Two players take turns dropping pieces into an upright board. Each piece falls down its column until it rests on the bottom or on another piece. The first player with four own pieces in a straight line wins.
In the Duel Corner you currently play on your own against the computer, at three strengths. A game takes two to three minutes.
The board has 7 columns and 6 rows — 42 slots in total. Your pieces are amber (warm, bright), the computer plays basalt (cool, grey).
Four own pieces in a straight line. All four directions count:
The winning line then lights up in brass. If the board fills up and nobody has four together, the game is a draw.
| Level | What it does |
|---|---|
| Easy | looks two moves ahead and drops every fifth piece more or less anywhere |
| Medium | looks five moves ahead and never misses an open threat |
| Hard | calculates for about half a second, as deep as it gets in that time (up to ten moves) |
Games against the computer are practice: they are counted and shown in your record, but they earn neither points nor milestones.
The first move is a real advantage, so you can choose:
What counts are games against other players. The Duel Corner is built for playing together — the computer is there for when nobody else is around.
Your points 🏆 come from duel games: 10 for a win, 4 for a draw, 1 for taking part. They count towards the arcade leaderboards (week, month, year).
Your level ⭐ is the number of milestones you have reached, plus one. There are five: your first game against another player, your first win against another player, playing against 3 different people, 5 wins and 25 wins against other players. The list is below the board; what you have not reached yet is faded but visible.
Practice against the computer does not count towards points or milestones. It is not lost, though: your record keeps it separately so you can see how much you have practised.
Whatever level and points you had before 19 August 2026 stay exactly as they were — nothing is recalculated.
Results are saved: wins, losses, draws, your streaks and your settings. This happens at the end of every game.
A game in progress is not saved. If you close the page mid-game, you start fresh next time. For a two to three minute game that is the honest solution — and it keeps the arcade fast.
Four in a Row runs entirely on your device: the computer calculates in your browser, nothing goes over the network for it. Once you have opened the game online, you can start it again without a connection — on a train, on a plane, in a basement.
Your results are then stored on the device and sent automatically as soon as you are back online.
Above the board there are four buttons: on your own, two players, three and four. For Four in a Row the last two are faded — there are only two piece colours. Tap two players and the lobby opens above the board. The page does not change: your board stays exactly where it is.
The lobby shows who is waiting for an opponent — with their name and since when. You have four options:
The lobby needs a connection. Playing on your own against the computer works in a dead spot too — “on your own” takes you back there at any time.
It can happen that no guest seats are free at that moment. You are then offered three ways: join the queue (you move up automatically and are told when it is your turn), come back later — or play against the computer, which always works. With your own account there is always a seat for you.
In a two-player game a real person is waiting for you. That is why a different rule applies here than in the building games of the arcade: whoever leaves a running game loses it.
A dead spot does not count. Only when nothing at all has come from you for a minute and a half does your opponent see the note “is away” and get to decide: the computer takes your seat (the game then finishes without you) or there is a new game. Come back before that and you simply carry on — even from a different device, because the position is not kept in your browser but on the server.
You can of course resign openly as well: the button is below the board, and you are asked once more.
Below the board there is a bar of ready-made sentences and six emoji — “Good luck!”, “Nice move!”, “Back in 2 minutes”, “Well played!” and so on. Depending on whether the game is starting, running or over, you see the ones that fit.
There is deliberately no free text. Only which sentence you picked is transmitted — the other person reads it in their own language. That way the chat can never contain a name, an insult or a link. One sentence every five seconds is plenty; anyone tapping faster is briefly slowed down.
Still uncomfortable? The Report button takes you to the mailbox (✉️) where you can write to Marco directly.
Games against a human count separately from your solo record. A win is worth 10 points, a draw 4, taking part 1. That feeds three leaderboards: week, month and year. The button for them is in the lobby and below the board.
Two things give no points, and both are on purpose: a game in which nobody but the computer sat opposite you — otherwise “the easiest level on repeat” would be the fastest way up. And the same opponent over and over on the same day: beyond a certain number, further games against them stop counting. You can still play as often as you like.