lans.cloud Tools

Four in a Row Review Game for the Classroom

Free four in a row review game for the classroom: two teams answer your questions to earn disc drops — first to connect four wins. No PowerPoint, no download, no sign-up.

Set up the game

Paste questions above or load a starter pack below.

Question sets:saved sets also work in whack-a-mole and plinko —

Back up or move it to another device.

Was this tool helpful?
Support this site

Earn Every Disc

This is the classic Connect 4 style grid game — four in a row wins, across, down, or diagonally — with one classroom twist: discs aren't free. The Red and Gold teams take turns answering your review questions, and only a correct answer buys a drop. Suddenly the strategy conversation ("take the center! block them!") and the content conversation ("wait, what IS 7 × 8?") are the same conversation, which is exactly where you want a review day to live.

No PowerPoint, No Prep

The usual way to run a Connect 4 review is a paid PowerPoint template: download, edit twenty slides, hope the school laptop has Office. This four in a row review game replaces that with a textarea — one question per line, wrong answers filled in automatically from your other lines (or write your own with question | correct | wrong). Your sets save in the browser by name, and the same saved sets load in the whack-a-mole review game and the plinko review game — build the list once, run three different game days with it. Pick fair teams first with the random team picker and keep a season tally on the classroom scoreboard.

The Center Column Is Worth Fighting For

A 7×6 board has exactly 69possible four-in-a-row lines. They are not spread evenly: the center column sits on far more of them than the edges, which is why every strong player opens in the middle. The table below counts the lines through each column — computed from the same line list the game uses to detect wins, so it's not strategy folklore, it's arithmetic. Teach it to your class and watch the first drop of every game land in column 4.

Winning lines through each column (of 69 total)

ColumnLines through itVerdict
Column 115Edge column — weakest real estate
Column 227Solid supporting column
Column 339Solid supporting column
Column 4 (center)51The strongest column — claim it early
Column 539Solid supporting column
Column 627Solid supporting column
Column 715Edge column — weakest real estate

Counted from the exact line list the win-checker scans — the table can't disagree with the referee.

Built-in starter packs

PackSubjectGradesQuestions
Times tables ×2–×10MathGrades 2–490
Addition facts to 20MathGrades 1–281
Sight words — Dolch pre-primerReadingPre-K–K40
Sight words — Dolch primerReadingK–152
US state capitalsGeographyGrades 3–550

Shared with the other review games — math packs are computed, sight words are the standard Dolch lists.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you play four in a row as a review game?

Split the class into the Red and Gold teams. Each turn, a team answers a question; a correct answer earns a disc drop in the column of their choice, a wrong answer passes the turn with no drop. First team to connect four discs — across, down, or diagonally — wins. The review pressure is built in: you can see the winning column, but you have to earn it.

Is there a free Connect 4 style review game without PowerPoint?

Yes — this four in a row game runs free in the browser on any classroom screen. Most Connect 4 review templates are PowerPoint files you download and edit slide by slide on a desktop; here you paste questions and press Start, and your sets save in the browser for next time.

Which column is best in four in a row?

The center column. Of the 69 possible four-in-a-row lines on a 7×6 board, more pass through the center column than any other — the table on this page counts them per column. Edge columns touch the fewest lines, which is why games are won and lost in the middle.

Can two teams play on one screen?

That is the whole design: one board, projected or on a shared tablet, two teams taking turns. Nothing to install and no second device needed — it also has a no-questions mode if you just want the classic game at indoor recess.

Do my questions get uploaded anywhere?

No. The game runs entirely in your browser; question sets are saved on your device only, and the same saved sets work in the whack-a-mole and plinko review games.