Zero Gravity Connect Four

Connect Four with an unusual twist. This version of the game requires players to consider more options when forming strategies

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Zero Gravity Connect Four

(Published in Directory : Games : Strategy)

The name of this game is not technically accurate; it's not that there is zero gravity (null-g), but that the gravity is so confused it would make a physicist's hair stand on end. This two player spin-off of the original Connect Four game requires players to consider many more options, as each player can drop pieces from any of four directions. As with Connect Four, the winner is the one who can get four markers in a row.

The game can be played using a piece of graph paper, as shown below. The blue squares are 'solid', which means that markers cannot be dropped through them.

The next image shows the board after each player has taken one turn. Note that 'O' has dropped a piece from the left hand side of the board, and it 'fell' until it reached the right hand side. 'X' then dropped a piece from the top, and it 'fell'until it reached one of the solid squares.

In the next set of moves, 'O' dropped a piece from the bottom, and it 'fell' to the top. 'X' then dropped a piece from the right, and it 'fell' until it hit the 'O'

The game continues in this fashion until one player is able to line up four markers in a row; either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Another variation on this game involves putting the solid squares in different positions, or adding more than four solid squares to the board. Players should agree beforehand on the positioning of the solid squares, or take turns adding them to the board. Here's an example of a Null-G Connect Four board with the solid squares in different positions.

Virtu Software has created an online version of this game, which you can play (with a friend) at The Problem Site - Zero Gravity Connect Four

About the Author

Name: Douglas Twitchell

Website: http://www.jeorgethedodo.com/dougblog/

Bio: I am the designer, maintainer, and editor of this site (Articles For Educators).

I am a former educator in both elementary and secondary math and science. In addition to this site, I also built and maintain the following educational sites: The Problem Site, Tile Puzzler, and Quote Puzzler.

I'm also a ventriloquist, and you can find more about my puppets here: Jeorge The Dodo

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Recent Member Comments

Below you will find recent member comments about this article. To view all the user comments, please click here: Member Comments Page

zaphod wrote on Mar 10, 2005	quote options
dude that game is cool. i played it at the problem site did you program that?
Douglas Twitchell wrote on Mar 10, 2005	quote options
I sure did. I'm kind of proud of that little piece of work. I just checked the stats over there, and found out that since I posted the game a couple years ago, there have been 49,548 games played online. Not impressive compared to some stuff out there, but still, I'm glad people have enjoyed it.
zaphod wrote on Mar 26, 2005	quote options
i also tried hangman and tictactoe. i like the statistics part of tictactoe very interesting.