Connect Four

I'm 35 years old and fondly remember playing this game with my sisters. I purchased this recently on Amazon so I can recapture glory with my own children. the game is a take on the classic Tic-Tac-Toe game, with the spin being that you need to get four black/red chips in a row. Its fun to watch my children try and think a few steps ahead to ensure they don't get smoked by dad while also trying to set themselves up to win. While not quite chess, this is a great starting game for 5-7 year olds who've outgrown Candyland but aren't quite ready for Boggle. Good in 30 minute increments.

My mother loved to play Connect Four with her grandchildren. It was a way for her to teach them from a young age to count four items; to sort two colors; to learn to look horizontally, vertically, and diagonally; and to win and lose politely. After she lost her ability to think fast and move her hands with dexterity, we could stimulate her by playing a game. We always had a good time with Connect Four.

The game is amusing enough to entertain an adult while giving children a quick little fun time. This game has been around a long time, and it continues to be one of the best. I wish that the grid support were stronger. I watched my mother wear out several games.

As long as laughter requires no carbon credits, this game is good green entertainment. It burns no fuel.

My 6 year old is loving this, as is his 3 year old sister, but I dislike the new design as it has to be taken apart to fit in the box! If I didn't have a crawling baby who tries to eat the checkers I'd just leave it set up, but as it is, I end up having to assemble it ever day or two.

In addition to the regular benefits of playing games: turn taking, communication, fun, Connect 4 in particular supports development of seeing patterns, a very important developmental skill.

With regard to this particular edition of the Connect Four game: It comes with additional pieces you can connect at the bottom to keep the "chips" contained when the bottom is opened and they fall out. (Not shown in the picture on the front of the box.) I don't particularly find this very useful, as I haven't found it a problem that the "chips" are going all over the place. However, it's an interesting addition.

My one complaint is that it's very difficult to get all of the pieces fitting into the box so that the lid closes completely. And this is a big pain. A child can't just pile them all into the box and close the lid. Some finesse is needed to position all the pieces just right to maybe get the lid fairly well closed all the way.

I do like the square box size rather than an old version I have that is a large rectangular box. This size fits better on my shelves. (I have multiple games because I adapt them for further educational support in classrooms.)

I grew up loving playing this game with my parents so now that my daughter has turned 7 I thought it was time to get this and teach the kids how to play.

The game is a great classic, easy enough that anyone can learn in minutes but difficult enough for somewhat complex strategies. Also if you don't pay careful attention someone can beat you by accident.

The only problem I have with the game is it's construction. When I was younger the one we had was made of much heavier plastic. The game also had a swing arm at the bottom that swung out to let the checkers out. This game has a plastic oval at the bottom, believe me it's a nice touch because it keeps the checkers in but the problem is that it's cheap thin plastic. The stand is also made of three pieces rather than one so it keeps falling apart, I'd consider gluing it together but then it wouldn't fit into the box.

This game is a great addition to your collection if you have childern, it doesn't have much potential as an adult game but that's not what it's meant for. If you can find one of the older versions at a garage sale or a thrift store though buy that one instead.