Play Connect 4 online
with a friend

How to play Connect 4 online

1. Start a room and send the link to whoever you want to play.
2. Pick a column and drop a checker. It falls to the lowest empty slot in that column.
3. Take turns. You are trying to line up four of your colour, across, down or diagonally.
4. The first four in a row wins. Fill every slot without one and the game is a draw.
5. Pick a bigger board (8x7 or 10x7) before you start if you want a longer game, or turn on Pop Out to play the variant where you may remove your own bottom checker instead of dropping a new one.
6. Rematch keeps the same room, swaps who goes first, and adds to the running score.

Why Connect 4 works over a distance

Connect 4 is a great fit for playing at a distance. A game takes a few minutes, so nobody has to plan around it, and it gets tense in a way Tic-Tac-Toe never does.

Every drop is checked on the server before either board updates, so nobody argues about who moved first when you both click at the same time. Their checker animates into place on your screen the instant it lands on theirs.

Try Pop Out once you've played a few normal games. On your turn you may pull your own checker out of the bottom of a column instead of dropping one, and everything above it falls a row. Positions stop being permanent, and if one pop happens to complete four for both of you at once, the game is a draw.

The diagonal is where games are won and lost. Watch the columns either side of a stack of three, and remember that whoever is forced to play into a column often hands away the row above it.

Also known as four in a row, connect four, four in a line.

Questions

Is this the same as the classic Connect Four board game?

Same rules and the same seven-by-six grid. Checkers fall to the bottom of the column you pick, and four in a line wins. The board is on a screen instead of in a plastic frame.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in the browser on both ends. Send a link and the other person is playing about three seconds later.

Can we play across different countries or time zones?

Yes, that's what I built it for. Moves sync over a live connection, so distance costs you a fraction of a second.

What happens if someone closes the tab mid-game?

The board lives on the server, so reopening the same link puts them back in their seat with the game exactly where they left it.

Guides with Connect 4 in them

• Long distance games for couples
• Long distance games to play on your phone
• Long distance games to play online with friends
• Games to play over FaceTime and video calls
• Games to play on WhatsApp
• Texting games for couples in different time zones
• Long distance date night ideas
• Two player games to play online with a friend

From the blog

• GuideSeptember 20, 2026

  How to Play Games on a Video Call: FaceTime, WhatsApp, Meet and Zoom

  How to keep a FaceTime, WhatsApp or Meet call running in a corner while you play a two-player game in your browser, on iPhone, Android and laptop. No screen sharing needed.

• GuideSeptember 20, 2026

  How to Win at Connect 4: Strategy That Works Against a Real Person

  Connect 4 strategy in plain words: why the centre column matters, how to build two threats at once, and the odd and even row rule that decides close games. Then try it against a friend.

The rest of the arcade

• 💞 How Well Do You Know MeAnswer for yourself, guess for them, then find out who was paying attention.
• 🫶 In SyncThis or that, picked at the same time. See how often you land on the same side.
• ❌ Tic-Tac-ToeThree in a row. Thirty seconds a game, and somehow still tense.
• 🔤 Word DuelSame secret word, two boards, six guesses. No waiting for turns.
• 🔲 Dots & BoxesDraw a line, close a square, go again. Ruthless in the endgame.
• ⚫ ReversiTrap a line, flip it all. The lead changes hands every turn.
• 🚢 BattleshipFive ships, one hundred squares, and no idea where they are.
• 🟤 CheckersForced captures, jump chains, and the long walk to a crown.
• 🎲 Dice DuelFive dice, three rolls, thirteen boxes. Luck you can play badly.

All games · How Long Distance Games works · Back to the arcade