Drop Four: lining up four before the computer

Drop Four is the upright frame game where you drop discs into columns and try to be the first to line up four. In Games by Zaweba you play red against the computer and go first. The game sits on the Board games shelf.

It is one of those games that a child can play in their first minute and an adult can still lose to the computer after an hour. The board is small, but there is a lot going on in it.

Seven columns and a falling disc

The frame has seven columns. On your turn, drop a disc into one of them, and it falls to the lowest free space in that column. Then the computer drops one of its own.

The first to make a line of four wins. The line can run across, up and down, or diagonally. If the frame fills up and nobody has a line of four, the game is a draw.

Choosing a column

Click a column to drop a disc into it. With the keyboard, Left and Right choose a column, and Space or Enter drops the disc. The keyboard is pleasant once you are used to it, since you can see the chosen column before committing.

Watching both sides of the board

The first habit to build is checking the computer's threats before your own plans. Every turn, look for any place where the computer has three in a line with an open space to finish it. If there is one, block it. A clever plan of your own is no use if the computer wins next move.

Remember gravity. A disc can only land on top of what is already in a column, so a space halfway up the frame is not available until the column below it fills. That works both ways. A threat that sits above an empty square is not immediate, but it will become one when someone plays underneath it. Be careful not to drop the disc that lets the computer reach its winning space.

Diagonals are the lines most people miss, on both sides. When you scan the board, look along the slopes as well as across and up.

Building your own threats

The centre column is worth having. A disc in the middle can be part of more possible lines than one at the edge, so it gives you more ways to win. Many players start there when they can.

The strongest position is one where you have two threats at once. The computer can only block one of them, and you complete the other. Look for moves that set up a line in two directions at the same time.

Think about the order of play too. If you have a threat that needs a particular square, and that square will only become available once a column fills, count how the turns will fall. Sometimes it is better to wait than to fill a column too early.

A short game with real depth

Drop Four in Games by Zaweba is quick enough for a few games in a row, and each one takes only a few minutes. Esc pauses, F1 brings back the rules, and your wins against the computer are counted on the game's tile in the library. It sits well alongside Noughts & Crosses and Flip Discs, other games on the Board games shelf where lines and positions matter more than luck.