Connect 4, or Four in a Row, is a video game available on the iMessage app. The game is accessible from one of the extensions on iMessage.
GamePigeon is home to a variety of games, including classics like Chess, Crazy 8 and Connect 4.
Connect 4 closely resembles its real-life counterpart, which is a physical board game and a classic that most people will be familiar with. Connect 4 essentially consists of the same rules and gameplay as the original game.
How to play Connect 4 on iMessage iOS 10
Connect 4 is an easy two player board game to learn and play. The mechanics are really simple, and there aren’t many rules to keep track of – simply get a connecting line of four circles and you’ve won.
When you play iMessage games like Connect 4, it’s important to know the rules. We’ll explain the details of how the game is played, along with how you can access Connect 4.
How to access Connect 4
In order to access Connect 4, you must have GamePigeon installed on your iPhone. You can do this pretty easily from within your messages app.
How to download GamePigeon
GamePigeon exists as an app on the iOS App Store. Go on the App Store, and search for ‘gamepigeon’.
You should be able to find GamePigeon amongst the search results. The app icon is a game controller.
Tap the ‘install’ option to begin installing the application.
Once the installation has been completed, open the iMessage app. In iMessage, there are extensions you can access from the bottom bar. This appears at the bottom of the screen when you open a message thread.
Find the GamePigeon extension, which should appear as a game controller, and press on it. This will open the extension.
Drag up on the GamePigeon tabs, i.e. games, settings, store. This expands the GamePigeon window, and shows all the games available at once.
You can find Connect 4, aka Four in a Row, in the third row.
How to play Connect 4
Press on Four in a Row in GamePigeon. This will create a message, with the Connect 4 game in it.
Connect 4 is a two-player game, so you must decide on an iMessage user to play with. This should be one of your contacts. After you’ve decided on a person, send them the message containing Connect 4.
Once the message has been sent, you can open the game by tapping the play icon (the triangle symbol).
Connect 4’s game board contains a blue board, which has a series of holes in it. The holes make up a 6×7 grid.
Each player is assigned a colour. There are only two colours available – red and yellow. The colour you’re assigned to determines the colour of your checkers. Each player gets given checkers to use on the board.
The players take turns placing a checker on the board. The checkers are affected by gravity when placed on the board.
Thus, they will fall until they either hit the bottom of the board, or another checker. Each player can only place one checker per turn. You can choose the column the checker goes in.
The goal of the game is to connect four of your checkers together in a straight line. It doesn’t matter how they’re connected together – it can be a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line.
When four of the same-coloured checkers are connected in a line, the game ends. The winner is the one who connects four of their checkers.
Tips & Tricks
Although you can use different methods for winning, the rules are pretty simple. Here are some tips on how you can improve at playing Connect 4.
Place a checker in the centre
Start by placing a checker in the centre column. This gives you the most options when it comes to connecting four of your checkers.
You’ll be able to connect 4 using the bottom row (in either direction), diagonally (in either direction), or vertically.
Always check your opponent’s checkers
Remember to always keep an eye on your opponent’s checkers. Constantly check to see if they’re about to connect 4, and block them before they can.
You need to play close attention to your opponent’s moves, as ideally you’ll want to be planning multiple moves in front of them to get the upper hand.
Consider all directions
Remember that you can connect 4 vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. You may end up missing a possible connect 4 if you don’t consider all directions.
Try to connect checkers in multiple directions
Place your checkers in a way that makes it possible to connect 4 in more directions than one. This makes it harder for your opponent to block all your possible connect 4s.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Connect 4 is quite faithful to the original game. It follows the same rules and game flow.
Players take turns placing checkers on the board, and the first one to connect four of their checkers wins the game.
