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Connect Four — strategy & planning

💡Benefits

Connect Four is a classic strategy game that requires attacking and defending at the same time. The child builds their own line of 4 while planning how to block the opponent — this trains thinking several moves ahead, spatial reasoning and executive function (Diamond, 2013). The gravity rule teaches you to plan every move in advance.

🎮How to play

The board is 7 columns × 6 rows. On your turn you pick a column — the disc drops down and settles in the lowest empty cell. You play blue, your opponent plays yellow. Whoever lines up 4 discs in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) first wins. If the board fills with no line, it is a draw. Play vs the robot (4 levels) or a friend.

📚Scientific sources

  1. Diamond (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Executive+functions+Diamond+2013+Annual+Review+of+Psychology

❓Frequently asked questions

Yes, Connect Four on MentalMath is free and can be played without registration.
Dropping discs to be the first to line up four teaches strategic thinking and the skill of spotting the opponent's plan and blocking it.
Thanks to simple rules Connect Four fits from 6-7 years, while the tactics against an opponent stay interesting for older children too.
A disc only falls down a column, so while building a four in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally you must also block the opponent's four.
Yes, it is comfortable on a phone, tablet, or computer; a few short games a day reinforce strategy.
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