent, this is a good game to reach for.

Educational Value: It keeps the little ones from getting into things. That was always my experience with it. Why go getting myself into mischief when I can go head-to-head with someone two feet in front of me? Little ones will find this a fun counting game.

Durability: The only thing that could probably dampen the fun of the game is losing any of the Checkers to the game. Either that or someone steps on the plastic frame, cracking it or just plain breaking it. But this is not something that people should worry too much about. This game is very durable; it holds up well.

In short, this is a classic game that has stood the test of time. And there are many ways to play it, not just connecting four Checkers in a row. Many games come and go, but Connect Four is a treasure that will last forever.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:


Fun for all  Dec 03, 2000 By M. Ragen "searagen"
This game has really stimulated my children as they work hard to put together creative strategies to beat me or, at least, to prevent me from winning. Like other positional games (checkers, chess, etc), this fairly simple easy-to-learn game teaches children to think carefully through the consequences of what both players are attempting to set up. As the children get more experienced, they are starting to look further ahead than just the next turn or two.

I played this game for hours when I was a kid with my younger sister and brother and, with my father, we had family tournaments that would run over several weeks. For what it is worth, you can jazz this game up (just like chess) by adding a clock/timer so that people's cumulative moves are timed throughout the game. This helps some people from taking minutes to complete their turns if, for example, you set a limit that no player can take more than one cumulative minute than the other or else they lose.

13 of 15 found the following review helpful:


A tic-tac-toe classic  Sep 14, 2000 By jasenao
I remember when me and my grandfather used to play tic-tac-toe all the time when I used to spend the night over there. I was a kid, so when I got Connect Four for Christmas, it became my favorite game for a long time. It's fun for anybody to play no matter how old they are, but it's best for kids who like playing tic-tac-toe. It's a little different from tic-tac-toe, however. You have to get four in a row instead of just three, and you have five columns with five spaces each.

Connect Four can teach kids some strategy and teach them to be more observant while they're playing the game. I recommend anybody who has a kid around to get Connect Four. The only drawbacks are that it's easy to lose some of the pieces and the two sides of the Connect Four game can break off easily.

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