4 to Win

Connect Four, if Connect Four had learned to fight back.

Everybody already knows the goal, which is the clever bit: get four of your squares in a row. The game does not need explaining, so it starts thirty seconds after the box is open, and the first round is over before anyone has decided whether they are taking it seriously. Formerly sold as Zategy, now under the plainer name.

What separates it from the version you played as a child is the white blocking tiles and the fact that it takes up to four players. Two people playing four-in-a-row is a solved problem for anyone paying attention; four people, each able to spoil the others while building their own line, is not. Rounds run five to ten minutes, there are ten listed variations plus a three-dimensional one, and it scales down to a six-year-old and up to adults who will absolutely start playing properly by round three.

Perfect for: Families who have exhausted Connect Four and would rather not admit that is why they are here.

2-4 players | 5-10 minutes | Age 6+