Hey, 4IR people,

I have noticed that a lot of top 4IR players don't play much else. I encourage everybody to take a look at dots and boxes, since it is a parity game much like 4IR. Instead of trying to make odd threats, even threats, the aim is to create an odd number of chains, or an even number of chains if you move 2nd or 1st respectively. Also, D&B isn't so heavily skewed in favor of the second player like 4IR. Not quite as much fun as 4IR, but still worth a look, and I think that good 4IR players should be successful at D&B.

What you mean not so much fun? It's more fun!

I guess it depends which one you understand better!

I definitely prefer dots!

czworki sa w chuj lepsze ;)

dots!?

4inrow…more fun

Dots and boxes > Four in a row

David, are there any sites with strategy tips on 4-in-a-row?

i don't like games in which cold positions occur, as is the case of D&B and 4ir. anyway i find d&b more fun :)

yper,

The best source for 4IR strategy (in my opinion) is victor allis' master thesis in which he solves the 7x6 version. The paper is long, and not everything is relevant to “human” players, but he does describe how to evaluate endgames properly - you cannot become good without knowing how to do this. I spent a lot of time mastering the info on that paper, and it made me nearly invincible with red. Yellow is another story though - the very top players are experts at inducing mistakes from other skilled players. Usually you have to do this by confusing them in the opening, and there are not many openings that the top players haven't seen before.

Oh yeah, the link for the thesis:

http://www.farfarfar.com/games/connect_four/connect4.pdf