Customer Reviews

Connect 4 x 4

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've ever played Connect Four, you'll immediately understand the attraction of playing with three or four players. With two players, you've got strategy. With three or four, you've got politics. Sometimes, you just have to cooperate with the very people you are competing against, just to keep someone else from winning. Such is the nature of playing with more than two.

And it's prettier - having four colors instead of two. Colored rings, even.

But that's just part of what makes this game so worthy of our collective consideration. The other part is the channels that accommodate the ex-checker rings. They're double-wide, double-sided. Which means that two rings fit where only one ring used to. And you win regardless of whether your ring is in the front or back of a channel - as long as there are four-in-a-row of your color.

There are also two "blocker" pieces for each color. Double-wide themselves, they fit into both sides of a channel. The blockers are powerful pieces, which is why you only have two of them, which is why you have to conserve them, which is what makes the game all the more inviting for people who like to ponder.

The strategic implications of all this are profound and subtle. Profound enough to make you have to rethink pretty-much everything you know about how to win Connect Four, subtle enough to make the game challenging enough to attract an adult audience, and perhaps too challenging for younger children. But, like Connect Four, the mechanics of dropping checkers into different columns, of being able to empty the entire board by moving the retaining wall on the bottom are still very much present, and at least fascinating enough to keep the toy-value of the game as playworthy as the game itself.

Hasbro has been full of gleeful surprises of late. Though they've been releasing new versions of their licensed products for a while, they have taken great efforts, in most cases, to make sure that the new releases are also new games - different enough from their predecessors to be worthy of serious consideration. Elegant enough to be easy to learn and to invite players to develop their own variations. Fun enough to sustain many hours of thought-provoking, deeply engaging play.

Connect 4x4 is a sleek, stylish update to the timeless, albeit simple, classic game. The ability to play on multiple planes adds a welcome level of complexity. And playing with more than 2 players makes it much tougher to force a win, which is helpful because it takes a lot more work (or one of a player's precious few Blocker pieces) to block a win as well.

My only misgiving about this game is that in an unbalanced play group, a poor player will give a massive advantage to the player following him. But even with this setback, it's a surprisingly intense experience that I would highly recommend. If the idea of a thinking man's Connect Four appeals to you, this is a dream come true.

It's a thinking game and you have to be fast. Unique idea. May be a bit difficult for some children to factor in the other grids. A good game for the family to play together.

My son got this as a birthday gift and we've had a lot of fun with 3 generations playing it together. It is packaged nicely, you can discard the box as all the game pieces fit inside the game and the legs fold up. There are plastic slides/rails top and bottom that keep the pieces from falling out. The one on the bottom is also the release for the pieces when a game is over...kind of a little fun thing for kids as they slide the release rail and all of the pieces fall out in a pile. The self contained packaging makes it a great compact game to take on trips. The game can be broken by stepping on it, or forcing the legs for example, but is fairly well made by today's standards.

Adding an extra layer keeps everyone on their toes weighing the possibilities. Its pretty easy to see the game pieces on both sides from a single sitting postion. Having double width blockers, in limited quantity (2 only) was also a stroke of genius. I disagree a bit with one review that following a weaker player provides a big advantage. The nature of the game, if you are playing w/ 3 or 4 players, is other players will chime in and alert you to possible mistakes that will allow someone to win. This is specifically allowed in the written rules, so it makes for a social game that almost all ages can play. The politicking comment was spot on. You may encourage a player to use their blocker to prevent somone from winning. They in turn might say, I'm using my single to block him here, YOU use YOUR blocker to block them there. Once in a while a player may have to decide who he is going to let win, as he has to decide which other player he is going to block, but that situation wasn't the norm. Usually a player can block the next player who then blocks the following player.

Another nice twist that keeps things interesting is that the game and game strategy really changes with the number of players. Playing with 2 players is completely different than playing with 3 for example.

Overall a pleasant surprise in a nicely thought out package.

I just want to warn potential buyers that this is NOT a 2 player game as stated on the box. If you play with 2 players, the person that starts CAN ALWAYS WIN in 6 moves. I still give it 5 stars because with more then 2 players it very fun

Fun game, my 8 year old loves to play, but latch at bottom opens too easily, so that whenever we put it away, the rings always end up spilling everywhere. It now has to live in a zip lock bag wehn not in use

Over the holiday our family group of four, ranging over 3 generations, had lots of fun with this. There is a fair amount of skill involved in this ... parents and grandparents wont get bored ... as a matter of fact they will have to work hard to win. A perfect game for my small family.

This was a gift for my 11 year old grandson. My children always loved playing this, so I thought I would continue the family tradition. The little ones like just dropping the pieces and the older ones enjoy the challenge of actually winning the game.

This connect 4 x 4 is very different than the traditional one. There are a lot more choices for each move. It's much more chanllenging and provides much more fun. Plan to buy a few more as X'mas gifts this year.

Having loved Connect 4 as a kid, I didn't think the game could get any better.....but it did. First, up to four players can play which is perfect for our family. Second, the game goes really fast so it is perfect to pull out for just a few minutes. Third, it teaches great strategy skills. Fourth, the base folds up and the top snaps shut allowing connect 4X4 to travel with us to many sit and wait sporting events without a cardboard box. Fifth, it is easy and fun for young players and challenging enough for adults. Sixth, clean up is really easy and fast. We have had this game for three months now and our family still enjoys playing on a regular basis. Everyone who comes over asks where we purchased it. Might be just the perfect family game!!!! As an adult you'll have a blast having your kids sneak in that connect 4 that you didn't see coming!!!!