COMPARE
VS
★ RISK WINS
CONNECT FOUR VS RISK
2
PLAYERS
2–6
5–15 min
PLAY TIME
2–4 hours
6+
AGE
10+
1.0 / 5
COMPLEXITY
2.1 / 5
Howard Wexler
DESIGNER
Albert Lamorisse
1974
YEAR
1959
6.7 / 10
COMMUNITY SCORE
6.8 / 10
CONNECT FOUR VERDICT
Solved by computer in 1988 — first player always wins with perfect play. Still a wonderful first strategy game for kids, terrible for adults who know the centre-column rule.
RISK VERDICT
Firmly nostalgic. Pull it out for relatives who haven't played anything else in twenty years — for anything else, a modern area-control game does the same thing better.
CONNECT FOUR
✓ PROS
- Teaches 2D pattern recognition under a 60-second teach
- Travel-friendly versions exist (peg-board, magnetic)
- Genuine 'aha' moment for kids when they spot a fork
- Quick enough to play 5 games in 30 minutes
✗ CONS
- First-player advantage is overwhelming if both players know the centre rule
- Game is mathematically solved — no remaining strategic depth for adults
- Stalemates happen when both players know optimal defence
RISK
✓ PROS
- Real strategic depth (continent control, reinforcement rate)
- Universal recognition — anyone can pick it up
- Risk: Legacy is a genuinely modern, excellent reinvention
- Cheap and easy to find used
✗ CONS
- 4-hour games with player elimination kill the night
- Dice variance can overturn smart play
- Once you're out, you sit and wait
★ WHICH ONE FOR YOU?
- CONNECT FOURShorter session (5–15 min vs 2–4 hours)
- CONNECT FOUREasier to teach — complexity 1.0 vs 2.1 (RISK is heavier)
- RISKMore strategic depth — complexity 2.1 vs 1.0
- RISKScales to more players (2–6 vs 2)
- CONNECT FOURFamily-friendly — kids can play
- CONNECT FOURMore modern design (1974 vs 1959)
